Lorcan Mekitarian, Chair of the Cleaning & Hygiene Suppliers Association (CHSA), reports.
Environmental sustainability is no longer a fringe concern in the cleaning and hygiene sector. It sits at the heart of procurement decisions, brand reputations and customer expectations. Unfortunately, as the market has responded, a parallel trend has emerged: a proliferation of environmental claims that sound compelling yet often rest on shaky foundations.
The Cleaning & Hygiene Suppliers Association’s (CHSA) new Myth Busting Fact Sheet, developed as part of our Roadmap to Sustainability, arrives at a critical moment. It reminds all of us of something simple yet challenging. Sustainability cannot be judged by labels, slogans or single metrics. It must be measured by evidence.
Too often, buyers assume recycled materials are automatically better than virgin ones, or that “natural” ingredients must be safer and more sustainable. The truth, however, is much more complex. Sustainability depends on the full life-cycle of a product — from raw material extraction and manufacturing through transport, use and end-of-life. In some applications, recycled materials deliver clear environmental benefits. In others, the additional energy, chemicals and processing involved can mean their footprint is higher than a well-designed virgin alternative.
The same principle applies to many other widely held beliefs. Biodegradable and eco-friendly claims can be technically meaningless unless they specify what degrades, under what conditions and according to which test methods. Even buying locally is not always the lower-carbon option when shipping efficiency, energy sources and manufacturing intensity are considered.
What the CHSA’s guidance makes clear is that sustainability is not about choosing the product with the loudest green claim. It is about making decisions based on transparent, data-driven assessments across multiple indicators — including carbon, water, toxicity, resource use and social responsibility.
This approach is not just environmentally responsible; it is commercially smart. By challenging assumptions and demanding evidence, buyers and suppliers alike can move beyond greenwashing and focus on solutions that deliver genuine, measurable environmental benefit.
In sustainability, as in cleaning itself, real results come not from surface appearances, but from what lies beneath.
Our members know this. It’s why they included the Competition and Markets Authority’s Green Claims Code in our Code of Practice, which is signed by every member of the CHSA. Our Code of Practice requires members to ‘conduct business dealings in an open, honest, fair and proper manner’. This means buyers of cleaning and hygiene products can trust the CHSA Accreditation Scheme Mark and that what lies beneath the claims is hard evidence.
https://chsa.co.uk/
About the contributor
Lorcan Mekitarian
Chair
CHSA