Buyers and users of cleaning and hygiene products need product that’s fit for purpose. They need product claims to be legitimate and relevant. They need to know what’s on the box is what’s in the box. They want ethically and environmentally sustainable solutions. In today’s economic environment, they also need it to be affordable.
However, without the time, resources or expertise, how can they be certain the product or service they select meets these needs? The Cleaning & Hygiene Suppliers Association represents manufacturers and distributors supplying cleaning and hygiene products in the UK. Our Accreditation Schemes can provide the solution. Our Standards, Your Guarantee.
The commercial pressures we all face today are immense. Inflation remains stubbornly high. There is no sign of peace in Ukraine and the rapid opening up of the Chinese economy has put pressure on raw materials, driving up costs. Our sector is also feeling the pain of staff shortages. While it’s most marked for cleaning companies, it is also hitting CHSA members.
Balancing these economic pressures with delivering good quality, fit-for-purpose products is not easy. In the past, the unscrupulous squared the circle by cutting corners. A few sheets shorter or a little narrower with the soft tissue. Thinner plastic for the sacks. Lower absorbency for the cotton mops. Our Accreditation Schemes were set up specifically to protect buyers from this type of sharp practice. Over the 26 years since the establishment of our first Scheme, their impact has been immense.
There will always be rogue traders, operating outside our Schemes, more interested in making a quick buck than in trading ethically. It’s a problem made worse by the pandemic, particularly when it comes to cleaning chemicals. At a time of crisis, when people were fearful and demand was high, the unscrupulous made all sorts of extraordinary claims for these products. The evidence-based truth was different.
Today the fog created is being made worse with environmental claims that often amount to little more than greenwashing. It is difficult to discern product information you can trust from the irrelevant, meaningless and unsubstantiated sales and marketing claims made for some products.
A typical example is non-toxic. The implication is the product poses no risk if ingested by adults, children or animals or if released from the environment. But toxicity depends on a range of things including concentration, volume and method of use. Without further qualification, this term can be dangerously misleading. ‘Chemical-free is another meaningless term. It is often used to imply non-toxicity. However, technically everything, including water, plant-based biocides or enzymes, are made of chemicals, so the claim is nonsense.
How are hard pressed facilities management supposed to navigate these challenges and get fit-for-purpose product, with good environmental credentials at the right price?
We can help. Setting and maintaining standards is in the DNA of the CHSA. We have six Accreditation Schemes all supported by a rigorous process of Independent Inspection. The Schemes are for manufacturers of paper-based products, plastic-based products, cotton-based products, and cleaning chemicals, for general manufacturers and for distributors of cleaning and hygiene products.
Every CHSA member has also signed the CHSA’s rigorous Code of Practice, which requires them to “maintain a high standard in the conduct of its business”. This year we expanded it to include the Competition & Markets Authority’s Green Claims Code, which requires companies to:
- Be truthful and accurate.
- Be clear and unambiguous.
- Not omit or hide important information.
- Only make fair and meaningful comparisons.
- Consider the full life cycle of the product.
- Be substantiated.
The combination of our Code of Practice and Accreditation Scheme membership means every member:
· Trades ethically and sustainably;
· Provides supporting information for claims made;
· Provides quality, fit for purpose products; and
· Makes sure what’s on the box is what’s in the box.
www.chsa.co.uk
About the contributor
Lorcan Mekitarian
Chair
CHSA