For a while now, sustainable cleaning products haven’t had a great reputation. They arrive with bold claims on the label, and then someone tests them properly and those claims don’t quite hold up. Contracts go back to what they were using before and the whole ‘sustainable’ category gets written off as more trouble than it's worth. That's the problem Foremost is trying to solve by bringing i-hygienic to market in the UK.
i-hygienic is a Dutch professional cleaning brand built on one straightforward idea: plant-based formulas that clean as well as the petroleum-based products they replace. More than 40 products carry Cradle to Cradle Gold certification, and carry the EU Ecolabel. Both are awarded by independent bodies with strict criteria rather than being self-declared. Every product in the range is non-classified and requires no PPE.
Foremost has announced the five hero products of the i-hygienic range:
The i.1 is an all-purpose cleaner that replaces seven daily products in one formula (washroom, surface, floor, glass and mirror, toilet, interior stripper, and carpet and upholstery stain remover). It was originally developed with one of the largest FM companies in the Netherlands, specifically to cut down the number of products an operative needs to carry.
The i.31 is a probiotic washroom cleaner which cleans on contact in the usual way, but the probiotic formula keeps working after the operative has moved on, breaking down organic matter in the micropores and corners that a surface clean doesn't reach, and permanently eliminating odour rather than masking it. Use it regularly and cleaning frequency goes down over time.
Darryl Penson, Managing Director at Foremost UK, said: "We've been selective about what we bring in here, because there's a lot of products in this space that talks but doesn’t necessarily deliver.”
The i.9 is an odour control spray that works enzymatically, by breaking down the organic compounds causing the smell rather than covering them up. It comes in a 750ml spray bottle and a 200ml alu-air can: 95% recycled aluminium, pressurised by clean compressed air, no chemical propellants. The spray is consistent from the first use to the last drop.
The two troubleshooters in the launch range are the i.93 and i.94. The i.93 is a grout cleaner that removes mould, weather staining, and moisture deposits using a mildly oxidising plant-based formula, it's set to foam mode, left for 15 to 30 minutes, then rinsed. It deals with mould without carrying a hazardous classification. The i.94 removes graffiti among other things, (spray paint, varnish, ink, stickers, adhesive, and signage residue) from tiles, Trespa, plastic, synthetic leather, glass, aluminium, and lacquered surfaces. Both are ready to use, non-classified, and require no PPE.
More of the i-hygienic range is available through Foremost including floor care, surface cleaning, laundry, kitchen, disinfection, and skincare.
Darryl added: "If a client is asking about sustainability, they're also checking the certification. Being able to show them something independently verified rather than self-labelled is so powerful. And for cleaning companies, having a range you genuinely believe in and can vouch for matters more than having a range that sounds good in a tender."
Contact the team at www.foremost-uk.com for more info on the i-hygienic range.