Growing economies help the detergent industry clean up

“Cleaning product makers clean up on growth”
Chemical & Engineering News

Economies around the world are growing, and with that comes more money in consumers’ pockets to buy fancier, upgraded versions of the products they already buy. An article in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, reports that the detergent industry is one sector that’s innovating to keep up with the evolving marketplace.

Executive Editor Michael McCoy reports from the American Cleaning Institute’s recent annual conference, which focused on what economic growth means for detergent and cleaning product manufacturers, as well as how shopping habits have changed as millennial shoppers take over from the baby boom generation.

As people invest in sprucing up their laundry rooms, they also want products that look good and still get the job done, according to the article. Multiple forms of detergents are currently on the market, from powders and liquids to pods (which recently gained unwanted social media notoriety from teens eating them for fun) and confetti-like detergent disks and beads. Some products are specifically made to get odors out of synthetic-fiber-based sports apparel and athleisure wear, while others are designed to keep fragrance wafting from the textiles for weeks. Whatever the product formulation, manufacturers are beginning to contemplate e-commerce and how to make their products lighter and more leak-proof for long-distance shipping.

Note: ACS does not conduct research, but publishes and publicizes peer-reviewed scientific studies.