INFOGRAPHIC

THE FUTURE OF SUSTAINABLE

MATERIALS SERIES CLEANING PRODUCTS

TO 2026

Cleaning products have been an essential part of our lives for years, they are widely viewed
around the world as essential to our health and wellbeing. However, most consumers would
now prefer to buy sustainable products, and manufacturers are keen to make green claims for
their products.

The global cleaning The global cleaning Sustainable global Sustainable global
market estimated market expected cleaning product cleaning product
to be worth to reach market makes up market to expand to
$170 billion $207 billion 43.6% 52.7%
in 2021 in 2026 of total market in 2021 of total market in 2026

WHAT IS A SUSTAINABLE CLEANING PRODUCT?

Sustainability is defined as the concern that we are using up the earth’s finite resources and they will
not be available for future generations to use.

A sustainable cleaning product must meet the below criteria to be defined as sustainable:

The product conforms to both

current European and US
Chemicals and Detergent
Legislation.

Is an organic ingredient (contains primarily carbon & hydrocarbon

and often oxygen) that is obtained from renewable plant-based or
fermented sources, rather than from petrochemicals. It should
also be obtained using sustainable practices.

Is an inorganic (i.e. non

organic) ingredient obtained
from minerals using sustainable
practices.

Many ingredients, organic or inorganic, require chemical synthesis or

modification, before they have the required properties. These transformations must
be conducted sustainably minimising the consumption of raw materials, energy,
water, & production of waste materials. Where possible, they should be recycled.

Reduced amount of plastic in packaging

and/or reusable packaging, must be packed
and delievered sustainably.

The European Commission defines products as wholly (>95%), majority (50-94%), minority (5-49%)
or not sustainable (<5%).
AND TRENDS
KEY DRIVERS

ENVIRONMENT REDUCE
THE GREEN COVID-19 AND CONSUMER
PLASTICS
REVOLUTION SUSTAINABILITY DEMAND
WASTE

CLEANING PRODUCTS & THEIR INGREDIENTS

The major ingredients in most cleaning products, including laundry detergents, are surfactants.
Surfactants contain two very different chemical groupings which are combined by a sythentic
chemical reaction.

Hydrophilic groups are ‘water-liking’ groups thare are soluble in

water, but not in oil. HYDROPHOBIC HYDROPHILIC
Hydrophobic groups are soluble in oil but not in water.
The schematic structure of a surfactant
As a result, surfactants migrate to and affect interfaces.

RAW MATERIALS & THEIR SUSTAINABILIT Y

There are four types of surfactants, depending on the nature of their hydrophilic groups.

ANIONIC SURFACTANTS

The hydrophilic group is negatively charged in aqueous solution.

Most popular is Linear Alkyl Benzene Sulfonate (LAS). Various attempts have been made to develop more
sustainable alternatives.

One plant-based surfactant is Methyl Ester Sulfonates (MES); a sustainable alternative to LAS but it has not
been successful.

Sodium Alkyl Sulfates are also common. They can be synthentic or plant-based. Their sustainability depends
on whether the sulfonation process and sulfur acidic group are conisdered sustainable.

Sustainable alternatives include sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium coco sulfate and sodium palm sulfate.

NONIONIC SURFACTANTS AMPHOTERIC SURFACTANTS CATIONIC SURFACTANTS

The hydrophilic groups have no These surfactants contain both These surfactants have positively
charge, but dissolves in water. positive and negative groups. charged hydrophilic groups.

The largest group of nonionics
are the alkyl or fatty alcohol
ethoxylates.
They can be made from plant or
petrochemical based
hydrophobes. The proportion of
plant-based ingredients is
relatively low.
Some cationic quats are very
effective disinfectants, and are
widely used as the active
ingredient in disinfectants, anti-
septic cleaners and wipes.

It is possible to make the Unlikely to be replaced by purely Because of their structure,

hydrophobic group from plant-
based oils. Although their
performance is often not as
good, they are becoming
extremely popular.
plant-based alternatives in the
short term. BASF & Solazyme
have developed a betaine made
from a fermented renewable
microalgae oil.
they can never be 100%
plant-based, but provided they
are made with plant-based oils,
they can reach approximately
80% biobased.

GLOBAL MARKET FORECASTS TO 2026

Growth in use of sustainable ingredients in global cleaning products; 2021 to 2026:

80,000 Sustainable
Market Value US$ Million

70,000
60,000 Conventional
50,000
40,000 The predicted improvement in
30,000 sustainability to 2026 shows slow
20,000 by steady progress. Future growth
10,000
will be led by disinfectants and
domestic cleaning products,
0
‘21 ‘26 ‘21 ‘26 ‘21 ‘26 ‘21 ‘26 ‘21 ‘26 ‘21 ‘26 following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eastern Middle East South Western North Asia
Europe & Africa America Europe America
Source: Smithers

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