Back to work, back to sustainable cleaning

CLEANING TEAMS across the UK are working hard to ensure customers, staff, guests are safe and the deep cleaning process has a crucial part to play. Nevertheless, businesses do not need to lose sight of the fact that sustainable products can be equally effective as their more toxic counterparts in playing their part to tackle coronavirus and ensure sites are sanitised and safe.  

Green and sustainable cleaning
Green cleaning is fast becoming the new normal. Not just those who are living more eco lifestyles but now it's becoming the go-to choice for businesses which are really driving sustainability and highlighting the need to be green.  Often, more sustainable and free products come with a high price tag. However, at Delphis Eco, the range is not only environmentally friendly but also economical for businesses allowing them to purchase environmentally friendly and sustainable products at the right price without compromise.  

Mark Jankovich, CEO of Delphis Eco said: “We have experienced a significant increase in enquires from potential new clients who are looking to use sustainable cleaning products going forward rather than their previously less sustainable supplier. Buying cleaning and hygiene products from more sustainable brands is becoming more of a priority for many businesses.  

"By embracing less toxic products, there is benefit both for the longevity of the environment and for the safety of their own teams.”

 

Natural ingredients

Delphis Eco has made its name as the British-made brand that uses all-natural ingredients. The range offered is phosphate free and contains no - or very few - VOCs (volatile organic compounds), which are some of the most damaging contents historically found in cleaning chemicals.
  
All the company’s products are plant based, ecological and readily biodegradable, yet proven in tests, remain 98% more effective than their competitors. Every product has been designed and developed for its eco-friendly properties, with no loss in effectiveness in tackling the job of deep cleaning. At Delphis Eco it’s called ‘Greendustrial Strength’ cleaning.

Furthermore, packaging is increasingly hitting the news as an area where businesses and consumers are driving change. According to the BBC News an estimated 1.3billion tonnes of plastic is destined for the environment by 2040 unless global action is taken. Delphis Eco has been at the forefront in innovating how single use plastic can be given a second life and was the first UK brand to move its bottles to 100% recycled plastic.

Green packaging

After a five-year journey, Delphis Eco finally proved the ‘art of the possible’ and launched its 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles taken straight from UK waste streams. The company is the first (and only) UK eco-cleaning product company to achieve this, seven years ahead of mainstream manufacturers.  

Additionally, the labels for all its bottles are printed with vegetable ink and boxes are made from 100% recycled cardboard (even the liner is recycled).

Delphis Eco continually interrogates its supply chain for more opportunities to be more sustainable in its quest to close the loop and reduce waste back into the environment.

Hand sanitisers
Hand sanitisers are seeing unprecedented demand and Delphis Eco continues to be an expert in this area, as Mark Jankovich commented: “There are actually two main types of hand sanitiser available on the market, sanitiser gels, where alcohol is the active ingredient and water-based sanitisers, containing Quaternary Ammonium Compounds (QUAT) as the active ingredient. 

"You will find these types of foaming sanitiser (QUATS) in many of our hospitals, for the use of staff and visitors, often chosen as they are considered safer than their alcohol-based counterparts. QUAT are the active substances found in the majority of surface sanitising and disinfecting products, chosen for their effectiveness against a wide range of bacteria, moulds, fungus and viruses, whilst being relatively safe for users and the environment. Very few hand sanitiser brands, whether alcohol-based or QUAT based, will have undergone efficacy testing against viruses and at the moment, none will have been tested against COVID-19.  

"One of the reasons for this is that it is widely accepted that enveloped viruses, such as Covid-19 are easily killed by correctly formulated alcohol sanitisers, but it is also the case that these virus types are also easily killed by correctly formulated QUAT based products.”

Delphis Eco’s hand sanitiser foam contains the maximum amount of QUAT allowed in 'leave on' products in accordance with the EU Cosmetic Safety Regulations. The important thing to note is that with alcohol-based sanitisers in the form of gel a product has to contain a minimum of 60% alcohol. For a QUAT to work it needs to be a 0.003%. This is why QUATs are used to clean hospitals. They are effective yet much kinder to the environment.  

One of the key challenges for businesses will be to ensure the effective supply of hand wash and products for the washroom and ensuring they are clearly displayed, easily accessible and kept topped up and clean, with effective hand dryers situated in close proximity to the sink.  

The stats are widely known - most people only wash their hands for 6 seconds (not the recommended 20 seconds for Covid protection) and around 33% of people don't use soap when washing their hands. Clean signage in washrooms to encourage people to wash their hands with soap and the reasons why will be helpful in changing this statistic.

Up to 80% of communicable diseases are transferred by touch. Perhaps what is less well known is that damp hands are 1000x more likely to spread bacteria than dry hands. Hand hygiene is one of the most important things in the prevention and control of many illnesses and as we all now know is crucial in minimising the spread of COVID-19. 

Many of the company's customers are significantly increasing the amount of cleaning products they are purchasing, including the antibacterial sanitiser and hand sanitiser but the company has had to be cautious in dealing with these increased bulk orders to ensure that all customers are able to get the products they need.

Recycled plastic rating

In September 2019, Delphis Eco introduced the ‘Recycled Plastic Rating’ (RPR), a campaign which saw the launch of a new trust mark enabling consumers to take back control of what plastic actually gets recycled, versus what gets dumped into the oceans.  

The rating shows the amount of recycled plastic content in the packaging consumers buy and instantly gives them the power to vote with their wallets and chose packaging that is fundamentally diverting plastic from landfill.  The RPR is enabling consumers to see, at a glance, the exact plastic credentials of products they are purchasing.

At home market

As well as selling into the commercial and retail markets, Delphis Eco has recently launched its cleaning range into the ‘at home’ market digitally via Ocado and Farmdrop and in store at Robert Dyas.

Mark Jankovich observed: “We are really delighted about our new working partnership with Ocado and Farmdrop as both digital businesses have a strong environmental and sustainability policy which is a perfectly natural fit for us and a great step forward for the business.”

So what's next? According to Jankovich Delphis Eco is seeing customers moving away from single-use units towards with a large uptake in customers opting for refillable solutions and the 5ltr refill products. 

"Going forward," he concluded, "well, this is simple, we will continue pushing our refill and reuse agenda. From bottles to closures we will be encouraging business and consumers to think about how they purchase cleaning products."

Mark Jankovich is CEO at Delphis Eco – which stands for ‘clean and green’ professional cleaning – the award-winning, British-made all-natural sustainable cleaning chemical manufacturer. Changing the way we think about chemicals and climate change.

For more information visit www.delphiseco.com