CLEANING & HYGIENE
ON TREND
Alastair Scott, Robert Scott’s Sales Director, talks to Ryan Lloyd, Editor of Tomorrow’s FM about what’s in store for the cleaning and hygiene sector in 2022.
Cleaning product manufacturer and distributor Robert Scott has revealed the findings of its latest customer research, identifying the key trends that will dominate the cleaning and hygiene sector in 2022.
The three biggest trends identified by the research were reducing plastic waste, green cleaning and increased visibility and frequency of cleaning, all of which are predicted to influence the cleaning practices used by businesses in 2022 and beyond.
Looking at ‘green’ cleaning, Robert Scott’s research found three key areas that businesses believe to be of greatest importance to improving sustainability. These are reducing plastic waste (75%), using products made from recycled materials (60%), and implementing more reusable products into cleaning regimes (55%).
The research also found that supply chain disruption had a much greater impact on businesses than Covid-19 during 2021, with an overwhelming 60% of businesses admitting that supply chain issues had had the biggest impact on their business, while only a third (33%) stated Covid-19.
“Last year, we faced a number of supply chain challenges that created something of a perfect storm for our sector – and we weren’t alone,” explains Robert Scott’s Sales Director Alastair Scott. “We dealt with these challenges in a number of ways; increasing our stock holding capacity and introducing customers to alternative products that were available or manufactured here in the UK to mitigate the delays caused by Brexit on importing goods. In turn,
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this led to some interesting shifts in our customers’ behaviour, with businesses opting for more reusable and sustainably manufactured products that reduced the volume of waste from disposable products we saw at the start of the pandemic.
“This contributed to the huge shift towards sustainability that we’ve seen, along with a number of other factors including the outcomes of the COP26 conference and changing legislation such as the incoming Plastic Packaging Tax in the UK,” he continues. “We see this as a really positive step forwards – particularly in the cleaning sector for which, while some businesses have made sustainability a priority, there are still many areas that can be improved using the latest product innovation and technology available. As a manufacturer, one area we’re exploring is alternative packaging for our products that will support our business’ targets for reducing plastic waste.
“Interestingly, almost half of our customers (47%) stated that the effectiveness of products was also one of the most critical elements of cleaning sustainably. This is an important distinction to make as we head into 2022 – businesses need to closely evaluate their supply chains and any products or systems they’re looking to introduce with the goal of becoming more sustainable.
“Prioritising procurement of products made from recyclable materials, or those that offer multiple use will help to reduce a business’ overall environmental impact, but the efficacy of a product must be tested against the requirements of the cleaning task to ensure
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