CLEANING & HYGIENE BE CAUTIOUS
Demand for cleaning and hygiene products, including hand sanitisers, gloves, soft tissue and aprons has soared in the pandemic presenting a golden opportunity to rogue traders. The challenge for buyers is to differentiate between the unscrupulous but apparently credible companies and those trading ethically. Lorcan Mekitarian, Chairman of the Cleaning & Hygiene Suppliers Association, offers some straightforward advice. The pandemic has
changed the view of cleaning and hygiene forever.
Our understanding of the importance of and interaction between cleanliness and hygiene is greater than ever before. To break the chain of infection and prevent the spread of disease, we need to adopt a range of hygienic practices, one of which is cleaning.
"THE UK HAND SANITISER MARKET HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS A ‘WILD WEST."
Step one is to make sure the cleaning and hygiene products used are fit for purpose. When the pandemic hit, demand for these products escalated. Whether it was aprons, gloves, hand sanitisers, products for cleaning hard surfaces or soft tissue, people needed more, and they needed it immediately. The unscrupulous made the most of the opportunity.
The UK hand sanitiser market has been described as a ‘wild west’, as organisations with no relevant track record, have turned to the production of alcohol hand gels.
Shiploads of products like masks and gowns have been rejected as not fit for purpose, a consequence of the increase in imported personal protective equipment (PPE) with fake or no CE marking. The CE certification mark indicates conformance with European Union health and safety and environmental protection directives.
There have been extraordinary claims about cleaning chemicals, such as that cleaning once with a hard surface sanitiser will keep a surface sterile for days. It sounds perfect, but it’s only true in laboratory conditions. New methods of application, including fogging and misting, have been described as the panacea but the evidence suggests they are more about the drama of cleaning and hygiene. Buyers and users need to look behind the headline claims.
Our advice to buyers of cleaning and hygiene products who want to avoid these problems is simple - be cautious. At the CHSA, we operate Accreditation Schemes for
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manufacturers of paper-based and woven, plastic- based, and cotton-based products, as well as for manufacturers of cleaning and hygiene chemicals. We also operate an Accreditation Scheme for Distributors of Cleaning and Hygiene Products.
Every CHSA member has also signed our rigorous Code of Practice which requires them to ‘maintain a high standard in the conduct of its business’.
The combination of our Code of Practice and Accreditation Scheme membership means that every member trades ethically and sustainably, provides quality fit-for-purpose products and makes sure what’s on the box is what’s in the box.
Our commitment to standards is underpinned by independent inspection. An auditor, an experienced quality assurance professional, visits every member to ensure compliance. Site visits were challenging last year, but there was no let up. During 2020, he conducted 146 audits, equaling the number conducted in 2019. Members across all the Schemes achieved compliance of 93% or more.
Applications for membership has soared since in the pandemic with new businesses trying to gain credibility. We know membership is a stamp of
WE RECOMMEND TAKING THE FOLLOWING STEPS TO ENSURE THAT YOU PURCHASE QUALITY PRODUCTS THAT ARE FIT FOR PURPOSE.
• Be sceptical about product clams. It if sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
• Ask for evidence to back up product claims. The manufacturer should be willing and able to show you data sheets or other relevant evidence to support the claims made for the product.
• Ask for the CE declaration and any other test reports to show conformance to specification.
• Buy from a reputable supplier with a track record. Getting customer references is always a good idea.
www.tomorrowshs.com
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