FEATURE
Our Standards. Your Guarantee.
Lorcan Mekitarian, Chair of the Cleaning & Hygiene Suppliers Association (CHSA), explains why accreditation schemes are vital for the industry.
Maintaining standards is at the heart of everything the CHSA does. In 1997 we launched our first Accreditation Scheme. It was for manufacturers of Soft Tissue products and gave the buyers of these products the confidence that ‘what’s on the box is what’s in the box’.
Today we have six Accreditation Schemes.
They are for manufacturers of paper-based and woven products, plastic-based products, cotton-based products and cleaning chemicals, for general manufacturers, and for distributors of cleaning and hygiene products.
The integrity of our schemes is very important. It’s why in 2021, our Independent Inspector conducted 143 audits, checking more than 3800 individual products, and found high compliance with each Scheme and our Code of Practice. This means we can guarantee our members:
• Trade ethically and sustainably; •
Provide quality, fit for purpose products; • Make sure ‘what’s on the box is what’s in the box’.
We also conduct due diligence on every new applicant to the Association, confirming all marketing and product claims can be substantiated by hard evidence, for example EN test results. This detailed due diligence became increasingly important in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Supply chain pressure When the pandemic hit, demand for cleaning and hygiene products soared overnight. People urgently needed hand sanitisers, gloves, soft tissue, aprons, gowns, wipes, clinical waste sacks, and cleaning chemicals in vast quantities.
This unprecedented demand presented a huge challenge. Struggling with the constraints of the lockdown themselves, our members worked hard to manufacture and distribute essential products to the frontline, but raw materials and component parts were under severe pressure, pushing supply chains to the limits.
The pressure was intense. Understanding this and the intrinsic complexities of the supply chain, our members knew it was impossible, in the short term, to satisfy all orders. Instead of hiking prices and chasing the highest payer, they stayed loyal to long-term customers, rationing
supply where and when necessary.
Unscrupulous opportunities In contrast, others saw an enormous opportunity, a way to generate much needed turnover when nominal income streams dried up. It’s understandable but worrying when they don’t know the market, the regulations, or what constitutes a ‘fit for purpose’ product. They didn’t want to miss out, whatever the consequences.
They set up new companies overnight, claiming expertise while unable to check or audit their suppliers. They imported product unseen and sold them online, often with a high markup. More troubling were dubious claims of product efficacy and the way many products simply didn’t meet the regulatory requirements. This wasn’t helped by the Brexit fog of transferring EU regulations back onto UK statute books.
Extraordinary claims were made for cleaning chemicals. These included keeping an area clean and sterile for days – if not months. In the uncertainty and fear around the virus, it’s no wonder buyers were grabbing at these products, yet they were not the panacea they claimed.
Buying product from new, unknown suppliers claiming good stocks of compliant or effective products might have sounded good, but with no guarantee they offered any protection from the virus, the goods were rejected as not fit for purpose.
Seeking credibility, these companies applied for CHSA membership. The due diligence we undertook proved crucial. It meant only those companies with a clear track record and making valid, evidence-based claims for their products were accepted for an audit by our Independent Inspector.
Advice for buyers By maintaining the integrity of our membership in this way, we have been able to give buyers under extreme pressure the assurances they need. They can continue to trust the Accreditation Scheme mark.
Beyond recommending buyers of cleaning and hygiene products look for the Accreditation Scheme mark, our advice is simple: be cautious.
www.chsa.co.uk 40 | TOMORROW’S CLEANING PRODUCTS & SERVICES GUIDE 2022
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