Ecover: Sustainable cleaning products scale up into a multinational

Main Theme

Sub-theme: Sustainable cleaning products; packaging; bulk

Abstract

Ecover is a Belgian company founded in 1979 by a group of scientists and environmental enthusiasts following the discovery that phosphates in conventional detergents were causing harm to aquatic life and waterways per se. From the beginning, the brand focused on creating detergents that were not only phosphate-free, but could be progressively more sustainable. Ecover manufactures detergents and cleaners for laundry, dishwashing, household cleaning, and personal hygiene. All its products are biodegradable, and the “Zero” line is free of fragrances, dyes and enzymes that can cause allergies.

In 1992 the United Nations decided to include the company in the Global 500 Roll of Honor list for outstanding achievements in protecting and enhancing the environment. Other milestones in the company’s history include the “Steal our formula” campaign in 2000, which challenged its competitors to commit to making more sustainable cleaning products by making the ingredient list of its products public, as well as the creation of new eco-surfactant from sugar fermentation instead of petroleum in 2009.

While in the early years, the company’s main focus was on formulating cleaning products that were increasingly less impactful on the environment, over time, the growing concern about plastic pollution began to take its place in the company’s policies. Ecover is now a B-Corp, and even if they do not speak explicitly through its communication about a circular economy, it aims to close the loop.

Sustainable Development Goals Chart

Main Highlights

Problem: Creating a cleaning product that doesn’t harm the waterways and the aquatic life

Context: In 1979, there was massive use of phosphates in cleaning products and green or sustainable detergents were uncommon

Solution: Ecover pioneered the green cleaning product market and became one of the most influential brands in Europe

Impact Statement: In 1993, they were included in the UN Global 500 Roll of Honour for outstanding achievements in protecting and improving the environment, discovered and patented a new eco-surfactant and aim now at using 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging by 2025

Systems Perspective: Being part of a multinational group like SC Johnson allows Ecover to invest in research and development and outreach programs, but it could also act as a token for the global company in a greenwashing strategy

Case Overview

All pictures in this case come from the Ecover website and social media channels. See links at page 9.

Ecover is a Belgian company founded in 1979 by a group of scientists and environmental enthusiasts following the discovery that phosphates in conventional detergents were causing harm to aquatic life and waterways per se. From the beginning, the brand focused on creating detergents that were not only phosphate-free but could be progressively more sustainable. A commitment that the company maintains after more than 40 years, despite the significant change in scale: grown from a small local company to a mainstream brand in Belgium back in the 1980s, Ecover has been part of the SC Johnson Group since 2017.
Ecover manufactures detergents and cleaners for laundry, dishwashing, household cleaning, and personal hygiene. All its products are biodegradable, and the “Zero” line is free of fragrances, dyes and enzymes that can cause allergies.

In 1992 the company built its production plant in Malle, Belgium, for the increased sales volumes, which featured high ecological performance for the time and was further improved over time. In addition, the United Nations decided to include the company in the Global 500 Roll of Honor list for outstanding achievements in protecting and enhancing the environment. This is the first of many awards the brand has received throughout its history. Other milestones in the company’s history include the “Steal our formula” campaign in 2000, which challenged its competitors to commit to making more sustainable cleaning products by making the ingredient list of its products public, as well as the creation of new eco-surfactant from sugar fermentation instead of petroleum in 2009.

While in the early years, the company’s main focus was on formulating cleaning products that were increasingly less impactful on the environment, over time, the growing concern about plastic pollution began to take its place in the company’s policies. Ecover, in fact, began several experiments in making packaging more recyclable, then incorporating increasing amounts of second-use plastic and also experimenting with plant-derived bioplastic.

In addition, the company has initiated several projects together with environmental associations to protect water and oceans, such as WaterAid. But that’s not all: they realized a limited edition of Ecover dishwashing detergent, the container of which is made of “Ocean plastic.” The plastic is collected in collaboration with the European “Waste Free Oceans” project, which strives for a safe and fair collection of waste from the sea. European fishermen are paid to catch plastic from different European seas and deliver it to port collection points. This provides two to eight tons of plastic waste per fishing trip, which can be used by Ecover but also for other downcycling projects.

In addition, Ecover has espoused the refill philosophy through the possibility of purchasing its detergents in bulk from a vast network of stores in Belgium, the U.K., and France. The company does not speak explicitly through its communication about a circular economy, but it does aim to achieve closing the loop. Having obtained B-Corp certification, the company also controls its energy, water and carbon impact consumption at all times. It is committed to working with suppliers who can guarantee high environmental performance. In addition, raw and secondary raw materials are sourced as locally as possible, that is, in Belgium or within the European territory.

Impact Statement

Some figures and commitments from the company:

They were included in the UN Global 500 Roll of Honour for outstanding achievements in protecting and improving the environment
They are launching a 100% recycled plastic (PCR), recyclable, washing-up liquid bottle
They are working towards using 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging by 2025
They are working with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation
They discovered and patented a new eco-surfactant
They cut their use of responsibly-sourced palm-oil by over 200 tons using locally sourced alternatives

Systems Perspective

In 2021, the global household cleaners market was valued at about 38 billion U.S. dollars. The value of this market has been expanding in recent years and is projected to keep growing, reaching roughly 47 billion U.S. dollars by 2026. Statista, a provider of market and consumer data, says, “Demand for cleaning products continues to grow, partly due to consumer awareness concerning the importance of hygiene and the spread of infectious diseases. The global market is benefiting from an increased focus on the importance of sanitary conditions and the need to disinfect household surfaces.”

While the increase in the use of cleaning products is also due to the Covid-19 pandemic, so for the protection of human health, it cannot be said that this is necessarily a good thing on all fronts. The environmental impact of detergent use is vast and has long been problematic. Detergents and cleaning products, in general, to work, contain surfactants that increase the degreasing power of the product. Some of these are petrochemical in origin, are non-biodegradable and have a high impact on the environment both during extraction and release. In addition to surfactants, other synthetic substances found in detergents can also be a problem for the environment. For example, ammonia, widely used in household surface stain removers, is made from nitrogen and hydrogen, often obtained from fossil sources. Industrial waste generated during production can end up in soils, seeping down to the water table, again polluting rivers and seas and creating problems for flora and fauna. According to a recent scientific paper (Mousavi, Khodadoost, 2019), “Detergents affect fauna and flora, and they have direct and indirect effects on ecosystems. Eutrophication, foaming, and altering parameters such as temperature, salinity, turbidity, and pH are more important, and their effects need to be managed and controlled. Researchers confirmed that aerobic processes are able to degrade the most of detergents but anaerobic degradation is not possible because of restricted metabolic pathways and toxicity of them. Therefore, production of environment-friendly detergent is an important issue around the world.”

It is encouraging, however, to see how sustainability is increasingly becoming one of the most critical purchasing factors among consumers worldwide. In fact, there are a growing number of companies offering green cleaning products (see also Everdrop case), from micro businesses on a local/national scale to brands such as Ecover that, over their 40-year history, have decided to grow in volume to become part of a multinational corporate giant such as SC Johnson.

This is not necessarily a sustainability choice, partly because of the following reasons:

1) S.C. Jonhson offers, for the most part, a range of non-sustainable products – and therefore, it is reasonable to think that the acquisition is part of a plan to diversify the portfolio of subsidiaries to follow the growing market trend for environmentally friendly products; and

2) entering the North American market without apparently changing production conditions (i.e., the three factories in Belgium, France, and Switzerland) means importing cleaning products overseas, with all that this entails in terms of carbon footprint. Nonetheless, the benefits associated with being part of a multinational group include funding for research and development of increasingly sustainable solutions, as well as initiating communication and marketing campaigns that affect consumer behaviour on a broad scale; thus, ultimately helping to create greater attention and awareness towards everyday products and their environmental impact.

Sources:

Mousavi, S.A., Khodadoost, F. Effects of detergents on natural ecosystems and wastewater treatment processes: a review. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 26439–26448 (2019).

https://www.statista.com/markets/415/topic/470/cleaning-products/#statistic1