The Sirius Effect:

This past month we have seen—tragically—how something as insignificant as a minor cough can become an international health crisis. But we have also seen people coming together and helping each other in ways that are as surprising as they are beautiful.  And this is why we will continue to do what we can in order to keep your supply chains running. The manufacturing of cleaning agents, disinfectants, and water treatment are critical to fighting diseases. And the marketing of detergents can support this. Technically and commercially, we’re all together in the safekeeping of our fellow citizens.

If there is any lesson to be taken from the COVID-19 crisis, it is to wash your hands.  As an enveloped virus, the 2019-nCov virus is highly susceptible to detergents and bleach, which is important for hospital laundry, but could also be important to consumers. The virus is known to linger on various surfaces for a number of days, although it is not certain how long it persists in clothing. Nevertheless, some experts recommend using a detergent with a strong bleaching component to be sure that the virus is gone from your clothes.

For our powdered detergent producers, then, sodium percarbonate could be marketed as an active bleaching component.  In liquids, sodium percarbonate is unusable because of its instability in water. Liquid detergents, even the concentrated versions, are 90% water, after all—a fact which can no longer be met with indifference in these germ-conscious times.  But despite this, and the cost-effectiveness of powders versus liquid detergents, it must be admitted that there is something appealing, soothingly technological, about a bottle of a bright blue-purple liquid, especially when compared to a boring white powder. Somehow, it just seems as if it should do more. When polled, consumers still believe that the liquids work better than powders, even if they don’t. Part of it may be articles like this one, which promotes liquid detergents as being better for the washer than powders.

 What most consumers do not seem to realize is how much boring, white powders have changed.  Emphasizing the use of sustainable ingredients, or biodegradable ingredients, can make these more appealing for the environmentally-conscious consumer. Stressing the lower powder dosage resulting in equal performance and the more efficient packing of powders in square boxes compared to bottles, resulting in lower CO2-footprint add to this appeal. The addition of brightly-colored sodium sulfate to a powder can make the product more visually appealing. In addition, Sirius sells a number of colored soap forms in a variety of shapes and sizes, to make your detergent powders look as powerful as they secretly are. And for whatever the mood you want to instill. The addition of foaming agents, to create suds, may not be strictly necessary for cleaning, but people associate foaming with soap and cleaning, and being able to see foaming in the washer can provide a sense of satisfaction that cleaning is happening.

The current crisis may seem far-removed from the mundane task of doing laundry. Laundry will not save lives in this crisis like N95 masks or ventilators. But it does break the virus’ capsule and it does keep our towels and clothes clean.  The small, everyday things are what keep us grounded when it seems like the end of the world is near.  They remind us that the world has not ended, it is paused.

© Copyright Sirius International Detergents BV | Sirius International Water Treatment BV
+31(0)355485898 | info@siriusint.com | http://www.siriusint.com

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