Goal: Increasing Transparency

Cleaning is more than just removing dirt. It provides essential hygiene that supports and improves health, and prevents the spread of illness. As companies providing essential products to society, we must balance this essential benefit with any potential adverse risks.

Goal: Increase transparency to provide people with the information they need to make informed decisions.

Consumers want to see the evidence of safe, effective products that have been made with respect for people and the environment. One of our key goals is to be a more transparent industry, strengthening trust, providing ingredient communication, and helping purchasers choose cleaning products with confidence.

A Future People Want

Bringing a product into your home to potentially use near your family is a very personal decision. Our homes are our sanctuaries, and maintaining them as a safe and clean environment is critical. People are looking for ways to clean well, at a good price and without harm to those they love or the environment.

In the U.S., ingredient information was not a required element on cleaning product labels. This has led to inconsistency around the amount and quality of information available on products, resulting in confusion among purchasers. In 2010, ACI helped develop an initiative for sharing information about ingredients. This was quickly and widely adopted by ACI members.

Our research has suggested that most people are moderately confident that they are choosing products  that are safe, but some are not confident at all. And rightfully so – people increasingly want to know more about what they are bringing into their homes. This includes information about ingredients, their function and any risks that should be considered.

We recognize that our members have a responsibility to provide the information consumers seek, and we are committed to meeting that need.

Listening and Adapting

In 2019, ACI reached out to consumers to understand their preferences, especially around transparency. It is clear that consumers are seeking better, more detailed information – on ingredients, their purpose, their safety and their potential to cause an allergic reaction. People want to be confident they are bringing home a product they can trust. With these new insights and expectations, our approach is changing, and that change is already underway.

Over the last few years, we have engaged and influenced all kinds of policymakers in their pursuit of new disclosure approaches designed so that people have the information they need when making a purchase. Within the next year, more information than ever will be available for cleaning products sold across the U.S. While we are confident this is the right approach, it will be important to monitor how the new information supports people’s trust in safe, effective cleaning products and promotes confidence in their purchases. Work is also still needed to ensure consistency with how the information is provided across the U.S.

As a result of the new laws, more information will be readily available, including:

• Lists of all ingredients intentionally added to the product
• The function or purpose of each ingredient within the product
• More details about fragrance ingredients that could cause allergies or be of possible concern
• Identification of ingredients or contaminates of possible concern
• Additional scientific details, like what is currently provided in the Cleaning Product Ingredient Safety Initiative.