Brussels, 7 December 2017 – A.I.S.E., the International Association for Soaps, Detergents and Maintenance Products, brought together a wide range of stakeholders at its second Cleaning and Hygiene Forum yesterday. The Forum addressed various perspectives from senior executives on the future of the industry and its innovation opportunities. The call for a truly single market in Europe on a few specific issues notably labelling, as well as a request for business certainty regarding potential legal developments were also shared with representatives from various Authorities.
In a relatively stable market of about €35,6 billion market value, the European detergent and maintenance products industry provides numerous benefits to society in and outside the home: ensuring essential hygiene, protecting health, enabling convenient lifestyles, preserving goods and installations. A.I.S.E.’s Director General, Susanne Zänker introduced the event by saying: "Our industry is key to citizens’ health and needs to be able to continue delivering its products and services and innovate. Our long history of open dialogue and constructive cooperation with all interested stakeholders is a strong asset but we need to also be able to rely on a truly single market for more efficiency and business certainty. We are eager to address our various points with European Authorities, Member States and ECHA to this end.”
In this quest for an adequate EU policy framework, and based on a recently published European Commission survey demonstrating that this sector is disproportionately affected by administrative costs to implement legislation, industry called on EU Authorities and Commissionner Bieńkowska - present at A.I.S.E.’s Forum - to abide by the principles of Better Regulation. A specific zoom was made on three industry priorities namely:
- Preservatives in detergents, calling to secure their future availability.
- Classification and labelling of detergents under CLP, seeking to secure a consistent harmonisation across Europe and an appropriate information to end-users.
- Better regulation and safe use of products, sharing recent consumer findings and calling for a more effective information to consumers.
Looking ahead, Nitin Paranjpe, President, Unilever Home Care Business, stated: "Europeans’ needs and expectations are being re-shaped by deep, accelerating trends. In this context, remaining relevant to people whilst addressing the sustainability challenge will require both audacious responsible innovations and a supportive legislative framework. Opportunities, such as today, to discuss how much legislation supports innovation, are therefore particularly precious”.
In her conlusion, Commissionner Bieńkowska invited the A.I.S.E. audience to: "Be creative, be innovative and a leading force of innovation in your sector”.
Commissionner Elżbieta Bieńkowska visiting the A.I.S.E. exhibition on the benefits of cleaning and hygiene products in and outside the home, together with Susanne Zaenker
(A.I.S.E.’s Director General) and Arndt Scheidgen (A.I.S.E.’s President)
For more information:
For enquiries:
+32 2 679 2015