Sustainable formulations for cleaning and personal care products

Specialty chemicals company LANXESS will be at the SEPAWA Congress in Berlin showcasing its comprehensive portfolio of active ingredients and formulations for household cleaning products, detergents and fabric softeners as well as cosmetics and personal care products. Its range runs the gamut from traditional technologies with highly efficient conventional preservatives to completely natural and nature-identical products.

“Our extensive range of preservatives for home and personal care products forms the basis for any preservation strategy. In addition to our classic product portfolio, we will also be presenting innovative developments that cater to the current demand for natural products,” says Anneliese Bischof, Head of the Care business line at LANXESS. “We have sustainability covered as well, offering custom solutions to protect both people and products against microbes, mold and bacteria.”

Focus on sustainability

Neolone BioG Preservative meets the requirements of Scopeblue, the in-house sustainability label at LANXESS. With a share of sustainable raw materials of more than 50 percent, it is climate-friendly. Another product highlight is the Olus line, which originates in Brazil and consists of 100 percent natural or renewable raw materials. The combination of the extracts and the essential oils supports the microbiological integrity of a wide range of cosmetic formulations.

Mass-balanced products make for a smaller carbon footprint

For its entire portfolio of flavors and fragrances, preservatives and animal nutrition products, the LANXESS Flavors & Fragrances (F&F) business unit is offering sustainable product variants until the end of 2023. Another key LANXESS product for home care products is Kalaguard SB, a nature-identical preservative. The sodium benzoate that it contains effectively stops bacteria, yeast and mold at pH levels up to 7.0 (neutral). This preservative stands out from the crowd thanks to its user-friendly properties, because it is non-allergenic and readily biodegradable. Kalaguard SB is also listed for use in environmentally friendly certification programs such as the EPA’s Safer Choice, the EU Ecolabel, Ecocert and Nordic Swan, which makes it the ideal choice for environmentally sound formulations.

“The renewable version of Kalaguard shows a Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) reduced by 100 percent which will contribute to reduce the total PCF of any cleaning product containing Kalaguard,” says Catherine Rémy, Head of Global Marketing at F&F. “With the introduction of ISCC PLUS products with mass balance certification, we are meeting demand for gentle, effective and environmentally friendly preservatives for detergents and cleaning products, as well as the cosmetics and fragrance industries.”

Concentrated expertise in multifunctional ingredients

Demand for gentler and more sustainable products is on the rise on the market for cosmetics and personal care products. That’s why more and more multifunctional ingredients are being used to cut down on or even entirely replace traditional ingredients. Understanding the benefits that each one offers, as well as the amounts required, is crucial. One long-running innovation project involved a network of global research and development labs analyzing various novel ingredients. Dr. Ziang Li, Manager of Application Technology at MPP, will be giving a poster presentation (poster no. 61) in the Personal Care/Preservatives category exploring the full range of possibilities offered by multifunctional testing. The goal is to offer customers in the personal care industry new solutions that meet consumer requirements.

Biodegradable dispersing and complexing agents

”To support our customers to cut their product carbon footprints , LANXESS has calculated the PCFs for the products in the cleaner and water treatment industry such as Baypure, Bayhibit and Mersolat,” says Volker Gniss, Business Manager for Marketing at the LANXESS Polymer Additives (PLA) business unit. “In addition, Baypure CX stands out with a very positive score in the Life Cycle Assessment according to DIN ISO 14044 last amended 2020.”

Biomimetic chemistry was the force behind the dispersing and complexing agents in the Baypure series. “Baypure products are therefore eco-friendly and readily biodegradable. Their most important structural base is the nature-identical amino acid aspartic acid,” says Dr. Ralf-Johann Moritz of PLA. They stabilize the bleaching system in modern dish soap and washing detergents and stop the dirt that has been removed from being redeposited on the fabrics. They also reduce water hardness and prevent the precipitation of lime and other poorly soluble calcium salts. Phosphonates in the Bayhibit series also make for ideal stabilizing additives in washing detergents and cleaning products. Thanks to their stability in concentrated solutions and bleaching agents at high temperatures, they not only are widely used for industrial-scale bottle cleaning, they also constitute an ingredient of special cleaners used in the food service industry.

Healthcare by Saltigo – long-lasting and yet gentle protection against insect bites

Mosquito and tick bites are unpleasant enough as it is, but what’s much more concerning is when insect bites transmit dangerous diseases. Fortunately, consumers can obtain effective protection against them. Saltigo’s insect repellent Saltidin is ideal for producers of not only insect repellent products but also cosmetics looking to supplement their product portfolios with a gentle and effective healthcare product. “Products containing Saltidin provide long-lasting protection against insects and ticks that transmit the pathogens that cause diseases such as dengue fever, malaria and Lyme disease,” says Dr. Laura Kloeters, Technical Product Manager for Saltidin at Saltigo GmbH. ”It’s also highly effective and yet still gentle, making it ideal for use in an array of cosmetic formulations – a quite remarkable combination.” The active ingredient, which goes by the trade name Icaridin, is recommended by numerous national and international health organizations as an effective prophylaxis. Thanks to its outstanding cosmetic characteristics, it can be used for the production of insect repellents for the entire family. Kloeters, who is an expert in active ingredients, will also be giving a poster presentation (poster no. 60) on the subject.

The SEPAWA Congress is Europe’s premier gathering for the detergent/cleaning agent, cosmetics and fragrance industries. This year will mark the 70th anniversary of the event. There will be numerous talks and poster presentations providing international experts with opportunities to report on recent research findings and innovative developments. In the exhibition area, more than 300 companies will be showcasing the latest products, trends and extensive expertise. There will be a host of opportunities for networking at the Congress, offering the possibility of establishing and building upon professional and personal relationships.