Sales of sustainable cleaning products increases sixfold

Manufacturers of sustainable cleaning products have seen an increase in sales of up to 6 times between 2021 and the previous year. Based in Catalonia, these companies have been mostly selling abroad, as the domestic market did not have "the same interest," or at least until now.

Companies believe the climate emergency is one of the reasons that has pushed a change in mentality among consumers. Another reason is the similarities between conventional and ecological products and a constant reduction of the price on the latter.

"We focused on international sales as there was not the same interest among distributors in the domestic market," Joan Fàbrega, commercial director at Incasa told the Catalan News Agency (ACN).

Incasa is a Catalan company based in Santa Margarida i els Monjos, nearby Barcelona. The business was the first one to receive the European Union ‘ECO’ certificate and has been producing sustainable products for over a decade.

But with the Covid-19 pandemic, everything changed. In 2021, the company saw an increase in domestic sales, but Fàbrega points out that the increase does not come as a surprise as "the presence of these products at supermarkets was really low."

"We are just at the start of the surge, in years to come we’ll see huge demand," the commercial director said to ACN.

Effervescent cleaning tablets

Created in 2016 out of a research project, Baula manufactures effervescent cleaning tablets since 2018. Two years later, with the start of the pandemic its sales went up 17 times more and in 2021 sales kept increasing up to six times.

Baula products are exported to 27 European countries and this year the business is expecting to open new commercial agreements in America.

"Europe has led the way and has confirmed to us that we were not wrong," Jordi Caparrós, CEO at Baula said to ACN, referring to when they started manufacturing the product.

Consumers are not the only ones to blame

Carelli 2007 manufactures detergents, glass cleaners, dishwashers, and even air fresheners in water-soluble capsules from Catalonia’s inland town of Vic, and its white-label brand products have seen a surge in sales. Sales accounted for 10% of the total earnings in 2020, but this proportion rose to 30% last year.

Consumers are not always the ones who spark the rise in sales, “you hope that large distributors push for the product," CEO Elisabet Jordà said to ACN.

Online sales have meant an opportunity for the business as they already sell worldwide, especially in France and Portugal, and are "studying new markets," Jordà added.

Pandemic changed mentalities

Manufacturers agree that the Covid-19 pandemic has changed their customers' minds as people are now more conscious and choose to buy more sustainable products.

"People have realized that an unbalanced system creates a problem so being more sustainable is a necessary solution," Elisabet Jordà explained.

This is especially true for younger generations as "they are more understanding of the message that the planet needs to be protected," Joan Fàbrega added.