It’s not always well known, but regular household cleaners, such as washing up products and washing powders, can have a considerable impact on the environment. Many cleaning products are based on chemicals that can have a serious impact on wildlife. When you use these chemicals to clean your house, they’ll eventually be rinsed down the drain and most pollutants will typically be removed from the water by wastewater treatment. However, some chemical compounds will remain and make their way to rivers, ponds, and lakes, affecting animals and their natural habitats. The picture is not all bleak though. Some manufacturers have started tackling the issue by making products that are more sustainable. In Belgium, for example, Ecover is working hard to revolutionise the cleaning industry – here’s what the company does to make the world of cleaning even cleaner.
Name: Ecover
Description: Cleaning products manufacturer
HQ Location: Malle, Belgium
Making cleaning products cleaner
Committed to keeping water clean, Ecover has focused on removing phosphate, a highly polluting chemical compound, from its cleaning products. But that’s not all. The company makes sure to use ingredients that can biodegrade in wastewater treatment facilities and septic systems. Ecover is also on a mission to stop using palm oil. The manufacturer has been replacing the harmful ingredient with rapeseed oil and as a result, Ecover has managed to reduce its palm oil use by 200 tons a year.
In addition to using sustainable ingredients, Ecover uses recycled plastic to make its bottles more ethical. But the fight against single-use plastic doesn’t stop there. The manufacturer has refill stations across the UK to encourage people to reuse their containers and reduce their plastic footprint.
Fighting for fairer and cleaner sourcing
Ecover doesn’t just care about what’s in its ingredients, the company also cares about where they come from. And to ensure everything is sourced ethically, Ecover buys local whenever it can. If ingredients cannot be found in Belgium, they’ll typically be sourced somewhere else in Europe, and that way carbon emissions from transport are kept to a minimum.
At Wealthify, we’re also doing our part for the environment and society. We offer Ethical Investment Plans and Ethical Stocks and Shares ISAs that let you invest in companies that are working hard to make the world a better place. Our Ethical Investment Plans also aim to screen out activities that can be harmful to the environment and society, such as tobacco, gambling, weapons, and adult entertainment. We also use investment funds that exclude a larger range of activities like deforestation and animal testing. Here’s more on what investments our Ethical Plans contain and exclude.
Companies committed to driving positive change are more common than you might think! Check out our blog about Fairphone’s ethical standards.
If you want to learn more about Ecover, head here: https://www.ecover.com/
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