Enhance the sustainability profile of cleaning products

The demand is increasing for eco-friendly and sustainable ingredients for home care applications as more and more brands become transparent about what their products contain. CFF’s Technocel range brings a new planet- and people-friendly dimension to the market, with 100% biodegradable cellulose fibres for cleaning and laundry applications.

Eco-friendly products are highly valued in today’s world. Their popularity in the home care category continues to grow. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, people are spending a lot more time at home and as a result, they are looking for home cleaning and laundry products formulated with biodegradable ingredients instead of the harsh abrasive chemical formulations of the past. This trend is challenging home care brands to look for more ethical and responsible sources of ingredients, not forgetting the ban on microplastics which is another key point of consideration for brands.

CFF’s Technocel natural fibres for cleaning products and detergents bring non-abrasive cleansing properties to home care formulations. The fibres are produced from cellulose, a natural, vegan and pure raw material sourced from the regenerative material of wood.

Technocel fibres are 100% biodegradable, planet-friendly ingredients, making them non-hazardous to humans and nature. The mature production process used by CFF allows the company to achieve fibre lengths of 8µm to 2 000µm and supports the development of customised products. For home care applications and detergents, the white range includes various pure cellulose powders and fibres, fibre granules as well as wood fibres with a particle size of 30µm to 500µm.

These fibres from CFF are cold processable and fit in perfectly with the trend towards solid formulations, which are developed to save water and natural resources, and which use refillable and reusable packaging.

Figure 1: Biodegradability test in freshwater conditions at 20°C, according to DIN EN ISO 14851

The 100% biodegradability of Technocel fibres has been verified in freshwater conditions and takes place within one to two months, according to ISO 14851 (see Figure 1). Furthermore, according to the UNEP definition, the cellulose fibres are free of microplastics.

A sustainable business

CFF, with two production sites in Thuringia and Belgium, is a strong partner for natural and functional celluloses in a wide variety of industries. The company supports customers with innovative solutions for all their individual requests and uses high-quality cellulose fibres from renewable raw materials.

In South Africa, the sole agent of CFF’s products for the home care market is Savannah Fine Chemicals. CFF is a leader in the development of sustainable technologies and is both an energy efficient and eco-friendly business. Its responsible and efficient energy consumption is based on ISO 50001:2011, with the view to reduce its energy use on a long-term basis.

CFF’s environmental policy is focused on the continuous improvement of environmental protection, both internally at the company and externally at its partners. It has made a commitment to the sustainable use of energy and to manufacturing its cellulose products using resource-conserving processes and sustainable production methods, which include physical grinding without the use of chemicals.

By taking part in the regional sustainability agreement of Thuringia, CFF supports a stronger ecological awareness of treating natural resources with care. This also involves the responsible selection of plant-based ingredients, which include FSC-certified resources from sustainably managed forests within the regions where it operates. •

WHY YOU SHOULD CHOOSE CFF’S TECHNOCEL NATURAL FIBRES

Functional properties:

• disintegration aid for rapid tablet decay

• scouring agent in detergents

• anti-caking agent

• carrier material for detergent powders (e.g. carpet cleanser)

• compaction aid

Technological properties:

• high mechanical absorption

• retention of water and oil

• structural viscosity through the formation of a 3D fibre network

• chemically inert and biodegradable

• no REACH and SVHC declaration required

• physiologically harmless.

CFF – www.cff.de/en Savannah Fine Chemicals – www.savannah.co.za