Ecover makes café Waldorf sparkle
AMSTERDAM – Most cleaning products are ridiculously bad for the environment. What we think we get rid of by chucking down our sinks, returns like a bad film sequel to pollute our environment. Luckily, you can get your house sparkling clean with cleaning products that wash away safely. For example, Ecover’s products.
We told Ecover about Strawberries & Cream and they’ve decided to chip in and donate a free eco-cleaning pack to café Waldorf. Three cheers for our Belgian cleaning experts!!!
Chocolates, beer, harmonica players, cleaning products, is there no end to what Belgium has to offer??
Although I use Ecover myself, for lack of a better alternative, we have to keep in mind that Ecover uses a lot of palm oil for the production of its detergents. We all know that palm oil is a controversial resource, due to the large impact its production has on the natural habitats and social systems in Asia. This alone was the reason for the founder of Ecover, Gunther Pauli, to leave the company. Best is to wash as little as possible…
Dear readers,
I thought it was necessary to react on Ruud’s comments regarding Ecover’s use of Palm Oil and the sustainability aspect of palm oil in general.
To simply put the record straight, with no intention whatsoever of engaging in a polemic, I would like to start off by saying that the portion of palm oil derived surfactants in our products is declining. So, it is a mistake to presume that the majority of our products are based on palm oil derived surfactants.
The palm oil used for surfactant production is exclusively supplied by members of the RSPO (The Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil, http://www.rspo.org ) and last year Ecover became a member of this organisation. We certainly do not proclaim that our membership resolves the issues surrounding palm oil but, if nothing else, it is a step in the right direction. It is our firm belief that palm oil, as well as other raw materials that are primarily part of the food cycle, should not be used to produce surfactants. Therefore we support and conduct research into the revaluation of biomass to make surfactants, and needless to say that this is easier said than done.
Secondly, I would like to react on the comment regarding Gunter Pauli, who was involved in Ecover during the period 1992 - 1993. Mr. Pauli is not the founder of Ecover, which was founded in 1980, by Mr. Frans Bogaerts. Whether the above-raised issue regarding palm oil was his actual reason for leaving or not fifteen years ago is his personal opinion, and quite frankly, has no bearing on how our company operates today nor in the future.
Being a sustainable company requires constant drive for innovation and improvement. It is a step-by-step process.
And on a final note, yes, I would agree with Ruud and try to wash as little as possible. But when you do, at least do it right.
Best regards,
Mick Bremans
CEO Ecover