SDA study finds wipes usage up.
According to The Soap and Detergent Association's (SDA) 2008 National Cleaning Survey, conducted by Echo Research (ER), people most commonly use wipes to clean, disinfect or sanitize kitchen countertops and appliances, bathroom fixtures, their hands, face and skin, furniture, children, floors, windows and clothing. The results were released at...

Smaller packages, same price for detergents.
* JAPAN: Leading detergent makers are embarking on changes that effectively raise prices of their powder detergent products. According to reports, Procter & Gamble Japan KK will maintain the price of its Bold detergent but will cut it by 100g a package to 1kg starting with September...

Croda.
* Croda: announced the addition of Scott Cardinali as research manager, hair care applications. Mr. Cardinali recently worked for National Starch in the role of manager of its international technical service and technology screening activities. Prior to National Starch, he worked as a consultant for Kline & Company in...

SDA, CSPA blast findings on fabric care, fresheners.
* Research challenging the safety of ingredients in fabric care and air freshener products is deceptive and raises false fears about products that have a long record of safety and effectiveness, according to two reports from The Soap and Detergent Association (SDA) and Consumer Specialty Products Association (CSPA) criticizing...

Unilever to sell North American laundry unit.
Unilever has signed a definitive agreement to sell its North American laundry business in U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico to Vestar Capital Partners. The global private equity firm will merge the business with its existing operation, Huish Detergents Inc., to form a new company, The Sun Products Corporation (Sun...

FMCG cos set sights on aspirational products.
Byline: Ratna Bhushan NEW DELHI: In an attempt to push up their profit margins and to cash in on higher disposable incomes and retail opportunities on offer thanks to modern trade, almost all big launches by major multinational FMCGs, like Hindustan Unilever, Nestle, Reckitt Benckiser, Procter &...

Import of soda ash from the US set to rise soon.
Byline: Ravi Ananthanarayanan In end-March, Tata Chemicals got US regulatory approval for acquiring General Chemicals Industrial Products, a large American producer of soda ash and other chemicals. Detergents maker Nirma snapped up another key player, Searles Valley Minerals. These acquisitions would be just one among many others,...

Capacity of natural fatty alcohols is surplus.
China started the research on the production of natural fatty alcohols in the late 1950s. The capacity of natural fatty alcohols reached 60 000 t/a in 2000. Owing to the rapid development of the synthetic detergent industry, great quantities of alcohol-series surfactants were needed in the recipes of synthetic...

Shampoos eat into toilet soaps' share.
Byline: Namrata Singh MUMBAI: The Rs 6,500 crore Indian toilet soap category has registered a negative growth of 4% in the October-December quarter of 2007, as per ACNielsen's quarterly retail panel, over the same period last year. The volume de-growth has left the industry a little worried,...

FMCG cos set sights on aspirational products.
Byline: Ratna Bhushan NEW DELHI: In an attempt to push up their profit margins and to cash in on higher disposable incomes and retail opportunities on offer thanks to modern trade, almost all big launches by major multinational FMCGs, like Hindustan Unilever, Nestle, Reckitt Benckiser, Procter &...