Members of the Cleaning & Hygiene Suppliers Association’s (CHSA) Accreditation Schemes for Soft Tissue and Cleaning Chemicals have tightened the membership criteria. As well as guaranteeing ‘what’s on the box is what’s in the box’, members of these Schemes have now also committed to adhering to quality, environment, health and safety, and regulatory standards.
The changes were introduced following unanimous decisions taken at the Scheme Annual General Meetings by members to tighten the entry criteria to these CHSA Accreditation Schemes.
Specifically, members of these Schemes will now have to provide evidence of business systems and processes through certification, such as ISO 9001 or ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 where relevant. They will also have to evidence compliance with regulations such as the Detergent Regulations and the Classification, Labelling and Packaging regulation where relevant, and evidence efficacy claims.
Lorcan Mekitarian, chair of the CHSA, explained: “Our primary focus is to raise and maintain standards in our industry. In the context of the uncertain and complex economic environment we have seen an increasing number of companies cut corners to cut prices. In addition, the pandemic changed the market for cleaning chemicals as companies made all sorts of claims without evidence to back them up. This has continued and been accelerated by the demand for sustainable solutions. The changes our members have introduced to these Accreditation address these challenges. Buyers who look for the Accreditation Mark can be certain product claims can be evidenced, the company operates certified businesses systems and processes and ‘what’s on the box is what’s in the box’.”
These, and all the CHSA’s Accreditation Scheme are now open for applications.
This change follows the CHSA’s introduction of an ethical audit requirement. This change was unanimously supported by all manufacturing scheme members at their recent Annual General Meetings. All manufacturing facilities producing CHSA Accredited Product must now have a ‘2 Pillar SMETA Audit’ completed by the end of 2025. It covers labour standards and health and safety, working conditions and the fair treatment of workers. The workplace safety measures and occupational health standards will also be assessed.
The ethical audit is known as a SMETA Audit (Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit, which has been used by UK retailers for many years to monitor their supply chains. More than 85,000 businesses from across the world have made Sedex their trusted partner in creating a more socially and environmentally sustainable supply chain.
The CHSA’s Accreditation Schemes are for manufacturers of paper-based products, plastic-based products, cotton-based products, and cleaning chemicals, and for distributors of cleaning and hygiene products. They guarantee ‘what’s on the box is what’s in the box’.
The CHSA has integrated the Competition & Markets Authority’s Green Claims Code into its rigorous Code of Practice, which is signed by every member.
The combination of the Code of Practice and Accreditation Scheme membership means every member:
- Trades ethically and sustainably;
- Provides quality, fit for purpose products; and
- Makes sure what’s on the box is what’s in the box.
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