Cleaning is an activity that is very underrated among a lot of people especially the youth. It could be referring to cleaning your bathroom, doing the dishes, kitchen, car and just cleaning in general. As more people become independent and educated, they see the importance of it. It helps avoiding allergies, breathing issues, keeps the germs at bay and just in general gives you happiness that only a clean place can. The current Covid-19 pandemic has contributed heavily to expanding the cleaning products industry due to several reasons. It has shown us a completely different way of living, which has made us explore our options and change a lot of habits, hopefully for good.
Impact of Covid-19
The Covid-19 pandemic hit the world very quickly in a matter of few months and changed the way we lived our lives forever. We are creatures of habit and having to give up on some of those habits was very difficult for most but also necessary. Some of these habits include maintaining cleanliness and hygiene in our work as well as personal surroundings. The need to stay clean at all times because of the fear of the virus made the entire world develop a cleaning routine on a regular which meant party time for the cleaning products industry. Thousands of new cleaning products popped up all over the world including our very own India.
India has always been a very large consumer market and with every new, growing generation, the awareness and the concerns that revolve around sustainability have grown too. People nowadays are more aware of the impacts of certain ingredients/products and how they contribute to not only internal self-damage but also air pollution and water pollution. The global green cleaning products industry has seen a very rapid growth in the year 2020-2021. People want to go green for various reasons – concern for our environment and concern for one self and loved ones are some of the top ones, closely followed by concerns for our future and future generations. The demand for eco-friendly household cleaners has grown as people are starting to understand and become more aware of the consequences of the toxic chemicals that are generally used in the traditional household cleaners.
Covid-19 pandemic has affected the cleaning products industry majorly, but not the only, in the following manner:
- Product
The household cleaners, particularly floor cleaners and toilet bowl cleaners, are becoming more innovative and have seen maximum sales due to the pandemic. Manufacturers are becoming more aware of the market and are trying to fulfill the demand for good, high-quality and safe products in the form of green cleaners.
- Form
Gone are the olden days when people used to use a bar of detergent to do their dishes or use detergent powder to do their washings. It is all about liquid nowadays and it is a popular form mainly due to its convenience in both producing as well as using.
- Distribution Channel
With the pandemic came the lockdowns and with lockdowns came the growth in online sales. More and more people were forced to use online platforms like Amazon and Flipkart to get their essentials that led to all products becoming available online, soon becoming a very convenient and popular channel of distribution. In addition to that, social media and Google Ads have also played a big role in pushing the online sales upwards.
Future of the Industry
Judging from the increase in the current trends of the cleaning products industry, there is no doubt that this habit is here to stay on a long-term basis and so are the products. The cleaning products industry in general was prioritized in 2020 to fight Covid-19 but the year also saw an increase in demand of sustainable cleaning products globally. According to the several experts around the world, the sustainable cleaning products are only going to become more sustainable and more innovative to contribute to convenient and safe cleaning in the near future, and is set to become a multibillion-dollar industry in the next 10 years alone.
The combination of the constantly improving technology, the current pandemic and ever-evolving awareness among us is going to provide us with cleaner alternatives to the toxic cleaners that most of us use currently. Cleaning and maintaining the cleanliness around has become the new norm and people have embraced it with open hands. Let’s make sure this does not just stay a trend and becomes a permanent part of our lives so we can all come together to create a happy, safe and comfortable environment for ourselves and our loved ones.
