One of the biggest challenges in our commitment to sustainability and the environment is changing people's attitudes towards products made from recycled materials. Many people still believe that the quality and efficiency of recycled products are inferior to products made from "virgin" raw materials.
Although this prejudice is unfounded, it is still a misconception in the minds of many, as we can read in this article . However, this way of thinking is increasingly being pushed into the background, and although we are moving in a positive direction, there is still a lot of work ahead of us.
CYCLE is doing pioneering work in this very area to change these stereotypes. One such example is the Nature Care Products (NCP) certification, which is issued by the GfaW (Die Gesellschaft für angewandte Wirtschaftsethik) for natural and environmentally friendly products. The NCP follows a standard (version 3.9 at the time of our application) that has accepted three categories of raw materials.
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These three categories of raw materials are natural materials, modified materials and nature-identical materials.
Natural substances are raw materials of plant, inorganic mineral or animal origin that have not been chemically transformed, as well as mixtures or products of their reactions with each other . Such substances include citric acid, essential oils or sodium chloride.
Modified substances are raw materials produced from natural materials as defined above, through approved chemical reactions. These are surfactants of natural origin.
Nature-identical substances are substances that occur in nature but cannot be obtained by chemical processes permitted by the NCP. An example of such a substance is potassium sorbate.
After we applied for certification, EcoControl - which is responsible for testing new candidate products - tested our recycled VFA solution, an aqueous solution rich in acetic acid and other organic acids obtained through a patented process by fermenting sewage sludge. This recycled material forms the basis of our cleaning products.
Their first feedback was that the material derived from sewage sludge did not meet the NCP standard, as they could not classify it into any of the above-mentioned raw material categories.
However, we believed and still believe that our recycled VFA solution is more environmentally friendly than most materials in the world, so after the result we contacted Sophie von Lilienfeld-Toal, founder and managing director of GfaW. A few days later, EcoControl informed us that the NCP had decided to allow the use of sewage sludge as a starting material for organic acids. This meant that the use of our VFA solution was also accepted in NCP products.
Later, GfaW sent the new NCP standard (version 3.10), in which the raw material categories were modified to include raw materials obtained by fermentation of organic materials. The reason for the modification was also explained in the cover letter of the new standard: “The starting material of near-natural raw materials can be biomass or organic solids, in addition to natural materials. In order to reduce the use of agricultural land for the production of non-food products, we would like to support the use of all organic materials (e.g. the use of sewage sludge).”
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This case clearly shows that with the right arguments and perseverance, we can change regulations and allow more and more sustainable solutions to be accepted in the market for natural and environmentally friendly products.
This change is not only important for sustainability reasons, but also has significant benefits for consumers . When biomass and other recycled materials become accepted in natural cleaning products, consumers will have access to products that are truly environmentally friendly, while also being effective and safe.
This means they don't have to compromise on quality or environmental protection . In addition, by supporting such innovative solutions, consumers contribute to reducing waste and using fewer natural resources, ensuring a more sustainable future for all of us in the long term.
