• Laundry detergents and household cleaner formulations reflect current trends – BASF combines performance and sustainability
• BASF's Personal Care business shows focus on sustainability and digitalization for environmentally conscious consumers

Ludwigshafen, October 25, 2022 –After two years of virtual meetings due to the pandemic, SEPAWA, one of Europe's largest congresses for the detergents, cleaners, cosmetics and fragrances industry, is to open its doors once again in Berlin. From October 26-28, 2022, BASF will showcase its latest solutions for applications in the Home Care, Industrial & Institutional Cleaning, and Personal Care markets at the event. These offers are part of BASF’s Care Chemicals Initiative Care 360° – Solutions for Sustainable Life, the division’s cross-business and holistic approach to cover all topics impacting the future of key markets and industries: sustainability, digitalization, innovation, and new approaches to working together. BASF shares booths 137-139, 154-155, 142 and 151-152 with its European sales company, BTC Europe.

Effective and sustainable solutions for detergents and cleaning products

Today's consumers expect detergents and cleaning products that are both effective and sustainable. BASF Home Care and I&I Solutions Europe actively supports growing demand for sustainable products and innovative solutions by continuously developing its portfolio and formulation solutions for its customers. In that process, BASF pays close attention both to production factors and to consumers’ usage behavior. In addition to ingredients obtained from renewable raw materials, BASF's cleverly combined portfolio enables sparing use of resources without compromising on performance. Some of these solutions will now be presented in Berlin.

Stay cool when choosing the right detergent formulation

With rising energy prices, households are looking for ways to cut their energy bills. With the right combination of BASF's Lavergy® enzymes, Tinopal® CBS X optical brightener and Sokalan® SR 400 A performance booster, BASF offers customers solutions for liquid detergent formulations that achieve outstanding results even in cold washes. Consumers benefit from complete peace of mind on the laundry front: a solution that delivers sparkling clean laundry, helps lower the carbon footprint, and is easy on their wallet.

Reduced carbon footprint combined with outstanding performance

BASF’s EcoBalanced portfolio offers customers the opportunity to improve their formulations in a sustainable and easy way. EcoBalanced products from BASF provide an excellent basis for high-quality detergent and cleaning agent formulations that score high on sustainability, while continuing to provide the top quality and performance standards customers are used to. EcoBalanced products are manufactured according to the biomass balance approach. Instead of fossil raw materials, 100 percent renewables are used in the production Verbund, resulting in reduced carbon emissions. EcoBalanced products are identical in quality and properties to their conventional alternatives. Customers are spared the hassle of reformulation and improve their carbon footprint at the same time. All EcoBalanced products are certified based on the global REDcert2 scheme.

Innovative biodegradable and biobased solutions for personal care

BASF is further expanding its biopolymer portfolio for personal care applications and is setting a landmark in its commitment to innovate in this area with establishing the trademark Verdessence^TM. It unites the company’s biopolymers manufactured from sustainable raw materials.

Two recently introduced biopolymers expand the current portfolio. Verdessence^TM Tara, extracted from regenerative Peruvian Tara Seed Gum, helps to create smooth and shapely textures. It is suitable for skin microbiome friendly formulations and shows good compatibility with the whole Verdessence biopolymer portfolio allowing to formulate a broad range of aqueous and emulsion systems.

Verdessence^TM RiceTouch is a plant-based sensory powder with small particle size providing powdery light and smooth skin feel and additionally is ideal for matte type cosmetics. It is perfectly suited for various fields of natural and organic cosmetics. Produced from non-GMO upcycled rice sourced within the European Union, Verdessence RiceTouch offers excellent oil absorbency. The biopolymer’s compatibility in different formulations results in shine control and a mattifying effect. Stickiness reduction and spreading enhancement are additional benefits.

BASF’s Verdessence^TM No Compromise Styling Gels concept provides customers with the opportunity to master challenges in formulating hair styling products with sustainability claims. Thanks to the biopolymer combinations they contain, the hair gel formulations offer attractive textures, are formulated according to the COSMOS standard for natural cosmetics and represent a high-performance alternative to the use of synthetic polymers.

Important progress in sustainable sourcing

As a worldwide acting company, BASF has a responsibility to manage its supply chains carefully. The company is deeply involved in a range of initiatives to increase the share of nature-based ingredients in its portfolio and to enhance the sustainability of farming practices and the wellbeing of farmers and workers.

One example is the ‘Pragati’ project (Hindi for progress), a collaboration between BASF, Arkema, Jayant Agro-Organics Ltd., and Solidaridad to create sustainable castor bean farming standards. As the first chemical company, BASF has recently been certified according to the SuCCESS (Sustainable Castor Caring for Environmental & Social Standards) Code and started the supply of its first sustainable castor ingredients in the personal care sector.

With the certification of its production site in Cassina Rizzardi, Italy, according to the Rainforest Alliance Mass Balance Coconut certification scheme, BASF also became the first chemical company to offer certified sustainable personal care ingredients based on coconut oil.

For the second time in a row, BASF has achieved its voluntary Palm Commitment to source 100% RSPO-certified palm (kernel) oil in 2021 and made further progress in developing transparent supply chains. Almost 96% of BASF’s global oil palm footprint can now be traced back to the oil mill where it was produced. Full details are provided in the sixth edition of the BASF Palm Progress Report.

Digital innovations for product development with sustainable success

At the SEPAWA congress, visitors can explore D’lite, BASF’s digital subscription service for the personal care industry. It helps to identify the perfect cosmetic product offering by considering a huge amount of data and fast-changing market dynamics. With this service, BASF supports customers in the complete product development process: from consumer and market understanding, concept creation, market strategy and formulation development up to the launch of the final product. One of the solutions available via D’lite is BASF’s Emollient Maestro. The digital product designer calculates ideal emollient mixes according to user briefings and enables the targeted replacement of industry benchmarks. It thus facilitates and accelerates the prototyping and design of products with a positive sustainability footprint.

Exchanging expertise

BASF experts have prepared lectures contributing to the ’Forum for Innovations’, the ’European Detergents Conference’ and the ’Scientific Conference’:

About the Care Chemicals division at BASF
The BASF division Care Chemicals offers a broad range of ingredients for personal care, home care, industrial & institutional cleaning, and technical applications. We are a leading global supplier for the cosmetics industry as well as the detergents and cleaners industry, and support our customers with innovative and sustainable products, solutions and concepts. The division’s high-performance product portfolio includes surfactants, emulsifiers, polymers, emollients, chelating agents, cosmetic active ingredients and UV filters. We have production and development sites in all regions and are expanding our presence in emerging markets. Further information is available online at www.care-chemicals.basf.com.

About BASF
At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Around 111,000 employees in the BASF Group contribute to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio comprises six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of €78.6 billion in 2021. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchange in Frankfurt (BAS) and as American Depositary Receipts (BASFY) in the U.S. Further information at www.basf.com. 

About BTC Europe
BTC Europe belongs to the world's leading chemical group, BASF – We create chemistry. BTC Europe GmbH is BASF’s European sales organization for specialty chemicals. Our strengths lie in our knowledge of the industry, based on many years of experience, and our proximity to our customers. With its 11 regional offices and more than 500 employees in Europe, BTC supplies small and medium-sized customers from a wide variety of industries with about 6,000 products. BTC is headquartered in Monheim am Rhein. Further information on BTC is available on the internet at www.btc-europe.com.