Personal care and alcohol industries respond to global demand for hand sanitizers

07 Apr 2020 --- As demand for hand sanitizers and soaps is rising in light of the COVID-19 outbreak, major personal care players are making charitable moves to help ameliorate the crisis. After the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) guidance allowing alcohol companies to produce hand sanitizers, a slew of brands also joined the bandwagon. Personal care organizations such as the Personal Care Products Council (PCPC) are maintaining that the situation is well monitored and that industry is coordinating efforts.

In light of the outbreak, the PCPC is trying to monitor the situation as the industry’s voice with federal, state and local officials. The organization is also engaging with other bodies – such as the American Chemistry Council, American Cleaning Institute, Consumer Brands Association, Consumer Healthcare Products Association, Distilled Spirits Council and Fragrance Creators Association – to ensure critical infrastructure remains uninterrupted and supply chains remain active and safe.

“We are working with our members, through educational webinars and other communications vehicles, to share best practices and learn from those who experienced COVID-19 in other parts of the world. PCPC staff continually monitor and communicate changes in regulations, government policies and other information critical for our members to maintain business continuity,” notes Lezlee Westine, President & CEO of the PCPC.

The US FDA has issued guidance to communicate its policy for the temporary manufacture of certain alcohol-based hand sanitizer products by alcohol companies.Hand soap companies are experiencing peaked sales and material sourcing hurdles alike. In a PackagingInsights interview, Jasper Gabriëlse, Co-Founder of Dutch cleaning products company Seepje, recently explained that “worldwide, the demand for soap is greater than the supply and our hand soap sales have increased tenfold over the past few weeks. 

Major players donate resources
According to PCPC, over the next months, its member companies will produce, among other items, more than 20 million units of hand sanitizer to be donated to hospitals; community clinics; medical and emergency professionals; first responders; industry employees; and made available to retail customers.

Building on Firmenich’s donation of 20 metric tons of hand sanitizer in Geneva, the company is increasing its production capacity to 100 metric tons for hospitals, as well as medical and emergency services across the US and Switzerland. Firmenich has transformed its production lines to provide hand sanitizer vital to limiting the spread of COVID-19 and meeting growing global demand.

“This hand sanitizer will allow us to protect our people and the frontline emergency staff working relentlessly to combat this pandemic. I am extremely proud of and grateful to all our Firmenich colleagues who are going above and beyond to make this happen. Together, we will prove that solidarity is more contagious than the virus,” asserts Gilbert Ghostine, CEO of Firmenich.

Givaudan has also set up a dedicated production line in Switzerland (Vernier site), and will be donating over 60 metric tons (equivalent to 700,000 bottles) of hand sanitizers over the next two weeks.

Beneficiaries of the hand sanitizer include Swiss hospitals in the Geneva and Vaud cantons close to Givaudan’s Vernier site.

“We’ve managed to establish dedicated production lines of hand sanitizer to produce up to 8 tons a day, helping to keep our employees protected, but also allowing us to supply to those on the front line including local hospitals,” says Givaudan CEO Gilles Andrier.

Clean the World Foundation, a global health company dedicated to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and global sustainability, received a sizable donation of close to 200,000 hygiene products from L’Occitane en Provence. The donation included hygiene supplies.

Luxury goods conglomerate LVMH (LVMHF), the parent company of Christian Dior, Guerlain and Givenchy, also announced it would help French health authorities by manufacturing hand sanitizer and providing it to them free of charge.

Hand sanitizers by alcohol brands?
As part of the US FDA’s ongoing commitment to address the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency issued guidance to communicate its policy for the temporary manufacture of certain alcohol-based hand sanitizer products by alcohol companies. The guidance will be in effect for the duration of the public health emergency declared by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) on January 31, 2020.

“We are aware of significant supply disruptions for alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Many manufacturers make hand sanitizers, and several have indicated that they are working to increase supply,” says FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn. “In the meantime, this guidance provides flexibility to help meet demand during this outbreak. We will continue to work with manufacturers, compounders, state boards of pharmacy and the public to increase the supply of alcohol-based hand sanitizers.”

In light of the situation, Pernod Ricard, a global producer of wines and spirits, is donating large quantities of pure alcohol for hand sanitizer’s production worldwide. So far, Pernod Ricard along with its local affiliates has donated pure alcohol in France (70,000 L), Ireland, Sweden, Spain, US and Canada, and more markets are to follow. In Sweden, the Absolut Company, distillery of Absolut Vodka, is providing support with spirits to produce hand sanitizers, while in Ireland, the Irish Distillers, producers of Jameson and Powers Whiskey labels, are contributing with pure alcohol donations.

“As the world is facing a major pandemic, companies must mobilize, not only to ensure the safety of their employees, but also to contribute to collective efforts in accordance with their capabilities. By sharing our resources and making our production facilities available wherever they are needed, we are supporting our fellow citizens and local authorities in these unprecedented times, as we are convinced that only together, we can win the fight against COVID-19,” says Alexandre Ricard, Chairman & CEO of Pernod Ricard.

Liquor maker Bacardi announced it is producing 70,000 L of hand sanitizers, which will be distributed primarily to district government hospitals. The company has started production of hand sanitizers at its co-packing facility in Telangana, India. 

By Kristiana Lalou