Is your Antibacterial Handwash completely safe?

Triclosan is an active ingredient that provides an antimicrobial effect in most of the hand washes around the world. However, over the past few years, research has thrown up some startling findings. Long term usage of these products with Triclosan can lead to an antimicrobial resistance over a period of time, alongside causing a hormonal imbalance observed in animals and likely in humans in the future. Thus, this ingredient has been designated as a contaminant of emerging concern (CEC). Triclosan is therefore believed to accumulate in wastewater and return to drinking water, thus propagating a buildup that can cause health concerns spanning from disinfection resistance to endocrine disruption.

Following these findings, on September 6 of 2017 the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a final rule establishing that over-the-counter consumer antiseptic wash products containing one or more of 19 specific active ingredients, including Triclosan, can no longer be marketed. The new rule applies to all topical consumer antiseptic wash products intended for use on the skin with water.

Diversey as a company has always invested itself into creating products that are healthy and sustainable for the consumers are environment. While we used the ingredient in a variety of our hand washes and soaps in the past, we have now stopped using Triclosan entirely across all our product offerings. Over the past 6 to 8 months, the Diversey Research and Development teams along with the Application Teams has created various alternatives that are better sustained in the long run as compared to those with previous Triclosan-containing formulation.

Diversey has long monitored closely both regulatory developments and customer requests in order to offer our customers solutions that give the best possible performance. Though this ban doesn’t apply to India and the other SAARC markets, Diversey being the torch bearer for sustainable development has decided to market only “Tricloslan free” formulations across the region and thus staying true to our key belief of Being Safe, environmentally as well as at home. In less than a year, we have made our entire global portfolio “Triclosan Free”.

We are ready with India’s first and only Triclosan free anti -bacterial hand wash. The new Softcare Plus H41 – Triclosan free, provides bacterial kill-rate ensuring reliability in infection control and it is validated by the European Standard EN1276. Softcare Plus H41 (Triclosan free) is like the earlier product in terms of product features and usage. It retains its hit features of providing excellent cleaning along with anti -bacterial properties, easy to rinse, suitable in frequent hand washing and cost effective. In India, we have absorbed the cost impact of this product upgradation as a part of our environmental friendly initiatives.