Soapers awash in green issues and feedstock concerns.(SOAPS AND DETERGENTS)

Rising raw material costs, regulatory issues, and the drive toward "green" products are key issues in the soaps and detergents sector, said speakers at the Soap and Detergent Association (SDA; Washington) convention, held last month at Boca Raton, FL. Several major firms tell CW they are cutting costs and introducing renewable products in response.

"We've seen [commodity] spikes before, and we've always had the expectation that things would go back to normal," Norm Ellard, director/global sales at P&G Chemicals, tells CW. "I think the worry in the industry is that we've reached new plateaus. I don't see any signs of anything that's going to change dramatically in the commodity area," Ellard says. Essentially, the industry is "working very hard on cost-savings," in response to the pricing pressures, he says.

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