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That was Interclean 2024: Genuine circular economy and sustainable performance up close

Our trip to the world’s largest trade fair for professional cleaning, Interclean in Amsterdam 2024, was a complete success!

We have the fair highlights for you here:

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From May 14th to 17th 2024, Amsterdam was once again transformed into the capital of cleaning and hygiene, where the entire industry met to discuss the latest solutions and concepts for professional cleaning. A total of 875 exhibitors and 30,000 visitors came to the RAI Amsterdam exhibition center.

We let the impressions from our fair stand speak for themselves:

Our photo box was also an absolute customer magnet: Visitors were able to capture their greenest and funniest trade fair moments here. Our two frog mascots were also visibly happy to be photographed.

Over 500 tons of CO2 savings in the last 3 years in Scandinavia

With the 17 global sustainability goals (Agenda 2030) of the UN, a guideline was developed to promote sustainable production globally. This requires modernizing our economy towards resource utilization rather than resource consumption.

Tana-Chemie has long since made the leap from the linear economy to the circular economy. The Frosch brand company has been optimizing its Green Care Professional brand products for more than 30 years. In Scandinavia, Green Care Professional was able to save a total of 500 tons of CO2 in the last 3 years. The sustainable products in recyclable packaging made from recycled material saved 80 tons of plastic and 159 tons of crude oil.

©Tana-Chemie GmbH

Industrialized countries play a particularly important role in reducing global emissions because they consume the highest amounts of resources. On the other hand, they also have the knowledge and means to invest in research and development, drive innovation and establish sustainability management systems, explains the German Federal Government’s Press and Information Office1. Professional cleaning service providers have also recognized that the careful use of resources is becoming increasingly important and would like to make a contribution. They are increasingly relying on high-performance, sustainable products. ”The annually increasing global savings values prove that sustainable products are also high-performance and impress our customers,” says Mert Mirza, application engineer at Tana-Chemie. Thanks to the Green Care Performance Calculator, Green Care Professional customers can concretely measure their success in conserving resources and their ecological Optimize footprint. True to the maxim “safe, effective, circular”, the savings grow every year because Tana-Chemie constantly optimizes its products across the entire value chain.

Source1 https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/themen/nachhaltigkeitspolitik/produzieren-konsumieren-181666

Highest Performance in Sanitary Cleaning

Tana-Chemie is presenting its next innovation at the CMS Trade Fair in Berlin. With SANET extreme, the most powerful sustainable sanitary high-performance cleaner, Green Care Professional is setting new standards in sanitary cleaning. ”We are proud of the achievements in our own development department. We were able to set a milestone in combining performance and sustainability with SANET extreme. Awarded the EU Ecolabel, we are not only comparably strong to one of the strongest non-sustainable competitor products in lime solution, but also outperform it in lime soap removal. Tests show we are almost twice as fast,” reports Bianca Nerowski, Head of Product Management Tana-Chemie.

Its unique formulation based on methanesulfonic acid and lactic acid enables highest cleaning performance and yet SANET extreme is completely biodegradable.

The performance tests conducted by an independent institute confirm internal results: SANET extreme has been proven to achieve the best limescale dissolution values. It even performs significantly better than sustainable competitor products. Of course, the sanitary high-performance cleaner is EU Ecolabel certified.

Does not compromise on performance and sustainability: SANET extreme. © Tana-Chemie GmbH

SANET extreme effortlessly and extremely quickly removes all typical soiling and incrustations in the sanitary area, such as lime soap residues, urine scale, cosmetic residues or rust. The fact that SANET extreme works faster against lime soap than competitive products on the market has also been proven by an independent institute. The effective and residue-free removal of mineral and organic soiling achieves a natural easy-to-clean effect, with water consistently beading off sanitary objects, fittings and surfaces. The sanitary surfaces shine without reworking.

Thanks to its gentle formulation, SANET extreme helps to preserve the value of typical sanitary fixtures such as chrome fittings, ceramic tiles and porcelain objects. Sustainably designed, 58% of the organic carbon in SANET extreme comes from plant-based, regenerative sources.

With SANET extreme, the innovative sanitary high-performance cleaner and descaler, Green Care Professional once again proves that sustainability and maximum cleaning power are not a contradiction in terms.

Lime soap removal: Faster than sustainable and non-sustainable products, SANET removes extreme lime soap stains in test based on IKW method for quality recommendation for bathroom cleaners. © Tana-Chemie GmbH

The (r)evolution of laundry detergents and softeners: proven skin compatibility

When developing laundry detergents and fabric softeners, the focus is usually on cleaning performance and the effect on the fibres and shaping of textiles. For some years now, environmental properties have additionally gained in importance, as this topic increasingly concerns the public and more and more people are interested in reducing their ecological footprint.

The ideal product, however, should master another challenge: it should be skin-compatible and cause neither skin irritations nor allergic reactions. The cooperation with Dermatest GmbH, an independent dermatological institute for testing the safety and skin compatibility of industrial products, marks Tana-Chemie’s pioneering role. The sustainable detergents and fabric softeners of the Green Care Professional brand have been successfully tested and have been awarded the Dermatest seal for proven skin compatibility.

The Dermetest seal of approval is a scientific label for independently tested products which come into contact with the skin. Products which are labelled with this seal have proven their safety in terms of exposure time and site of application in patch tests. Exceptional safety when it comes to your skin!

Our skin is only a few millimetres thick. And yet it protects us from many dangerous environmental influences and performs vital functions for the body. It prevents the penetration of pathogens, fungi and moisture, houses nerve fibres, immune defence cells, touch receptors, blood and lymph vessels, stores energy and serves as a heat insulator. It also plays a significant role in our well-being. Daily contact with hundreds of substances, liquids and surfaces poses a great challenge and danger to the skin. Textiles, and thus also the detergents and fabric softeners used, are in particularly long-term and extensive contact with our skin on a daily basis. Additional friction can also irritate the skin. Therefore, the skin compatibility of these products is particularly important. 

In order to meet this demand for its products, Tana-Chemie had the skin compatibility and safety of the Green Care Professional detergents and fabric softeners tested by Dermatest GmbH. Epicutaneous tests of the use concentrations according to the application instructions were carried out on volunteers under dermatological control. These tests follow internationally recognised guidelines*: 

  • At least 30 test persons are selected for each test 
  • Male and female test subjects are included regardless of the subsequent target group of the product 
  • All test persons are older than 18 years 
  • By selecting certain skin types, e.g. sensitive or atopic skin, the tolerance for certain products and skin types can be tested 
  • The one-time contact in the context of a test is intensified in comparison to the later application in order to achieve a meaningful result 

For testing, the test products are applied in a suitable concentration to a self-adhesive patch and stuck on under occlusive (closed) conditions for 24h. The occlusive conditions under the patch intensify the contact of the skin with the product, which increases the significance of the result. The assessment of possible skin reactions is carried out according to the recommendations of ISO 10993-23:2021 (Section 8, Annex E). 

Since the course of the reactions provides information about the type of reaction (allergic or irritant), three readings are the quality standard at Dermatest. The first assessment takes place 30 to 60 minutes after removal of the patch, a second and third reading takes place 24 and 48 hours after the first reading. 

Only when the product has successfully passed this test is the Dermatest seal and the rating ”dermatologically tested” awarded. 

The detergents and fabric softeners in the Green Care Professional line have successfully passed the tests and have thus been awarded the Dermatest seal and are thus proven to be skin-friendly and safe to use. 

* (10993-23:2021, Section 8 and Annex E (Irritation testing of medical devices on human skin), the guideline of the German Dermatological Society (DDG) and the German Society for Allergology and Clinical Immunology (DGAKI) on ”Performance of the epicutaneous test with contact allergens” (AWMF guideline register). 


Detergents and fabric softeners from Green Care Professional have been awarded the Dermatest seal and are therefore
dermatologically tested in accordance with the instructions for use and demonstrably skin-friendly when the concentrations
for use are observed.  © Tana-Chemie GmbH

About the Dermatest GmbH

Dermatest protects your skin. Since 1978. The independent dermatological institute tests all substances and items that come into contact with the skin for safety and skin compatibility and awards safe products with the Dermatest seal. The effectiveness of cosmetics is also independently checked at Dermatest. A large team of scientists from dermatology, allergology, food chemistry and biology ensures scientific competence and accuracy. Many tests are carried out with the help of volunteers, some of whom have been working with Dermatest for years. All tests take place under medical supervision and in accordance with international guidelines. Since 2009, Dermatest’s quality management system has been certified according to DIN EN ISO 9001 and audited by TÜV Rheinland. 

Clean down textiles to feel good

Down textiles – light as a feather, providing cozy warmth – like duvets, pillows as well as jackets, e.g., of residents in retirement and nursing homes are a real challenge for professional laundry. How can cozy natural products made of real feathers and down stay fresh, clean, and fluffy in the cold season?

”With a few tricks and the right detergent, you will keep feathers and down fresh for a long time and also ensure the necessary hygiene,” explains Angelika Büttner, expert for professional detergents at Tana-Chemie.

Cleaning even sensitive materials in a safe way for people and the environment requires compliance with certain properties. Besides a high material compatibility, the absence of bleaching agents and optical brighteners, as well as EU Ecolabel certification, other sustainability aspects should also be taken into account.

Thus, the sustainable ACTIV delicat fine and wool detergent by Green Care Professional fulfils these properties and is mainly based on renewable raw materials. The mild detergent protects textiles and cares for fine and sensitive fibres with almond oil, thus ensuring clean down textiles. Its formulation is biodegradable and harmless to the health of the users of the textiles. ACTIV delicat is dermatologically tested and as it contains neither dyes nor phosphates, it is also ideal for hand washing.  

The appropriate washing method increases the effectiveness and durability of the materials. Always read the washing instructions before washing. © Tana-Chemie GmbH.

Green and Clean: Sustainable washing powders by Green Care Professional

In in-house laundries with only few wash cycles per day, the question arises as to whether washing powders can meet laundry hygiene requirements. Can this be done without sacrificing optimized energy, water and chemical efficiency? Is the use of washing powders with manual dosing sustainable?

The answer is provided by Tana-Chemie’s Green Care Professional brand washing powder range. Sustainable solutions for all types of soiling and textiles guarantee outstanding washing results. And with the freshly revised formulations for even more sustainability! The concentrated powders are characterized by high performance, which not only saves transport energy. The reduced dosage also minimizes costs per wash load. The smaller packaging is user-friendly and saves storage capacity. A key part of the revision is, of course, the biodegradable ingredients and EU Ecolabel certification. The formulations are free of microplastics and complexing agents such as EDTA, NDA, phosphates and chlorine-containing compounds.

Less Powder. More Performance. Complete green.

ACTIV intense: High performing laundry detergent with long-lasting fragrance, perfectly suitable for old people’s and nursing homes

ACTIV performa: High performing laundry detergent for bleaching and degreasing, perfectly suitable for use in hotels, restaurants and cafés

ACTIV bicompact, Ultra concentrated laundry detergent for short washing cycles and particularly energy-saving, can be used from 20°C

Green Transformation: The “Go Green” Year at Werner & Mertz Professional

Our Green Care Professional family is still growing

For the Professional Division of Werner & Mertz, 2022 promises to be a thoroughly green year. In the “Go Green“ project, the Mainz specialists for professional cleaning are hard at work, enlarging the product portfolio of their sustainable Green Care Professional brand. In the process, the formulas and packaging of several Tana Professional brand products are being reworked and optimized for a sustainable circular economy and their inclusion in the Green Care Professional portfolio. Thus, the recyclable solutions for professional building cleaning will be significantly expanded again.   

“With our choice of ingredients for Green Care Professional, we are setting standards today for ecological products that often deliver better cleaning performance,” said Dr. Paula Barreleiro, Head of Formula Development at Tana-Chemie GmbH. “We are steadfastly following this path with “Go Green”. In pursuit of our goals, we are tapping the experience and technology of our closed loop sustainability concept for the Green Care Professional brand.”

In the future many of the reworked products will bear the respected eco credentials such as the Cradle-to-Cradle certificate, EU Ecolabel and the Austrian Ecolabel. “These certifications are a visible sign that we are raising the sustainability of our customers to a new level with our product conversions. We see this as the most promising way to a circular future,“ says Xiaoming Bai, Head of International Product Management and Marketing.

The next big step

The ecological products for cleaning professionals developed by Tana-Chemie GmbH since 1987 were brought together under the eco brand Green Care Professional in 2011. In recent years the company has been steadily modifying its Tana Professional products for the circular economy. The next big step is coming up in 2022. “This will definitely be our ‘Go Green’ year,” says Bai. “By the end of the year, we will have incorporated the major share of the planned Tana products into our Green Care portfolio.”   

The large-scale transformation involves many products from the areas of Building Cleaning, Kitchen, Laundry and Personal Hygiene. Their formulas and packaging adhere even more closely to the principles of the holistic circular economy. In addition, formulas contain a greater share of plant-based raw materials which are biologically degradable and thus suitable for a return to the biological cycle. After usage, the packaging made of high-quality recycled plastic and based on Design for Recycling specifications is held in a closed technical cycle.

“You can see in the example of our sanitary cleaner SANET lavocid,“ says Barreleiro, “how we are reworking our Tana Professional products for their integration in the Green-Care portfolio. Since its transformation, the product has been EU Ecolabel certified. Now free of preservatives, the formula contains surfactants based on renewable plants and natural citric acid. Furthermore, the packaging is made of 100 percent recyclate and is kept in a closed loop with proper recycling.”

More information about the “Go Green” project can be found at

Werner & Mertz Professional at Interclean 2022: Crowds rush toward the circular economy

Tana-Chemie GmbH auf der Interclean 2022. Copyright: Tana-Chemie GmbH

Interest in sustainability and the circular economy is growing by leaps and bounds in the professional building cleaning sector. That’s the take-away for Tana-Chemie, the Professional Divison of Werner & Mertz, from this year’s Interclean trade show in Amsterdam. Several hundred companies presented their latest solutions and concepts for professional cleaning from 10 to 13 May in the Netherlands capital.

At the Werner & Mertz Professional booth at Interclean, visitors from all over the world got a good look at the newest products, services and digital tools from the eco pioneer. As usual, the company’s fair presence revolved around the key concept of a sustainable circular economy. “It was fantastic that after a purely digital interlude in 2020, we could finally talk face-to-face with customers,“ says Thomas Ulbricht, CEO of Werner & Mertz Professional. “The atmosphere among the fair visitors was very positive and the interest in our products and topics was enormous.” 

Compared to the last live fair in 2018, it was easy to see that sustainability has become the focus of all companies at Interclean, according to Mr. Ulbricht. “As a long-time pioneer of the circular economy and ecological product design, we obviously benefit from this new eco awareness. Which, not least of all, could be seen in the large crowds at our booth.” 

The transition to the circular economy

A highlight at the Werner & Mertz Professional booth was a three-dimensional installation that demonstrated the two recycling loops for Green Care Professional brand cleaning products. In one, plant-based raw materials that go into the cleaning products from Green Care are biologically degraded in nature and returned to the biological cycle. The packaging made of high-quality recycled plastic and designed for recycling is kept in a closed technical cycle.

“In this eye-catching model, our customers can see how our products support them in speeding up their transition to the circular economy,“ Mr. Ulbricht says. “It was quickly clear to many visitors that our cleaning solutions also raise customers‘ sustainable use to a whole new level. And that’s made possible without any extra effort from the user. Our Green Care portfolio is a sure way for our customers to become heroes of the circular economy.”

One of the products and digital tools available to users pushing the green transformation in their own companies is the Green Care Academy, an innovative continuing education program for cleaning professionals. On this newly developed eLearning platform, professional cleaning staff have access to practical instructional videos with easily understood information about daily work routines.

Using the free online tool Green Care Performance Calculator, visitors at the booth could find out how many tons of plastic waste, crude oil and greenhouse gases they could avoid by switching to sustainable cleaning products from Green Care Professional. With KLIKS – Pouch, the company introduced a sustainable innovation for its KLIKS dosing system. Now Green Care concentrated cleaners are available in space-saving plastic pouches whose design purposely eliminates all unnecessary packaging material.

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Guest speaker at INPACS GmbH

Werner & Mertz Professional went outside its own booth to share the message of the innovative power of a sustainable circular economy. Xiaoming Bai, International Marketing Director at Werner & Mertz Professional, was invited to speak at the INPACS GmbH booth. In his keynote address, Bai led the audience step by step through the transitional process to a successful circular economy and spoke about what the European Green Deal means for the professional cleaning sector.

EcoVadis Platinum myönnettiin Tana-Chemie GmbH:lle

Tana-Chemie GmbH saa EcoVadisin korkeimman palkinnon

Vuonna 1971 perustettu, tuotemerkkejä Green Care Professional ja Tana Professional edustava Werner & Mertz Group on alusta lähtien tarjonnut korkealuokkaisia, ympäristöystävällisiä hygieniaratkaisuja ammattisiivoukseen eri aloille. Näihin kuuluvat rakennussiivous, terveydenhuolto sekä elintarvikejalostus.

Kokonaisvaltaisesti kestävään siivoukseen keskittyvä yritys pyrkii rakentamaan toimivaa kiertotaloutta. Tuottamalla ympäristöystävällisiä ja biohajoavia ainesosia puhdistusaineisiin ja käyttämällä innovatiivisia, kierrätettäviä pakkauksia Werner & Mertz Group on luonut konseptin, jolla se on ansainnut edelläkävijän aseman luonnonvarojen säästämisen alalla.

Tana-Chemie GmbH on viime vuosina saanut useita palkintoja ponnisteluistaan ja saavutuksistaan kestävän kehityksen alalla. Niihin sisältyvät maailman vaativimman ympäristönhallintajärjestelmän EMASin kriteerien noudattaminen, kestävän rakentamisen standardi LEED Platinum Mainzin pääkonttorille sekä arvostetun Cradle to Cradle® NGO:n kultasertifikaatti useille ammattilaistuotteille. Tämän vuoden kesäkuussa Tana-Chemie saavutti jälleen kerran erinomaisen maineensa. Arvostettu CSR-luokituslaitos EcoVadis myönsi yritykselle toistamiseen tunnustuksen – tällä kertaa platinaa, joka on kestävän johtamisen huippuluokitus ja erityinen kunnia, sillä se myönnetään vain yhdelle prosentille kaikista tarkastetuista yrityksistä.

EcoVadis on arvioinut yritysten ympäristönsuojelu- ja sosiaalikäytäntöjä vuodesta 2007 lähtien. Yli 75 000 yritystä yli 200 toimialalla ympäri maailmaa on arvioittanut itsensä ja toimitusketjunsa objektiivisesti ja sijoittunut johonkin neljästä luokitusluokasta, joita ovat pronssi, hopea, kulta ja platina. Vaativa tarkastus kattaa yrityksen suorituskyvyn 21 kategoriassa, jotka on jaettu neljään osa-alueeseen: työ ja ihmisoikeudet, etiikka, ympäristö ja kestävät hankinnat. Kaksi viimeistä olivat erityisen ratkaisevia Tana-Chemielle. Erityisesti mainittiin yrityksen kierrätyspakkausten ja uusiutuvan energian käyttö sekä vedenkulutuksen vähentäminen tuotannossa innovatiivisilla menetelmillä, kuten veden uudelleenkäytöllä käyttöprosessien aikana. Aiemmalta hopeatasolta platinatasolle noussut Tana-Chemie on tunnustettu yhdeksi maailman vastuullisimmista yrityksistä.

Thomas Ulbricht, Werner & Mertz Professional -osaston johtaja on ylpeä huippuluokan palkinnosta. Tulos heijastaa hänen mukaansa yrityksen vuosien työtä kestävän johtamisen parissa. Ympäristön lisäksi myös Tana-Chemien liikekumppanit hyötyvät EcoVadisin platinapalkinnosta, sillä ensinnäkin koko toimitusketjusta tulee läpinäkyvämpi ja lisäksi suunniteltu jatkuva suorituskyvyn parantaminen keskeisillä mittareilla on kaikkien asianosaisten etu. Kaikki tämä luo kestävää keskinäistä luottamusta.

Vergabe-Insider: Uusi online-kauppalehti vihreistä julkisista hankinnoista

Ei ole epäilystäkään siitä, että julkisten hankintojen on oltava ja niistä on tultava kestävämpiä. Muutokset aiheuttavat suuria haasteita yritysten ostovastaaville, koska kestävän kehityksen merkityksestä huolimatta aihe on toistaiseksi jätetty huomiotta julkisissa hankinnoissa. Näin ollen edustajilta puuttuu toisaalta selvennystä ja toisaalta konkreettista apua käytännön toteutuksessa. Tämän muuttamiseksi Mainzissa sijaitsevan puhdistustuotteiden valmistajan Werner & Mertzin ammattilaisten osasto tekee yhteistyötä Forschungsgruppe für Recht und Management öffentlicher Beschaffungin (FoRMöB) kanssa Saksan asevoimien yliopistossa Münchenissä. Yhteistyössä he ovat perustaneet VERGABE INSIDER -verkkokauppalehden kaikille työssään vihreitä julkisia hankintoja käsitteleville. Toinen tärkeä kumppani lehdessä on NABU (Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union).