New online resources published by the American Cleaning Institute (ACI) provide science-based information about the technology behind water-soluble films, which are used to contain compact, convenient, pre-measured doses of detergent.
The information refutes criticisms questioning the materials’ biodegradability launched by the interest group Plastic Oceans International, which relies upon a severely flawed research article and ignores decades of peer-reviewed studies on these widely used chemistries.
The films used in laundry and automatic dish detergent products are typically made of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), also known as PVOH (since the OH is the alcohol group when expressed in a chemical formula). A great amount of research has gone into these films to ensure they are safe to use in the home, along with the ingredients they encapsulate, and that they meet rigorous standards to ensure they fully dissolve and biodegrade after use.
“These films are designed to dissolve completely in the washing machine and then flow down the drain with the wash water,” said Kathleen Stanton, ACI Associate Vice President, Technical & International Affairs. “ACI’s newest resource depicts the process of how detergent packets biodegrade, ultimately helping consumers understand the science behind their products.”
Material suppliers and brand owners test to the highest global standards of biodegradability using independent third-party laboratories to verify their claims, ACI noted.
To counter misinformation about the biodegradability of PVOH, ACI worked with scientists and technical experts at several of its member companies to consolidate real-world research and data, now available on ACI’s website.
