Montreux 2014: the AOCS World Conference on Fabric and Home Care: in tune and harmony with our daily life.

This event is very special to me because I’ve been attending it since its first edition. It was the ‘80s and I worked in one of the largest manufacturers of surfactants in the world. That year’s edition was my first encounter with the international detergence market and that event has accompanied me ever since in my career growth. In fact, H&PC Today started through a project devised in Montreux at the 2002 event when I met and spoke to the publisher, Teknoscienze.
Hence, over the years, I’ve experienced the AOCS conference from the perspective of the industry first and then as a member of the press. So, how has the event changed over the years?
I would say that in itself it hasn’t changed in terms of how it is organised, the events it features, although this year has seen the launch of two major initiatives: the Technology Showcase, which featured virtual presentations highlighting outstanding technical and consumer-led innovation from the industry and with the participation of senior technologists and managers, and the Industry Innovations Incubator, which showcased emerging companies with leading advancements that will be impacting on the fabric and home care business.
What I’m very much certain about is that what is most appealing and makes this event a success is the chance to listen to speeches on a broad number of subjects and the great networking one can do that is also well targeted on the business. When you go to the Montreux event you know what you can expect and who you’re going to meet. That’s the biggest strength of the show. Rather than the specific people you can meet, which obviously have changed over the years, it’s the environment that you join, the sense of community, that makes this event really successful. It allows you to go back home feeling richer, richer of knowledge, contacts, business opportunities.
Given the way the conference is organised, which hasn’t changed much, what has really changed is the general context of the whole business. The ever-occurring changes to the world of detergent can be witnessed by everyone in our daily lives. Today, when we have to do the laundry, be it with a washing machine or in a bowl (I use that on holiday at my camping site) or when we find ourselves in the huge shopping malls we all go to, we are much more aware of what we’re doing and buying.
We all know that the major issue in the industry is the protection of the environment and of the planet's resources, as well as of the population, especially in growing countries. Sustainability was the hot topic throughout this year’s event as well, as one could easily expect. All sessions dealt with it and the conclusion is that the sector has been strongly looking into the issue and has implemented important policies to support sustainability, and I will never grow tired in telling those who demagogically insist in referring to this business as a problem for the environment. In recent years, we have witnessed great commitment of this industry in developing new technologies all along the production pipeline, from manufacturing to lab testing and packaging. A huge technological and cultural effort has been made by all the players and associations in the business to educate end users to sustainable consumption. Among the many initiatives, we mention the “I prefer 30°” campaign, which has seen broad acceptance and appreciation by the public. Yet, applying a campaign like “I prefer 30°” requires to have the proper tools, and so from consumers we go back to the industry, which strives to provide them all the time. Detergence today is about innovation, caring for the environment, providing better living conditions, it’s about educating." Montreux has always been the perfect place to bring minds together and implement sustainability, and the 2014 event was no exception. We’ve listened to high-quality lectures, which have shown the industry’s commitment and have allowed this year’s event not to fail the expectations. We’ve witnessed the collective effort all the players in this sector are putting into effectively responding to the major challenges we face today: an increasing world population, the ever-growing lack of resources, climate changes, the economic recession we’re still going through. All these issues require efforts that can be managed only by making strong resources available and by effective coordination of the parties involved.
Six CEOs of leading companies in the industry have led the sessions and this was an important sign of a business that wants to show itself through the major players involved, to say "we’re all here and dealing with it!" and underline the importance of the time we’re living and that everyone is committed, from top executives to employees. Lectures dealt with a broad number of issues, showed trends and forecasts, updated industry analysis, shared technology solutions, practical answers to problems that are truly global given the enormous amount of products that the industry places in the global marketplace.
Companies such as BASF, Henkel, Kao, Lion, Novozymes, SC Johnson, Coca-Cola, DuPont, Oxiteno, Facebook, P&G, Unilever, Walmart, Dow shared knowledge and points of view with the participants, even though some of these companies might have seemed far apart (Coca Cola, Facebook!). The information given was so vast the whole journal wouldn’t be enough to provide details of all the lectures, which however are available in the programme available online.
We conclude by reminding you of the next AOCS event: the World Conference on Fabric and Home Care to be held in Singapore on 5-7 October 2016. It might seem early to mention, yet time really flies these days as we all know, so why not jot it down in our agenda already! I participated in the first Singapore edition of this event in 2012. It was like a window opened onto Asia, an event that was particularly interesting and definitely not to be missed.

By Giulio Fezzardini, H&PC Today (TKS Publisher)

PCHI 2015
GUANGZHOU POLY WORLD TRADE CENTRE, 12 TO 14 MARCH 2015

The Personal Care and Homecare Ingredients (PCHi) trade show is China's number one Sourcing Platform for the Global Personal Care Industry. As an innovation-led event, PCHi provides cosmetics, home and personal care manufacturers, ingredients suppliers, cosmetics packaging, machinery and product testing providers from all over the world with a quality platform for ingredients sourcing, gaining insight into global trends, and networking with world-class experts. PCHi 2015 will be held in Guangzhou at the Guangzhou Poly World Trade Centre, from 12 to 14 March 2015, and is expected to attract more than 9,000 industry professionals.

Packaging Segment and Conference Track Returns To PCHi 2015
The largest cosmetics & personal care ingredients sourcing platform in China now expands its reach into the global personal care industry with a stronger focus on cosmetics & personal care (CPC) packaging & machinery.
“We recognise that packaging and product formulation go hand in hand in the creation of a winning product,” shared Elynn Xu, Project Manager, RSE. “With that in mind, the Packaging & Machinery Segment and conference sessions were planned around providing cosmetics packaging designers and formulation scientists with a more holistic platform to innovate, collaborate, and develop premium products. Building on our previous experiences and on feedback received, we will present an improved and more comprehensive CPC packaging focus at PCHi 2015.”
Launched in 2013, the PCHi Packaging & Machinery Segment of the exhibition was first established to meet the specific needs of global cosmetics and personal care product manufacturers, designers, and formulation scientists. At PCHi 2014, PCHi collaborated with leading research firm Mintel to develop the Packaging Innovation Zone, which showcased the latest innovative beauty packaging solutions. Returning to the show again next year, Mintel’s Packaging Innovation Zone will feature the latest packaging design trends, manufacturing technologies, and packaging material innovations for CPC markets. Packaging specifiers can also expect to connect with established packaging materials and technology suppliers, including plastic bottles, tubes and cups manufacturers, plastic raw materials manufacturers, and label printing companies.
In addition, the PCHi 2015 Conference Programme will feature a series of packaging-related seminars led by distinguished partners including Euromonitor, Mintel, China Cosmetics Review, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Packaging Update, and Printing Equipment Industries Association of China (PEIAC).
PCHi 2015 is now open for pre-registration. Pre-registration is free through 9 March 2015, after which only on-site registrations will be accepted at a fee of RMB165 per visitor.
www.pchi-china.com/en

MORE FACTS, LESS ILLUSIONS - IFSCC 2015
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS OPEN AND EXTENDED UNTIL DECEMBER, 12TH 2014

The IFSCC is the parent organization of Cosmetic Chemists Associations worldwide. Every year alternating a congress or a conference will be organized by one of the member societies.

The Swiss organization of cosmetic chemists SWISS SCC is organizing the IFSCC conference in Zurich 2015. The city of Zurich is easy to reach by plane, train and a network of motorways. No matter which way you choose to come, we will kindly welcome all of you to be our guests.

In 2015 it is exactly 20 years ago that the last IFSCC conference was held in Switzerland. It took place in Montreux at the Lake Léman with a beautiful view to the Alps. We looked back to that conference. Its title FACTS AND ILLUSIONS IN COSMETICS gave us the inspiration for the new scheme in 2015. Time has changed and facts have gained importance with changing legislation for cosmetic products and their ingredients (REACH) and many new developments in the area of analytics and product testing whether in vitro, ex vivo or in vivo.
The organisers are convinced that some more illusions have been transferred into facts and that there is much more to come in the future.
The conference venue will be the Conference Center Zurich, nicely located next to the Lake of Zurich with again a beautiful view to the Alps and very close to the attractive city center and the international airport.
www.ifscc2015.com