It's all about attitude
Sustainability is not just a trend. It is our responsibility to the next generation.
The concept of sustainability is an integral part of our corporate culture. For us, the responsible use of resources and care for the environment are a matter of course. Whether it is the use of raw materials in our products, the choice of packaging, the optimisation of production processes or our corporate organisation, conserving resources is our top priority.
We are supported in this by various certifications with their high standards, which we are committed to upholding. At the same time, they serve as confirmation to you of our commitment to sustainability.
NO UNNECESSARY INGREDIENTS – FULL PERFORMANCE
Resource conservation, effectiveness and cleaning performance are at the heart of our product philosophy. All ingredients are carefully selected in accordance with the ECOCERT® and Ecogarantie® eco-certifications and combined to create efficient formulations.
The water content of our liquid products is reduced to the bare minimum. Powdered products contain no non-functional fillers. This reduces packaging volume and, consequently, material consumption. It results in lower product weight and less waste. A benefit that you, too, can enjoy.
PACKAGING
We primarily use recycled and recyclable materials for our packaging. The product cartons are made from certified FSC-Mix, FSC-Recycled or grass-based cardboard (30% grass, 70% waste paper). As we cannot do without plastic – a lightweight and safe material – we are increasingly using recycled plastic from waste plastic. For at least 50 per cent of AlmaWin products, the bottle bodies are already made from post-consumer recycled material. Packaging such as the AlmaWin Bathroom Cleaner 500 ml refill pouch reduces material consumption by 80 per cent compared to the 500 ml bottle.
For our labels, we use recycled material and mineral oil-free printing inks.
When disposed of correctly, the packaging components can be recycled, thereby supporting the recycling cycle. Through our partnership with PreZero, we are once again supplied with PCR (post-consumer recycled material) for our product bottles.
With our bulk containers for self-filling, we support and promote the concept of zero-waste shops. To this end, we offer numerous products in canisters. The high-quality canisters are recyclable, but can also be cleaned and reused.
WATER
Our products are consumables. After use by the customer, they end up in the wastewater. The products are designed so that, at the concentration used by the customer, they do not pose a risk to water bodies and can be treated as normal wastewater by municipal sewage treatment works. All our products are free from microplastics, phosphates, chlorine, synthetic colourants and fragrances, synthetic preservatives and nanotechnology, all of which pollute water bodies.
PRODUCTION
We purchase electricity sourced entirely from renewable energy. Our building is heated and cooled in an environmentally friendly manner using a heat pump. Innovative technology for heat recovery from production, LED lighting throughout, a photovoltaic system, a green roof and modern construction methods all help to save energy and thus reduce CO₂ emissions.
ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATIONS
As a DIN ISO 14001 and EMAS III-certified company, we are audited annually on the implementation of our environmental objectives. Through our environmental guidelines, we are committed to treating the environment and our fellow human beings with care.
CLIMATE COMMITMENT
Through our involvement with CleanHub, we support global projects aimed at collecting plastic waste to prevent even more plastic from entering the environment and the oceans.
ECOLOGICALLY CERTIFIED
The ECOCERT® and Ecogarantie® eco-certifications guarantee that no genetically modified enzymes, no synthetic colourings or fragrances, no synthetic preservatives, no nanotechnology and no microplastics are used in our product formulations. This promotes biodegradability. Furthermore, animal testing on the final product is prohibited.
You can rely on us with a clear conscience—we put everything to the test. In annual audits conducted by independent certification organizations, all company processes are scrutinized, from the purchase of raw materials, production, ecology, energy consumption, packaging materials and product formulations. You can recognize our ecologically certified quality by the eco-labels on our products. We also have independent institutes confirm the good skin compatibility of our products through scientific testing procedures. So you can rest assured.
What our Ecogarantie certification guarantees:
- Natural, plant- and mineral based ingredients (preferably from organic agriculture)
- No synthetic fragrances, colours or preservatives
- No microplastics ,no nanotechnology
- No GMOs
- No animal testing on final products
- Environmentally sound production processes and electricity from renewable energy sources for production and packaging.
- Good biodegradability of the surfactants in accordance with legal requirements.
See the ECOGARANTIE Standard, Part III: Laundry and Cleaning Products, as at October 2024
Product certified by Certisys sprl. www.ecogarantie.eu
What our Ecocert certification guarantees:
- Natural, plant-based (where available, from certified organic cultivation) and mineral raw materials
- Plant-based surfactants only
- Natural colourants and fragrances only
- Phosphates, phosphate-containing substances and chlorine are prohibited
- Only non-genetically modified enzymes from non-genetically modified processes.
- Animal testing (on finished products) is prohibited
- Biodegradability of surfactants, in accordance with EN ISO 14593 (more than 60% biodegradable within 28 days), in accordance with EN ISO 11734 (more than 60% anaerobically biodegradable within 60 days)
Detergents and cleaning products certified by Ecocert Greenlife SAS in accordance with the “Eco Detergents and Cleaning Products” standard, available at detergents.ecocert.com/en
Awarded the GREEN BRAND label since 2013. This label is awarded only to environmentally sustainable brands that demonstrate a convincing and consistent commitment to climate protection, sustainability and environmental responsibility. Progress towards sustainability targets is reviewed and assessed every two years.
Read more about: green-brands.org
The additional seals, for the AlmaWin and KlarEcosensitive brands respectively, are assigned an identification number. By entering the verification number on the page www.gb-id.org*, you can view the respective annual assessments of the brands’ certification.
This ensures greater transparency and enhanced credibility.
The GREEN BRAND quality mark is a registered and protected EU guarantee mark.
*The number must be entered without spaces: 2025020102, 2025020103.
Selected laundry detergents from the Klar EcoSensitive brand have been awarded the DAAB seal by the German Allergy and Asthma Association.
The DAAB criteria catalog requires transparency, safety, and the absence of certain ingredients
"When awarding its logo for skin care, cleaning products, and laundry detergents, the DAAB excludes ingredients characterized by high allergenic potential, as well as ingredients that exhibit strongly irritating properties, which can cause discomfort in sensitive, damaged, or atopic dermatitis-affected skin (e.g., sodium lauryl sulfate, which is not an allergen but exhibits strongly irritating properties). When assessing the irritating or sensitizing effect, the concentration of the substance in the product is taken into account.
Logo certification is based on an evaluation of the allergenicity of the ingredients and, in addition, on the practical experiences of people with allergies, asthma, or atopic dermatitis with the product during everyday use over an extended period.” (quotation: https://www.daab.de/der-daab/das-daab-logo/kriterienkatalog)
The skin-friendliness of our products from both brands has been confirmed by scientifically recognized testing methods conducted by independent institutes.
Product formulations that come into contact with the skin (laundry detergents, most cleaning products, hand dish soap) are subjected to this test.
During the test, the product is applied to the skin of volunteer test persons in the dilution typically used, similar to an allergy test.
Product formulations that pass this test without any issues are actually brought to market. They can be identified by the label “dermatologically successfully tested.”
EMAS III is the world's most demanding system for sustainable environmental management. As an EMAS company, we continuously improve our environmental performance with the help of a standardised management system.
DIN ISO 14001 specifies requirements for the AlmaWin environmental management system. This commits us to adhering to and optimising environmental guidelines and environmental goals.
Our process-oriented quality management is certified according to DIN ISO 9001. This enables us to further develop processes at all levels.
Our Ingredients
Because we are committed to using only eco-certified raw materials, we avoid many ingredients that are legally permitted but which we consider questionable.
Our promise to you how our products are made:
- without synthetic fragrances and dyes
- without synthetic preservatives
- without nanotechnology
- without phosphate and chlorine
- without optical brighteners
- without GMOs
- without microplastics and liquid polymers
- without animal testing on final products
Why we do not use the following ingredients
Synthetic fragrances, dyes and preservatives are copied from nature and produced chemically. They are cheaper to produce than natural variants but are usually difficult to degrade and can accumulate in the environment, in animals and in humans. It is also not easy for consumers to see whether the declared fragrances are of natural or synthetic origin, or whether they are a mixture of both.
More and more consumer products contain nanomaterials. In cleaning products, for example, they may be found in products that seal surfaces to make them less prone to soiling. Due to their tiny size, they can be absorbed through the skin or inhaled, and accumulate in the body’s organs. Although initially classified as harmless, studies are increasingly showing harmful effects on the brain, blood vessels and DNA.
For decades, phosphates were a central component of detergents and cleaning agents. Their salts serve as water softeners and prevent dirt dissolved in the washing water from settling back onto clothing. If they get into our waters, they act as fertilizers and accelerate algae growth. As a result, they deplete the water of oxygen and release toxic gases, leading to fish dying.
Optical brighteners are used by many conventional manufacturers to give white clothes a particularly bright-looking touch. In the washing process, optical brighteners cling onto the fibres and cause ultraviolet light, which is invisible to the human eye, to be transformed into visible blue light. This additional blue light, together with the complementary colour yellow, makes the clothes look ‘whiter’.
Optical brighteners are absorbed by the fibers during washing and then remain on the laundry. They have no cleaning effect whatsoever and are not readily biodegradable. Optical brighteners can be removed from wastewater, but for the most part they remain in the sewage sludge. There is ongoing debate regarding the potential hormonal effects of certain classes of substances. In the case of optically brightened textiles, absorption of the brighteners into the body is unlikely despite direct skin contact, due to their high molecular weight. Since this effect cannot be entirely excluded, we choose not to use them.
Enzymes in detergents help to wash laundry thoroughly from as low as 20°C by breaking down molecules of protein, fat and carbohydrate soiling. Most enzymes in detergents are obtained from genetically modified microorganisms. By genetically modifying the microorganisms, the enzymes can be made more efficient. However, the long-term consequences of genetically manipulated enzymes entering the environment via wastewater are uncertain.
We deliberately do not use enzymes from genetically engineered microorganisms. So they are produced neither with nor through genetic engineering.
Microplastics released into the environment can potentially impact animal and human organisms through their chemical ingredients (e.g. bisphenol A and plasticisers). It is believed that the increasing amount of microplastics in humans has adverse health effects.
While valid studies on the effects of microplastics on humans are still pending, they are believed to cause diseases ranging from cancer to obesity.