Nouryon’s Green Chemistry Wins Henkel Award, Redefining Clean

RADNOR, PA – February 12, 2026 – In a move that signals a significant shift in the consumer goods industry, global specialty chemicals leader Nouryon has been honored with Henkel Consumer Brands' 2025 sustainability award. The recognition, presented at the 2026 American Cleaning Institute annual meeting in Orlando, Florida, celebrates a groundbreaking ingredient that is set to redefine what it means to be clean, both for our clothes and the planet.

The award highlights Nouryon’s innovative, fully degradable solution designed to enhance the performance of laundry detergents, particularly in hard water. This development represents a critical convergence of high-efficiency cleaning and advanced sustainable chemistry, positioning Nouryon as a vital partner for major brands like Henkel that are navigating mounting consumer and regulatory pressure for greener products.

“We are honored to receive this recognition as it validates our ability to closely partner with consumer brands as they transition to more sustainable chemistry while improving cleaning performance,” said Brad Pearson, Vice President of Cleaning Goods at Nouryon. “When someone uses their favorite laundry detergent or dish soap, they likely don't know about the chemistry inside; but these ingredients are essential to how these products work and making them more sustainable is critical to the industry's future."

The Breakthrough in a Laundry Box

At the heart of the award is a technological leap in ingredient science. The challenge for laundry detergents has long been hard water, where minerals like calcium and magnesium interfere with soap molecules, reducing cleaning power and allowing dirt to redeposit onto fabrics, leaving them dull and dingy. For years, the industry has relied on synthetic polymers and phosphates to counteract this effect, often at a significant environmental cost.

Nouryon’s solution, exemplified by its recently launched FinnFix® PB MAX, marks a paradigm shift. This product is the industry's first carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) — a crucial anti-redeposition agent — to be made entirely from renewable carbon sources. Derived from natural, wood-based cellulose, the ingredient is both 100% bio-based and fully biodegradable. It works by creating a protective barrier around dirt particles suspended in the wash water, preventing them from reattaching to clothes. The result is whiter whites and brighter colors, all while using a chemistry that originates from nature and can safely return to it.

This innovation allows detergent manufacturers to replace traditional, petroleum-derived ingredients without sacrificing the performance consumers expect. The ability to seamlessly integrate such a sustainable alternative into existing formulations with minimal changes is a game-changer, removing a major barrier to the adoption of greener chemistry on a mass scale.

A Strategic Alliance for Sustainability

The award from Henkel is more than a simple accolade; it is emblematic of a deeper, more collaborative relationship emerging between chemical suppliers and consumer-facing brands. Henkel, the maker of household staples like Persil and all®, has set ambitious corporate sustainability goals, including a target to achieve Net Zero emissions by 2045 and a 30% reduction in Scope 3 emissions—those originating from its supply chain—by 2030.

Achieving such targets is impossible without deep collaboration with suppliers. Innovations from partners like Nouryon are not just helpful; they are essential for brands to decarbonize their products and reduce their overall environmental footprint. Henkel's recognition of Nouryon underscores a strategic imperative: the future of sustainable consumer goods will be built on partnerships that drive innovation from the raw ingredient level upwards.

This trend is reflected in Henkel’s own recent efforts, which include concentrating its liquid laundry formulas and redesigning packaging to use more recycled plastic, saving thousands of metric tons of CO2 annually. By rewarding Nouryon, Henkel is signaling to the entire industry that suppliers who bring forward-thinking, scientifically robust sustainable solutions to the table will be considered indispensable partners.

Riding the Green Wave of Consumer Demand

The timing for this innovation could not be better. The global market for eco-friendly cleaning products is experiencing explosive growth. Market analyses project the sector to expand from around $31 billion in 2023 to over $70 billion by 2032, driven by a powerful shift in consumer behavior. Today’s shoppers are more environmentally literate and health-conscious than ever before.

They are actively seeking products that align with their values, and a 2024 PwC survey revealed that a staggering 85% of global consumers are willing to pay a premium for sustainability. This demand is fueled by concerns over the impact of traditional chemicals on water pollution, aquatic life, and indoor air quality. Consumers are no longer just buying a cleaning product; they are making a choice about the kind of world they want to live in.

Nouryon’s biodegradable ingredient directly addresses this burgeoning market. It enables brands like Henkel to offer a product that delivers on its core promise of clean clothes while also providing the environmental and health assurances that a growing majority of customers now demand. In a crowded marketplace, this dual benefit provides a powerful competitive advantage and builds brand loyalty among an increasingly discerning consumer base.

Setting the Standard for a Cleaner Future

Beyond market appeal, Nouryon’s innovation is validated by its compliance with some of the world's most stringent environmental standards. The company's sustainable solutions meet the rigorous criteria for both the EU Ecolabel and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Safer Choice program. These labels are not easily earned; they require extensive documentation and proof that a product's ingredients are safer for human health and the environment compared to conventional alternatives.

For consumers, these ecolabels serve as trusted third-party verification, cutting through marketing noise to signal a genuinely superior product. For manufacturers, incorporating ingredients that are pre-vetted for these standards streamlines the process of getting their own products certified, accelerating the journey from the lab to the laundry room.

By developing chemistry that is high-performing, bio-based, biodegradable, and compliant with top-tier ecolabels, Nouryon is doing more than just winning an award. It is providing a tangible pathway for the entire cleaning products industry to evolve. This kind of foundational innovation, happening at the molecular level, is what will ultimately enable the creation of the next generation of everyday products, making sustainability not an optional luxury, but a seamless, built-in feature of modern life.