A new concentrated detergent technology which could potentially save enough water to supply 34,064 people for a month and enough electricity to light up a city for a similar period of time was launched at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) on Tuesday. The use of concentrated detergent, in which all filler ingredients are removed, is environmentally friendly as it saves water, energy and the use of chemicals and packaging materials. Mazen Batarjee, JCCI Vice Chairman, said that it was precisely because of these environmental benefits that the chamber encouraged the use of this new technology in the Kingdom. “Apart from the savings in water and electricity, the use of concentrated detergent would reduce the need for 32,759 tons of chemicals and 1,900 tons of packing material,” he said. He pointed out that less concentrated detergent is needed to wash the same amount of clothes. For example, if a four-kilogram package of standard detergent is required to wash 16 loads of clothes, a three-kilogram package of concentrated detergent will be enough to wash the same amount. “ The main idea behind launching this new technology is environmental sustainability, giving consumers the same performance by using less products and resulting in more protection for the environment,” said Haitham T. Saleh, chairman of the Detergents Manufacturers Team and technical and consumer relations manager at a local company. This product has already been used in Europe, Japan and the United States, and many other countries are also working to launch the technology in their markets, he said. “While launching this new technology, we are also working on an education campaign so that consumers can understand the benefits and work with us to save the environment,” Saleh said. All detergent brands will use the new technology. “The brand names will not change, but we will put a special logo on the package which will notify customers that the product that they are using is an environmentally friendly concentrated detergent,” he explained. “The cost has remained the same as standard detergent in most of the countries which are using this new technology, so we expect the same to be the case in Saudi Arabia and GCC countries,” he added.
