CONSUMER SPECIALTY Products Association (CSPA) members make beautiful music when they work together. At the 2010 annual meeting, CSPA hammered home the importance of teamwork and how, by working together, association members have enacted real change for the industry. The annual meeting was held Dec. 5-9, 2010 in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Outgoing chairman Adam Selisker of CRC Industries opened the meeting by telling the audience that the theme of the event is “The Whole Is Greater than the Sum of Its Parts.”

“We are respected by friend and foe alike; our strength is in our members who donate their time to benefit the industry,” he noted. “Our strength is in our unity.”

Of course, in order for any association to remain strong, its members must be willing to donate that time, and several of those volunteers were honored with CSPA Volunteer Award. The honorees include:

• Aerosol Division: Paul Szczesny, S.C. Johnson;
• Air Care Division: Heidi Fuentes, Reckitt Benckiser;
• Antimicrobial Division: Diane Boesenberg, Reckitt Benckiser;
• Cleaning Division: Mark Ventura, Church & Dwight;
• Industrial & Automotive Division: Michelle Rudnick, CRC Industries;
• Pesticide Division: Bill Metzger, United Industries; and
• Polishes & Floor Maintenance Division: Russ Craig, Omnova.

Chris Cathcart, president of CSPA, picked up on Selisker’s comments, noting that disparate groups invite CSPA to the negotiation table because the association makes things happen. For example, on Jan. 1, 2010, CSPA and other industry organizations launched a voluntary consumer product ingredient communication initiative. Throughout the year, CSPA worked with the Sierra Club to enhance that initiative into a win-win program for industry and environmental groups. CSPA and the Sierra Club also found themselves in agreement on changes to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Design for the Environment (DfE) program, and the EPA ultimately picked up their proposals.

Symphony conductor Boris Brott

During the year, CSPA spent much time educating the EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs on a voluntary ingredient disclosure program. Ultimately, the EPA created a pilot program whereby manufacturers of antimicrobial pesticide products would further disclose ingredients based on the CSPA model.

Cathcart asked, “Where is all this headed? Toward establishing a national policy on Right-to-Know, rather than a patchwork quilt (of regulations).” Also during the year, CSPA worked with a variety of organizations on efforts to modernize the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Cathcart noted that the Act must be modernized to address the science and technology that has evolved since it was passed in 1976.

“It needs to be modernized—not scrapped,” he cautioned. But while CSPA is eager to sit down at the table with non-government organizations (NGOs) to discuss TSCA, the association remains committed to confidentiality, in order to protect its business. That can-do spirit has enabled CSPA to add 40 members during the economic downturn to bring total membership to more than 240, according to the association. Moving Parts

Even as it reaches out to other associations and organizations, CSPA has a wide array of affiliates including Product Ingredient Review (PIR), Alliance for Consumer Education (ACE), Automotive Specialty Products Alliance (ASPA), Consumer Aerosol Products Council and Consumer Specialties Insurance Company (CAPCO).

“We have a lot of moving parts,” Cathcart acknowledged, before noting that the PIR is gaining strength every year and created five new joint ventures in 2010. During the year, CAPCO took advantage of social media websites to get the word out about the benefits of aerosols. During the year, CAPCO sponsored a video contest on why it is okay to spray, and also participated in the National Science Teachers Association.

Finally, ACE celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2010, by forming several partnerships with groups such as minor league baseball, Marvel Entertainment and Marriott International. (For a look at the press conference announcing the ACE-Marvel alliance, visit: nitesh_happi.rodpub.com.)

While CSPA and its affiliates may make beautiful music together, it can’t compare to the many moving pieces that make up an orchestra. Symphony conductor Boris Brott’s lively presentation explained how strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion all come together night after night to unlock their creativity.

In an entertaining presentation, Brott explained how the idiosyncrasies of each group can be put aside, at least for each performance, in order to work together. He called the brass section, the easy-going group that enjoys their job. “They are laid back because they know that they can drown everyone else out!” he joked. In contrast, the string section is often made up of former star performers who learned to put aside their soloist aspirations for the good of the group.

The conductor’s job through all of this is to keep these groups on the same page, while inspiring them to do better. “Don’t fire them; inspire them,” Brott insisted. “We’re all busy, but it only takes a few minutes to tell someone that they were fabulous.”

Carlson Wins Allderdice Award David J. Carlson of McLaughlin Gormley King Company (right) is presented with the Charles E. Allderdice Jr. Memorial Award by chairman Adam Selisker of CRC Industries. The award is presented annually to the individual who has made an exceptional contribution to the consumer specialty products industry and CSPA. In presenting the award, CSPA chairman Adam Selisker noted that Carlson had worked hard to garner positive results for the pesticides industry.

Just as he inspires his charges, the conductor is supposed to breathe new life into old works. “I can’t change Beethoven’s notes, but I can make them more accessible,” Brott observed.

Finally, Brott showed the audience how collaboration works by engaging CSPA members to play Beethoven’s Ode to Joy by striking simple, one-note instruments. The annual business meeting closed with the election of the 2011 board, which will be chaired by John Abplanalp of Precision. Keeping Pathogens at Bay Whether it’s keeping a hospital room from being overrun by MRSA or a garment from being overwhelmed by malodor, member companies in the CSPA Antimicrobial Products Division offer a variety of methods to keep surfaces contaminant-free. Unfortunately, incorrect use of those products by hospital cleaning staff is often the cause of germs spreading, according to William A. Rutala of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

Rutala noted that when terminal cleaning of a hospital room is completed, less than 40% of surfaces are actually clean. A poor cleaning job increases the risk of the next occupant of contracting pathogens such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus (VRE) and C. difficile. To combat this inefficiency, Rutala described several new cleaning methods including ultraviolet light, hydrogen peroxide vapor and copper and silver compounds. UV light, specifically shortwave (254 nm) UVC light, is applied to a room using a fully-automated, self-calibrating and self-operating device. UVC is said to reduce 99.9% of vegetative bacteria within 15 minutes and 99.84% of C. difficile spores within 50 minutes.

According to Rutala, the UVC method is effective and rapid and doesn’t require the HVAC system to be disabled or sealed. Unfortunately, patient and hospital personnel must leave the room and the technique cannot be done every day.

Another cleaning method, vaporized hydrogen peroxide, delivered via microcondensation or dry mist, has been shown to be effective in eradicating C. difficile from contaminated surfaces. However, the H2O2 method is time-consuming, taking 270 minutes, compared to just 67 minutes for bleach cleaning.

“Still, vaporized hydrogen peroxide reduced contamination of multiple pathogens and studies have shown that there are benefits in controlling outbreaks and infections,” Rutala noted.

Charles S. Ortmann of Diversified CPC International (right) receives the Chairman’s Award from CSPA chairman Adam Selisker of CRC Industries.

Rutala explained that copper has antimicrobial activity and has been implemented in healthcare settings by applying the metal to toilet seats, brass handles and brass door handles where it was shown to reduce microorganisms. Similarly, there have been only a few studies utilizing disinfectants containing silver, but Rutala noted that one silver dihydrogen citrate formula has shown to be effective with broadspectrum activity. Meanwhile silver iodide has efficacy against VRE.

Rutala concluded that while UV and H2O2 have applications in select health care rooms and areas, the uses for copper and silver remain limited.

A Look at Fabric Care

Roni Plectrazak-Weaver of Arch Chemicals presented different approaches to textile treatment. She noted that microbial growth could have detrimental effects on the fabric such as cross infection by pathogens in a medical environment, odor development or loss of performance properties. Microbes can thrive in today’s wash cycles because of lower wash temperatures and reduced use of chlorine bleach. That combination can lead to the formation of biofilm on fabric and machine surfaces, she explained. However, these problems can be eradicated with antimicrobials such as applying silver ZPT on fibers, treating fabrics with ingredients such as N-halamine, PHMB hypochloride, silane quats, silver, triclosan and ZPT. Garments can be treated with PHMB and laundry can be treated with hydrogen peroxide, PHMB, quats and sodium hypochlorite.

Plectrazak-Weaver also reviewed the test methods used to ensure efficacy of the treatments and the claims that manufacturers can and cannot make regarding fiber, mill and laundry treatments. Fragrance Notes

The Air Care Division program focused on the science, emotion and legislation that are impacting the segment. CSPA’s Phil Klein opened the session with a look at the regulatory issues affecting the industry. He called 2010 a perfect storm of state, federal and EPA activity, with much of the focus on intellectual property. However, Klein assured the audience that the association is committed to its membership.

“CSPA is going to protect the intellectual property (IP) of our members,” he insisted. “Yes, we have a great relationships with EPA and the environmental groups. We will find a balance on Right-to-Know (issues).”

Together with the American Cleaning Institute, CSPA launched its voluntary ingredient disclosure program at the start of the 2010. Unfortunately, the launch was met with opposition by several non-government organizations, which insisted on “full disclosure” including trace levels of materials. Such demands, according to Klein, signal that the NGOs are less interested in transparency and more interested in suing member companies. Specifically, NGOs identified several areas that they could not agree with industry on including:

• Fragrance, dyes and preservatives;
• CBI protection; and
• Excessive nomenclature.

During the year, CSPA met with Republican members of Congress and insisted that members’ intellectual property deserves as much protection as that afforded to the Coca-Cola and Kentucky Fried Chicken formulas.

Incoming CSPA chairman John Abplanalp of Precision (left) presents a plaque to outgoing chairman Adam Selisker of CRC Industries in recognition of his efforts in 2010.

The State of the States

At the state level, Klein noted that a bill sponsored by California Senator Joe Simitian was defeated, but in New York, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has unearthed a 1976 regulation that gives it the authority to demand cleaning product manufacturers disclose product ingredients. That regulation concerns Klein, who also pointed out that incoming New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has presidential aspirations and is unwilling to get into a fight with environmental groups over the DEC.

As a result, “we want to be in front on this issue,” he told the audience. On the subject of Congressional Bills, Klein observed that the authors of the Household Product Labeling Act of 2009 (HR 3057) made a fatal mistake by including pesticides in its wording—a move that doomed the bill. In contrast, a similar bill (S. 1697) sponsored by Senator Al Franken (D-MN) did not include pesticides. In both instances, CSPA opposed the bills, insisting that they failed to strike a balance between transparency and the need to protect IP.

In closing, Klein urged member companies to get on board with the Association’s ingredient dictionary as well as on Right-to-Know issues, warning, “we can’t deal with this issue on a state by state level.”

IFRA Evolves

Jennifer Abril of the International Fragrance Asssociation (IFRA) North America, detailed how the association has evolved from a patchwork of national groups, including the Fragrance Materials Association into a single IFRA group that includes four regional offices: North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia. The move gives IFRA greater coordination and strategic alignment, according to Abril. Moreover, the new alignment enables the groups to pool resources and learn from legislative battles that have already been fought in other regions. The alignment was launched in October and readers can learn more at the new website: www.ifrana.org.

Abril also revisited several high-profile media events in 2010 that put fragrance in a bad light including pub- lications such as the Women’s Voices of the Earth’s “What’s that Smell?” In contrast, Abril noted that Wired will publish a positive article on fragrance in the near future. In 2011, IFRA is committed to safeguarding the fundamentals of the industry’s business models, including protecting fragrance formulas from Rightto- Know legislation, said Abril.

The session’s final speaker, Madhuri Singal of the Research Institute for Fragrance Materials (RIFM), reviewed results of RIFM’s inhalation study. Interestingly, researchers found that respirable particle droplets (less than 10 microns in size) were highest 10 minutes after a spray. However, there were no changes in overall airway inflammation.

Upcoming Meetings

The Consumer Specialty Products Association will hold its 2011 Mid-Year Meeting and Innovention on May 3-6 at the Marriott Hotel Downtown, Chicago. The Fall Board meeting will take place Oct. 5-6 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, DC, and the 98th Annual Meeting will be held Dec. 4-8 at the Marriott Harbor Beach Resort and Spa, Fort Lauderdale, FL.

More info: www.cspa.org