Unilever Professional

As businesses place greater focus on sustainability, everyday purchasing decisions are increasingly being reviewed through an environmental lens.

For procurement managers and sustainability leads, commercial cleaning products are one area where practical requirements and sustainability priorities often need to be considered together.

This raises an important question: can cleaning products incorporating more eco-conscious features still meet the needs of professional cleaning environments?

Rather than treating eco and traditional cleaning products as completely separate categories, businesses can look more closely at the formulation, ingredients and environmental credentials of individual products.

What does “eco-friendly” mean when choosing a cleaner?

The term “eco-friendly” can refer to a number of different product characteristics.

A cleaning product may use naturally derived ingredients, focus on biodegradability or hold particular environmental credentials.

These features are not interchangeable, which is why understanding the specific attributes of a product matters.

Jif Professional incorporates several eco-conscious attributes, including naturally derived ingredients and formulation improvements designed to support a more considered approach to commercial cleaning.

For businesses reviewing commercial cleaning products, this can provide a more useful basis for comparison than relying on broad environmental terminology alone.

Naturally derived micro-particles

Jif Cream Cleansers use 100% naturally derived micro-particles made from calcium carbonate, commonly known as limestone, rather than synthetic plastic microbeads.

The move away from plastic microbeads is relevant from an environmental perspective. Peer-reviewed research published in Environmental Pollution identifies microplastics used in personal care, cosmetic and cleaning products as a domestic source of environmental pollution.[1]

Against this wider environmental context, using naturally derived calcium carbonate micro-particles instead of synthetic plastic microbeads reflects a more considered approach to the materials used within the formulation.

Cleanboost Technology

Newer Jif formulations also incorporate Cleanboost Technology.

This technology places greater emphasis on naturally derived cleaning agents and is formulated to minimise chemical residues and harsh fumes compared with more traditional cleaning formulations.

For procurement teams, looking at these individual formulation features can provide more meaningful information than relying on broad terms such as “eco” or “green”.

It can also help businesses assess whether a particular product aligns with the sustainability criteria that matter most to their organisation.

Can more environmentally considered cleaners still perform?

A move towards more environmentally considered formulations does not automatically mean accepting lower cleaning performance.

The US Environmental Protection Agency’s Safer Choice programme requires qualifying cleaning products to meet defined environmental and ingredient criteria while also performing comparably to conventional products.[2]

While this programme does not assess Jif Professional specifically, it provides independent evidence that cleaning performance and more environmentally considered formulation choices are not inherently incompatible. For Jif Professional, the formulation is designed to deliver comparable cleaning performance to conventional abrasive cleaners while replacing synthetic plastic microbeads with naturally derived calcium carbonate micro-particles — a more considered approach to materials without compromising on results. In New Zealand, Environmental Choice New Zealand (ECNZ) provides the equivalent nationally recognised certification framework, assessing products against both environmental and performance standards. For New Zealand procurement teams working within government procurement sustainability requirements, ECNZ certification provides a locally validated benchmark for eco-conscious purchasing decisions. More information is available at environmentalchoice.org.nz.

For Jif Professional, the focus remains on commercial cleaning performance. Jif Professional Cream Cleanser is designed as a high-performance, multi-purpose cleaner for professional environments, including hospitality, food service and industrial settings.

Jif Professional is one product within a broader Unilever Professional range where similar formulation considerations apply. Persil Professional and Comfort Professional incorporate performance standards designed for high-volume commercial laundry, while Domestos Professional addresses disinfection requirements in high-risk environments. Across the range, the aim is to support practical commercial cleaning needs alongside more considered ingredient and formulation choices.

How does Jif compare with traditional cleaning approaches?

Jif Professional incorporates a number of formulation choices that differ from more traditional chemical-heavy approaches.

The use of naturally derived calcium carbonate micro-particles rather than synthetic plastic microbeads is one example. Cleanboost Technology’s focus on naturally derived cleaning agents is another.

These attributes show how sustainability considerations can increasingly be incorporated into commercial cleaning product development while practical cleaning requirements remain important.

Businesses should therefore consider the specific attributes of individual products against their own operational and sustainability requirements.

Supporting a broader sustainability direction

At Unilever, we continue to focus on reducing environmental impacts associated with ingredients, raw materials and packaging across our portfolio.

According to our 2025 Annual Report, over 60% of the greenhouse gas emissions within the scope of our net-zero ambition come from raw materials, ingredients and packaging.[3]

We also identified chemical ingredients used in laundry and cleaning products as an important area for emissions reduction. In 2025, we continued work to develop and scale lower-GHG alternatives for these chemicals.[3]

For procurement and sustainability teams, this broader direction provides useful context while the specific attributes of individual products remain an important part of purchasing decisions.

Choosing the right approach for your business

There is more to choosing a commercially suitable cleaning product than looking for an “eco” label.

For New Zealand businesses, a more informed approach is to consider the formulation, ingredients and environmental characteristics of each product.

Jif Professional incorporates eco-conscious attributes including naturally derived calcium carbonate micro-particles and, in newer formulations, Cleanboost Technology focused on naturally derived cleaning agents.

These developments sit within Unilever’s wider sustainability direction while Jif Professional remains designed around commercial cleaning needs.

Understanding these distinctions can help businesses make more considered cleaning product choices based on their own requirements.

View the Jif Professional range at Bunnings or explore our Jif Professional range to learn more, or contact our team to discuss supply arrangements for your facility.

References

[1] Zhou, Y. et al. (2023), Environmental Pollution, “Current research trends on cosmetic microplastic pollution and its impacts on the ecosystem: A review.” View the peer-reviewed study on PubMed

[2] US Environmental Protection Agency, Safer Choice. Products qualifying for the Safer Choice label must meet category-specific performance standards and perform comparably to conventional products. Learn about the EPA Safer Choice label

[3] Unilever, Annual Report and Accounts 2025. Unilever reports that more than 60% of GHG emissions within the scope of its net-zero ambition come from raw materials, ingredients and packaging and outlines ongoing work on lower-GHG chemical ingredients for laundry and cleaning products. View the 2025 Annual Report