“Green” RV Care Products
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Responding to customer demand for more environmentally-friendly products, Thetford Corporation is using new vegetable-based detergents in its RV-care product line.
The company is replacing petroleum-based detergents with corn-based cleansers in more than 10 popular products. The new cleaning products are equal in performance to petroleum-based cleaning agents, but are milder to the skin and derived from renewable resources.
“RV owners are becoming more and more environmentally conscious and we’ve seen a tremendous increase in demand for ‘green’ products as a result,” said Mary Burrows, Thetford’s manager of chemical development. “At Thetford, we are committed to providing our customers with high-quality cleaning agents that contain a favorable environmental profile.”
Thetford’s new Premium RV Care products contain wetting agents made entirely from corn. Developed at the company’s research laboratories in Ann Arbor, the new cleansers are 100 percent biodegradable and are derived from 100 percent renewable resources. In addition, Thetford care-product containers are made with 25 percent post-consumer recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and are recyclable.
Led by Burrows, the development of Thetford’s corn-based products took approximately one year to complete. Formulas were compared and ranked for performance, safety and biodegradability. Only the top-scoring versions were selected for production.
“As petroleum costs continue to rise, we are seeing even more interest in developing products from alternative resources,” noted Burrows. “With our bio-based products, Thetford plans to be on the forefront of this new market.”
“Green” products currently in Thetford’s Premium RV Care line include: Premium Awning Cleaner, Premium UltraFoam™ Awning Cleaner, Premium Rubber Roof Cleaner and Premium Wash & Wax. Burrows notes that the company hopes to incorporate an environmentally-friendly base into its other Premium RV Care products over the next six to 12 months.