Dow Makes Taiwanese Cleaners Tougher on Stains, Gentler on People and the Environment
Dow has developed formulation solutions to help cleaning products clean effectively while reducing safety risks and using fewer natural resources. In the case of the Taiwanese kitchen cleaner Dr. White, Dow applied sustainable chemistry principles to design a product safer for human use and the environment while increasing its cleaning effectiveness.
Taiwanese manufacturer Chu Chen’s Dr. White brand of kitchen cleaner is a popular and effective product for removing dirt and heavy kitchen grease. However, Dr. White’s formulation contributed to corrosion of its metal container, posing a potential problem to consumers and the environment.
Dow worked with Chu Chen to reformulate the cleaner by substituting water-based solvent in place of the hydrocarbon solvent and modifying the additive package. This addressed the corrosion problem and reduced the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released during use.
This new formulation had the added benefit of increased cleaning effectiveness, decreasing the amount of product used and saving resources. The new Dr. White formula was so successful that Chu Chen launched a second brand, Mommy Quick, which sold in smaller packages.
This kind of innovative thinking and collaboration is just one example of how the Human Element at Dow is contributing to more sustainable industries; for more, please visit
