Can I Use Clorox Clean Up On Marble

Twenty years ago, we introduced Clorox® disinfecting wipes to the earth and created a new category love by opportunistic cleaners everywhere.

Since and so, we've connected to innovate our original wipe, adding new scents, textures to cut through bigger, greasy messes and now, compostable wipes.

Denise Garner, our Chief Innovation Officeholder, was the team leader on the development of Clorox disinfecting wipes, leaving an enduring impact on the cleaning aisle and our business.

Here, she takes us back on the disinfecting wipes innovation journeying.

A timeline of Clorox wipes innovation

How did the idea for disinfecting wipes come up about?

The idea emanated from piece of work on Clorox Clean-Up® cleaner. We were looking for means to address a few areas for comeback of the otherwise popular production.

One we heard a lot was that some people felt like they need to habiliment "boxing fatigues" when cleaning with Clean-Up because of the potential for bleach splash-back on their clothes. This fabricated cleaning a existent event vs. something people could do in the menstruation of normal life.

This insight inspired us to explore many potential approaches that could be applied to Clean-Upwardly — and beyond. These included a thickened gel product to minimize splash-back, novel dispensing forms, color-safe bleach, better control with wipes, etc. (Fun fact: many of these novel forms be in Clorox products today!)

And that brought us to this thought of a wipe. As nosotros started to focus on wipes, nosotros wanted to make sure we didn't overpromise the cleaning benefit of wipes since it wasn't the same every bit sprays or dilutable cleaners. So nosotros focused the name and concept on disinfecting, which wipes do very well.

An early print ad for Clorox disinfecting wipes

When you launched Clorox disinfecting wipes, did you judge you were creating a new Cleaning category?

Those of us on the projection believed it would be big, only certainly had no idea simply how big information technology would somewhen become.

We saw the potential VERY Early on when in qualitative work with consumers, with super early on prototypes that weren't actually all that great, consumers didn't desire to requite the samples back! The intensity of liking was a telltale sign there was a real market for the product.

What's the biggest challenge y'all recall from this project?

In that location were many challenges.

1 was getting folks within the visitor to fully believe we could launch a non-bleach product with the Clorox brand! There was much fence on this topic. Proving that consumers were ready for Clorox to stand up for more than than bleach and that nosotros could extend the make equity was a critical claiming. And overcoming that challenge has had lasting impact, leading to a product that today is a flagship of the brand.

Tactically, the biggest argue in development was the packet. All our consumer research showed consumers preferred the canister, yet "conventional wisdom" inside the company, looking at trends in everything from baby wipes to flat packs, was that nosotros should employ a like pack. Thankfully, the consumer won out, and to this day we take our iconic canister.

The challenges continued even after we launched. Early demand was then high, we had serious shortages of the cloth used to make the wipes and were searching worldwide to see demand. It was a crazy time equally we had to limit the quantity we could sell to each client.

The original Clorox disinfecting wipes canister stands with our newest brand innovation, Clorox compostable wipes

Does the launch of CDW tell us anything near how nosotros approach innovation at CLX today?

One of the chief lessons from Clorox disinfecting wipes (affectionately known every bit CDW inside Clorox) is ever to begin with the consumer. What are their needs, and what is the best solution for the job to be washed? You tin can't frame inspiration for new ideas by category. If we had only focused on the cleaning-spray category, we would never have contemplated a wipe.

Trying not to be bound by traditional categories every bit we know them and removing guardrails from our ideas are a key part of our focus for innovation with the Ignite Strategy.

Another important reminder is that opportunity and inspiration often prevarication within things that people don't like about current products — our own and our competitors'. Looking at those is a neat way to trigger new ideas.

Lastly, we need to be careful near listening to cocky-limiting, internal beliefs on where our brands are able to play or to our own biases on product or packaging features that aren't grounded in what the consumer really wants.

How and where do you use CDW in your personal life?

Having merely returned from an international SCUBA diving trip, summit of listen for me is my devoted utilize while traveling. I'm a large user on airplanes and in hotel rooms. I take an entire regimen and rarely get sick traveling, which I attribute to CDW.

I also use wipes for daily wipe-downs in the kitchen — the final "reset," if y'all will, at terminate of day.

Finally, if anyone is sick in the house, I use Clorox disinfecting wipes everywhere the ill person may have touched. I've had neat success in not spreading the infection while I'll encounter friends who don't apply CDW have their entire household come downwardly with influenza, colds, etc.

Be sure to check out compostable Clorox cleaning wipes — our newest innovation and a fitting way to celebrate 20 years of CDW.