Frequently asked questions

All our products are designed, developed and manufactured in France on our Longvic site near Dijon.

We have a dedicated R&D department on our Longvic site (Dijon, 21). Our Research and Development team works closely with the Quality, Marketing, Production and Sales teams to design products that meet your specific needs and comply with applicable regulations. Our R&D department deals with the formulation as well as the stability and compatibility tests. We are constantly innovating to offer high-quality cleaning, hygiene and disinfecting solutions.

Thanks to the expertise we have acquired through our own ranges, we are able to manufacture on a subcontracting basis, for distributors and major brands, and we adapt our formulations, fragrances, packagings, etc. to develop the products you are looking for.

We guarantee product performance and features for 3 years, however it should be noted the products are still safe to use after this period.

Our products are subject to specific regulations depending on the category they fall under.

Detergents are not subject to a Best Before Date (BBD). However, we recommend using these products up to 3 years after their manufacturing date in order to guarantee optimal performance.

As for disinfectants, which fall under the category of biocidal products, they are subject to a BBD. The BBD is 2 years for chlorine-based products and 3 years for products based on other disinfecting substances. Therefore it is important to comply with these dates to ensure performance and compliance with safety standards.

Rules are different for cosmetic products. Cosmetics usually feature a PAO symbol (Period After Opening), which indicates how long the product can be used after opening, however they are not subject to a strict BBD. It is essential to follow the specific recommendations featured on the packaging to ensure product performance and safety after opening.

Product conservation after dilution highly depends on compliance with a few best practices. Leaving the product in an open bottle, a bucket or tray, or with a mop, will inevitably compromise its integrity.

Correctly identifying products is also essential to guarantee effective disinfection. As disinfecting experts, our reputation is based on the quality of our recommendations to clients, which includes compliance with best practices.

We claim a 7-day conservation period after dilution, strictly subject to the products being stored appropriately.

H&N products are specifically designed to meet the requirements of professionals. Unlike general public products, they are not subject to sorting instructions.

Hygiene & Nature products are dedicated to professionals and are distributed throughout France. They are sold by specialised distributors. You can contact us using the contact form or by phoning us, and we will indicate distributors near you.

We have a wide, diverse range, our branded products are intended for cleaning companies, collective kitchens, catering professionals, industrials, collective structures, food professionals, health establishments, etc.

This reference frame, which was launched in 2006 as part of a private initiative in order to promote the use of naturally-sourced ingredients, applies to detergents in general.

Since then, ECOCERT Greenlife has continuously improved its requirement specifications and in 2012, received accreditation of its reference frame for Eco-detergents made with organic ingredients.

Products are certified by ECOCERT, who checks compliance of ingredients with its reference frame and also validates the company’s environmental management system.

This label mainly deals with the product life cycle in order to reduce its environmental impact. Products, which are certified by the AFNOR, must meet strict reference frame criteria, which are established on a European level.

Environmental criteria are revised every 3 to 5 years, to take into account technological evolutions and to maintain selectivity. This approach is used to shift the market towards virtuous products and stimulate progress.

Product performance is tested in comparison with a reference product selected among the top-selling products on the market.

Our certified products are SAFE AND ECONOMICAL:

• No PPE required for unclassified products
• Fewer sick leaves and occupational diseases
• No retention container required
• No surcharge for transport
• No surcharge for packaging disposal
• They are usually concentrated, meaning they use less transport, water, packaging, storage and dosing is easier and economical.

Eco-design means systematically integrating environmental aspects from product design to its end-of-life.

Hygiene & Nature’s objectives are:

– Integrating the environment at the design stage in order to reduce products’ negative environmental impacts throughout their life cycle;

– Offering products that are safe for human health by reducing the use of substances harmful to human health and to animal and plant life;

– Reducing discharge and unnecessary waste;

– Maintaining product performance and effectiveness;

– Training and informing consumers.

We work on a daily basis towards reducing the impact of our business and products on the environment and on health.

Yes, Hygiene & Nature is deeply committed to a socially responsible corporate policy. We are proud to have received the PME+ label from the FEEF (Fédération des Entreprises et Entrepreneurs de France or Federation of Enterprises and Entrepreneurs in France), recognising our efforts in terms of design, manufacturing and marketing of cleaning products. Take a look at our dedicated Hygiene & Nature CSR page.

For H&N products:
Standard delivery times for H&N-branded products are 10 days.

For branded products (Retailer’s brand/Subcontracted manufacturing):

• These products are available on order.
• Delivery times may vary depending on the requested customisation.
• Delivery times for branded products are usually between 10 days and a month, depending on how complex the customisation is and depending on the quantity ordered.

Our suppliers reflect our product quality and our company values. Therefore we make sure they conform with our commitments and rationale.

There are several steps in our approach:

1. First of all, we send an assessment questionnaire to evaluate supplier service according to specific criteria, most notably product quality and CSR policy.
2. Then we ask suppliers to sign an ethics and social charter for responsible purchasing, in order to have a written record of their commitment to our company values and rationale.
3. We draft specifications, also used as a supplier contract, in order to list every clause in the contract that we require them to follow throughout the entire trading relation.

The PME+ label was created by the FEEF (Fédération des Entreprises et Entrepreneurs de France or Federation of Enterprises and Entrepreneurs in France) to promote the development of #SMEs with a CSR policy on the French territory, particularly on the mass distribution circuit.

Ecocert Environment carries out the certification audits every year.

The PME+ label represents:

• 192 companies;
• 39,000 products;
• 22,300 jobs.

Hygiene & Nature has received the PME+ label with reference to the “Design, manufacturing and marketing of cleaning products” scope.

This voluntary initiative is part of our #CSR approach and as a company, as an employer and as employees, we are committed to integrating the 6 values of the label into our strategy, our culture and our everyday actions.

HYGIENE & NATURE provides a number of means aimed at guaranteeing impeccable hygiene and food safety.

1 • Initial kitchen diagnosis
Analysing requirements based on existing equipment, organisation, your requirements and internal constraints.

2 • Personalised HACCP plans
Developing and implementing Cleaning and Disinfection Plans as well as communication wall panels.

3 • Technical sheets
Supplying specific information tools in order to use our products in the best way.
Technical sheets can be downloaded on our website.

4 • Training to cleaning methods
Implementing products, equipment, processes and cleaning methods based on regulatory requirements and on the initial diagnosis.
Training staff to hygiene, safety and product use with qualified professionals.

5 • Optimising costs
Calculating costs of use to control your budget and get the expected results.

6 • Support and follow-up
Providing support, personalised tips and follow-up: regular visits, service report, process updating, etc.

7 • Installation
Installing dosage dispensers, cleaning centres, etc. and providing after-sales follow-up.

Our customer service is available to answer any questions you may have, by telephone on +33 (0)3 80 68 45 20 and by email at contact@hetn.fr

To order our products, please contact our customer service by telephone on +33 (0)3 80 68 45 20 or by email at contact@hetn.fr

If you happen to receive a defective or damaged Hygiene & Nature product, we undertake to resolve the issue in a quick and timely manner.

First of all you will be required to contact us within 8 days of receiving your order. Our team will then examine your claim and give you specific instructions to return the product.

Disinfection is used to kill harmful micro-organisms including pathogenic bacteria, fungi and viruses, which are responsible for infections, nosocomial diseases and food poisoning.

A product’s disinfecting properties are regulated by the Biocidal Products Regulation. HYGIENE & NATURE biocidal products meet strict standards in terms of formulation, performance and labelling.

A bactericidal product is used to kill bacteria on its area of application.

Bacteria are microscopic, unicellular living entities which can live in all environments. They live on inert objects or on living beings and have pathogenic properties (meaning they generate diseases).

Examples of well-known bacteria: Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas, etc.

In order to claim bactericidal properties, a disinfectant must comply with standards EN 1276 and/or EN 13697.

You must read instructions of use to answer this question.

A number of products require no rinsing, and just need to be wiped or can even be left to degrade.

Other products require rinsing, particularly when the surface cleaned may come into contact with food

As a reminder, rinsing means removing any traces of product and residues. In the case of disinfectants, if rinsing is required, it is therefore essential to follow the application time to ensure complete disinfection before rinsing.

Lactic acid is a plant-based disinfecting substance resulting from a natural fermentation process from sugars, which kills 99.999% of bacteria.

Used in combination with one or several surfactants, it cleans and disinfects all types of surfaces in the home.

Lactic acid, the power of plants for performance!

• Complies with the Ecocert reference frame
• Non-toxic
• Non-allergenic
• Safe to handle
• Biodegradable
• Less corrosive than mineral acids
• Guaranteed free from heavy metals

Hygiene & Nature also markets cosmetic products: soaps, shower gels, shampoos, etc. which require even more specific consideration since they come into contact with the skin.

The H&N laboratory carries out a microbiological control on each cosmetic product manufacturing. This is used to check for any microbiological contamination, in order to guarantee product quality and consumer safety.

• A product sample is placed on some agar;
• It is incubated at 37°C for 48h;
• It is checked for any contamination by a pathogenic strain using microscope identification.

It is strongly advised not to experiment with cleaning products. Some combinations may lead to health hazards, or may even explode.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of dangerous combinations:

White vinegar and oxygenated water
If combined, they produce peracetic acid, which can lead to skin irritation as well as throat, nose and lung irritation if inhaled.

White vinegar and bleach
Even though bleach has been denounced for a number of years, it can still be found in many homes: however it is far from harmless.
Bleach contains chlorine and white vinegar contains acid: if combined, they create chlorine gas, which is particularly toxic for the respiratory tracts and can damage lungs.

Bleach and ammonia
This combination also produces a toxic gas which causes serious breathing difficulties and chest pain: chloramine. It may also explode!

Bleach and rubbing alcohol
This combination produces chloroform and muriatic acid. Both can damage the nervous system and the lungs, kidneys, liver, eyes and skin.
Inhaling this toxic combination may also cause nausea, dizziness or fainting.

Two different drain cleaners
The chemical elements they contain may not be compatible and may cause an explosion inside your pipes, that’s why you should absolutely never combine two drain cleaners: one is enough!

Baking soda and white vinegar
Don’t worry, it’s not dangerous to combine them.
However, if you close the jar containing the mixture, it may explode!
Apart from that, there is no danger, on the contrary: it is very handy to deep-clean surfaces, for instance to remove stains on hot plates or in the oven.

Standards EN 1276, EN 1650 and EN 14476 are standards using “in vitro” suspensions, carried out in test tubes.

They are used to assess a product’s bactericidal (EN 1276), levuricidal or fungicidal (EN 1650) or virucidal (EN 14476) activity.

Standards EN 13697, EN 1500 and EN 1499 are quantitative surface tests which simulate actual conditions of use, for example surfaces (EN 13697), hand washing tests (EN 1499) or hand friction (EN 1500), in order to prove a product’s bactericidal, levuricidal or fungicidal disinfecting properties.

A foaming product is not necessarily more effective than a product producing less foam, since the cleaning properties do not come from the foam!

While its presence makes it more obvious where the product has been applied, making it easier not to forget any spots, and makes washing more pleasant, rinsing is harder, longer and above all less ecological (a larger quantity of water is used).

Foam is usually obtained by adding amphiphilic agents to the product. This makes the product more foaming but not more performing in cleaning.

Of course we tend to like having foam in the washing-up bowl, but what if it wasn’t necessary?…

Saponification is the chemical process through which fatty substances are transformed into soap. It is a chemical reaction between a fatty substance (oil or butter) and an alkali (soda or potash).

Soda is used to manufacture solid soaps.

Here we use potash detergent to manufacture soft and liquid soaps.

The chemical reaction forms a combination of saponified oils and glycerine.

We add additives to the saponified oil to get the finished product (black soap or soap-based detergent):
– Gellants or salts to increase viscosity;
– Biodegradable sequestering agents to improve performance, conservation and stability;
– Fragrances to add a pleasant or distinctive smell.

For the in-house saponification of our soap detergents, we use the following oils:

– Copra oil (derived from the dried flesh of coconut): produces soap with strong foaming and detergent properties.
– Olive pomace oil (by-product derived from the extraction of pure olive oil, containing the pulp and fragments of kernels): particularly used to manufacture Marseilles soap, the saponified oils are derived from upcycling.
– Linseed oil: used to produce degreasing soaps that protect surfaces.

Most of our finished detergent products combine several saponified oils to couple their actions and properties.

Hygiene & Nature soap-based detergents are guaranteed 100% made in Dijon, from raw material to finished product.

You must read instructions of use to answer this question.

A number of products require no rinsing, and just need to be wiped or can even be left to degrade.

Other products require rinsing, particularly when the surface cleaned may come into contact with food.

As a reminder, rinsing means removing any traces of product and residues.

In the case of disinfectants, if rinsing is required, it is therefore essential to follow the application time to ensure complete disinfection before rinsing.

Biocontrol is a set of crop and plant protection methods using living organisms or natural substances. Its principle is based on balance management and pest regulation rather than pest eradication. Biocontrol is therefore one of the components of agroecology and sustainable management of natural environments.

Biocontrol products were authorised by the Energy Transition Act of 17 August 2015 aimed at gradually reducing the use of conventional phytopharmaceutical products in farming and non-farming areas in order to reduce their environmental impact

Benefits:

• Multi-purpose: can be used for a number of purposes.
• Easy to apply: works by simple contact.
• First visual effects after 1 hour, weeds are rapidly destroyed.
• No toxicological or environmental classification (for our Speed product).
• Reseeding can be carried out 1 day after treatment.
• Economical cost among the lowest (alternative methods or manual weeding).

Biocontrol products for what uses?

• Weeding park paths, public gardens and permeable pavements.
• Weeding cemetery alleys, storage areas, around buildings, along roads (with the exception of gutters).
• Maintaining planted areas.

With biocontrol products, local communities and landscape professionals now have alternative solutions to standard phytosanitary products to effectively fight unwanted invasive plants and allergenic plants in the public space.

Registration and authorisation number for the distribution of phytopharmaceutical products to professional users: BO 10729.