When it comes to sustainable cleaning products, consumers are asking more questions than ever before. What ingredients are being used? Where do they come from? Are they safe for sensitive skin? And most importantly, do they actually work?
At Bio-D, creating effective, environmentally responsible cleaning products has been at the heart of what we do for over 35 years. Long before eco cleaning became mainstream, our team was developing formulations designed to deliver powerful results without relying on unnecessary harsh chemicals.
Today, sustainability remains central to every product we create. But achieving high-performing formulations that are over 99% naturally derived doesn’t happen overnight. It takes expertise, careful ingredient selection, rigorous testing, and decades of formulation experience.
To give you a behind-the-scenes look at how Bio-D products are developed, we spoke with our New Product Development (NPD) team about the philosophy, science, and values behind our formulations.
Q: What does “naturally derived” actually mean in your formulations?
NPD Team:
For us, naturally derived means ingredients that come from renewable plant, mineral, or naturally occurring sources rather than petrochemicals. We carefully assess every raw material to ensure it aligns with our environmental and ethical standards, while still being safe and effective for everyday use.
Q: Why is achieving over 99% naturally derived formulations so important to Bio-D?
NPD Team:
We believe cleaning products should work in harmony with people and the planet. Using naturally derived ingredients helps reduce our reliance on fossil fuel-based chemicals and allows us to create products that are gentler on skin, waterways, and the wider environment.
Q: How do you begin developing a new product?
NPD Team:
The process always starts with performance. We ask: what does the customer need this product to do? From there, we build formulations using the most sustainable and naturally derived ingredients available. Every ingredient has to earn its place — it must be effective, safe, responsibly sourced, and biodegradable.
Q: Is it difficult to formulate without harsh synthetic chemicals?
NPD Team:
It can be challenging, yes. Some conventional chemicals are widely used because they’re cheap and easy to formulate with. We deliberately take a different route. That means investing more time into research, testing, and reformulation to find naturally derived alternatives that meet our standards without compromising on performance.
Q: Are there ingredients you specifically avoid?
NPD Team:
Absolutely. We avoid ingredients associated with unnecessary environmental harm or health concerns, see our What We Leave Out page. We also avoid animal-derived ingredients and never test on animals.
Q: What makes Bio-D’s approach different?
NPD Team:
We never formulate to minimum standards. We formulate to our values. That means prioritising transparency, safety, sustainability, and efficacy in equal measure. Our aim is always to create products that people can trust in their homes and feel good about using every day.
Q: How does Bio-D’s experience influence the way you formulate products?
NPD Team:
Experience plays a huge role in everything we do. The Bio-D Company has been developing environmentally responsible cleaning products for over 35 years — long before eco cleaning became mainstream. That depth of knowledge gives us a real understanding of ingredients, formulation challenges, and what customers expect from high-performing sustainable products. Over the decades, we’ve continually refined our formulations as new innovations and naturally derived ingredients become available, while staying true to our core principles. Our longevity also means customers can trust that our products are backed by decades of expertise, testing, and proven performance — something many newer brands simply can’t replicate.
Q: Why does Bio-D avoid unnecessary preservatives in its formulations?
NPD Team:
Many conventional cleaning products rely heavily on preservatives as a quick and inexpensive way to maintain product stability and shelf life. At The Bio-D Company, we take a different approach. Wherever possible, we formulate our products to be self-preserving through careful ingredient selection, pH balancing, and formulation design, rather than relying on harsh preservative systems.
This approach takes significantly more expertise and development time, but it allows us to reduce or avoid ingredients that can cause irritation or sensitisation — particularly for people with sensitive skin, eczema, allergies, or respiratory concerns. Some preservatives commonly used across the industry have been linked to skin and eye irritation, which is why we work hard to create formulations that are both effective and as gentle as possible.
Q: How do you ensure the products still clean effectively?
NPD Team:
Performance testing is a huge part of development. Every formulation goes through rigorous laboratory and real-world testing to ensure it delivers excellent cleaning results. Consumers should never have to choose between sustainability and effectiveness.
Q: What role does sustainability play beyond the ingredients themselves?
NPD Team:
Sustainability influences every stage of product development — from ingredient sourcing and manufacturing to packaging and transportation. We look at the full lifecycle of a product to minimise environmental impact wherever possible.
Q: How does customer feedback influence product development?
NPD Team:
Customer feedback is incredibly valuable. It helps us refine formulations, improve usability, and identify opportunities for new products. Many of our innovations have come directly from listening to what customers want from a truly ethical cleaning brand.
Sustainability Beyond Ingredients
Sustainability influences every stage of Bio-D’s product development process — not just the ingredients themselves.
From responsible sourcing and manufacturing to recyclable packaging and reduced transportation impact, we continually assess the full lifecycle of our products to identify ways to minimise environmental impact wherever possible.
Customer feedback also plays a vital role in helping us improve formulations and identify opportunities for future innovation.
Creating Cleaning Products People Can Trust
At Bio-D, our goal has always been simple: create cleaning products that work brilliantly while being kinder to people and the planet.
That commitment has guided us for more than 35 years and continues to shape every formulation we create today.
As the demand for sustainable cleaning products continues to grow, we remain committed to transparency, innovation, and developing naturally derived formulations customers can trust in their homes every single day.
