The household products company announced a new initiative on Wednesday, called the Safer Today Alliance, aimed at raising standards for infection control and disinfectant protocol in public spaces.
Clorox is partnering with the Cleveland Clinic and the CDC Foundation in an effort to convey the message that it is equally important for companies to emphasize cleanliness and safety in a world now obsessed with protecting itself from communicable diseases.
“We are focusing on best practices as people return to the world,” said Tony Matta, the company’s growth director, in an interview with CNN Business.
Matta said Clorox has added significant capacity and is now able to ship 1.5 million packs of baby wipes per day, up from 1 million a year ago. The company plans to further increase production to reach the goal of 2 million daily packages in the coming months.
Investors fear that demand may have peaked, however. Clorox’s shares have fallen 7% this year and are almost 25% below the highest record they reached last year during the worst of the pandemic.
“It’s been a year now, so the idea that people may be feeling a little bit of fatigue is natural. We all do,” said Matta.
He admitted that people may be less concerned about Covd-19 now than they were a few months ago, but that companies know they cannot let their guard down – even if more Americans are vaccinated and some states are eliminating mask prescriptions.
That is why Clorox is stepping up its efforts to form new business partnerships in order to rely less on average consumers who buy their wet wipes and bleach in supermarkets.
“It’s more about preventive behavior than panic behavior in a post-Covid world to come,” said Matta. ‘The reality is that if companies want to make their locations more secure, they need to think even more about creating a safe environment. “