A visit to Bio D’s new factory

Bio D are one of our original suppliers when we opened way back in 2006!

Bio D dates back to 1989, founded by Michael Barwell who had worked in the shipping industry where he was required to wear full personal protective equipment including a respirator. He looked at the ingredients of the products he used at work to compare them to the ingredients of the products he used at home and was surprised to see just how similar they were!

Being a member of Greenpeace he felt there must be a better alternative to discharging harmful chemicals like these into the environment, and so Bio-D was born! Lloyd Atkin was his first employee 1996 and became pivotal in developing the Bio-D range as it stands today and now owns the business in full. With Lloyd at the helm, the Bio-D team work everyday to continue Michael’s legacy, making effective and ethical cleaning products that don’t cost the earth.

What is special about Bio-D?

Ingredients

Bio-D products use naturally derived ingredients wherever possible that are sustainably sourced to reduce the impact on the environment. Bio-D only work with ethical suppliers and like minded businesses that produce high-quality products and treat their staff fairly and will have annual reviews with partners to ensure they continue to fit the same ethos.

Packaging

Bio-D have been working hard to reduce the impact of their packaging and improve sustainability and  follow the mantra of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Firstly to reduce consumption they use 5L refills to reduce the plastic per litre, where relevant using concentrated products to reduce you need to use. Bio-D encourage creative reuse of containers as well as having agreements with many stockists to clean and reuse the 20L refill containers. Bio-D recycle where possible all materials and also use 100% recycled bottles across the whole liquid range.

Certifications

Bio-D products have a number of certifications including from the Vegan Society, Cruelty Free International, Allergy UK, and Ethical Consumer Best Buy. Bio-d are also a Certified B Corp.  

Bio-D recently moved into a new 30,000 sq ft factory, thy were keen to stay nearby to the old factory in Hull as their employees are important to them so they wanted to make the switch as easy as possible for them. The bigger site has enabled them to take on more staff, creating more jobs and helping them keep up with demand! In line with the eco-friendly ethos, solar panels will allow it to operate with self-generated renewable power too.

With covid seemingly taking over 2020 and 2021 we hadn’t visited them for quite a while so we thought this would be an ideal opportunity to catch up face to face.

Bio-D now have increased efficiency as overnight filling (rather than straight from the water source) allows fast blending take filling for production blends. There is also naturally increase pressure from the stored water which reduces the need for the electric water pump. For example they used to fill at 31L per minute and can now fill at 300L per minute – nearly ten times as quick!

Closed Loop and Water Tank – To the left, unwashed 20L returned via Bio-D’s Closed Loop programs ready to be washed, refilled, and sent back out to their customers. To the right, washed 20L containers ready to be stored in component area of factory for filling on the lines.

Blending Area – Heated tank which allows for production of products like Fabric Conditioner. Two 9-ton tanks which mean we can have good rotation on base blends in addition to dedicated tank and fluid tanks which allow us to be agile to consumer needs and demands without over stocking or causing wastage on any lines.

You can view the full Bio-D range here