Why choose Winni’s?

Sustainability also means offering more washes for the same amount of plastic used in the packaging. This is why we try to offer products that are highly concentrated (allowing a higher number of uses per bottle). When using our products, it is important to follow the instructions on the back label so that you do not use too much product and waste it. All the containers of our products are made of recyclable plastic, and some products also use post-consumer recycled plastic. We are the first company in Italy in the detergent sector to have used “eco-refill” formats – these are pouches used for filling the same bottle more than once, which helps save more than 80% of the plastic. As well as their low environmental impact, these pouches offer consumers the advantage of saving money, while getting the same performance.

The product you find in the supermarket is only the final result of a process that starts far away, more precisely at our company in Cotignola, a small town in the Province of Ravenna. Even though the town is small, the company behind the Winni’s brand has a level of development and sustainability that is the envy of much bigger multinationals in the sector, while maintaining the integrity, transparency and passion typical of Italian family businesses. Photovoltaic panels (to be exact, 8,500 panels spread over an area of 48,000 square metres, providing over 2.3 megawatts of power) cover the production buildings, generating 80% of the energy needed for the manufacturing process. The remaining 20% is obtained from certified renewable sources. In fact, Madel is one of the first companies in Italy to have received the BeECO Absolutely Pure certification, a brand that distinguishes companies that use electrical energy from renewable sources, qualifying them as users that care about environmental problems. The company also produces the Winni’s product containers within its facilities, with the aid of an on-site partner, in order to completely eliminate the need to transport empty containers, which would have an environmental impact. The facilities are also equipped with a recovery system for the hot air generated by the production process, which, instead of being released into the atmosphere, is used to heat the production workshop and the warehouses. It’s like having a zero-cost, zero-emission heating system!

Each product is made from purified water, “active” ingredients, and perfume. The active ingredients do the “dirty work” and make our products effective for cleaning. We have chosen to use only plant-based ingredients, such as coconut, sugar, chicory or wheat, using agricultural waste with no nutritional use. What’s more, these resources are renewable, so we do not deplete what nature offers us and keep them available for future generations. The surfactants used are also completely and quickly biodegradable*. We add perfumes to our products to make using them a more pleasant experience. We choose only perfumes with a low impact on the environment and on people’s skin, and they must be at least 90% biodegradable, so that once the perfumes are released into the environment, they are broken down by natural microorganisms and become harmless. Even more important is respect for the health of our consumers, and for this reason we ensure that our products, while being perfumed, are also free of allergens! (detectable threshold in final product <0.01% in accordance with Reg. 1223/2009/EC). *European Regulation 648/2004 defines ‘Complete aerobic biodegradability’ as ‘the level of biodegradation obtained when a surfactant is completely eliminated by micro-organisms in the presence of oxygen, provoking its decomposition into carbon dioxide, water and mineral salts of any other element present (mineralisation)…’ (Reg. 648/04/EC – Art. 2, 8). ‘The biodegradability of the surfactants in detergents is considered satisfactory if the level of biodegradability (mineralisation) measured … is at least 60% within a term of twenty-eight days…’ (Reg. 648/04/EC – Attachment III). “EU Regulation 286/2011, under the title on “Rapid degradability of organic substances”, point 4.1.2.9.5, provides that substances are rapidly degradable if at least one of the following conditions is met: a) in ready biodegradation studies, at least the following levels of degradation are reached after 28 days; i) in tests based on dissolved organic carbon: 70%; ii) in tests based on depletion of oxygen or formation of carbon dioxide: 60% of the theoretical maximum. These levels of biodegradation must be reached within 10 days of the start of degradation, which is considered as the moment at which 10% of the substance has been degraded…”

After use, all our products are dispersed into water, so we are also concerned about their post-consumer effect. We carry out tests to ensure that our products are not toxic for algae, fish and the entire aquatic environment, and to ensure that they biodegrade as fast as possible. These tests are not standard or required by law, but expensive practices that we have imposed on ourselves in order to be certain that the products we offer have a low environmental impact.

Winni’s does not, and has never tested its products on animals. We strictly carry out only alternative tests to evaluate the safety of our products: in vitro tests to evaluate risk to eyes and skin; NRU in vitro tests; tests on volunteers (also on sensitive skin); hypoallergenicity tests on volunteers; tests to determine heavy metal content; biodegradability tests on activated sludge; tests for acute aquatic toxicity on algae.