Welcome to the family.
Cotton & Sons Cleaning Supplies Ltd was founded to supply the highest quality cleaning products and equipment to the industry, alongside unparalleled customer service.
Our Mission.
Proud to be a Welsh company, Cotton & Sons Cleaning Supplies Ltd have a mission statement that states:
‘To spearhead sustainability and innovation for our customers’.
As a company, we aim to lead from the front, and by example, for our customers.
Our efforts have been recognised by Business Wales working on behalf of the Welsh Government, and we have been awarded the Green Growth Pledge.
Our Initiatives.
Paper Initiatives
There are 1.4 million tonnes of paper consumed in the cleaning & hygiene industry each year¹.
Wood pulp paper is a huge part of our business, and we are all aware of the deforestation problems - including within Europe.
Cotton and Sons have been at the forefront of promoting alternatives to this. Some past customer offerings include recycled, unbleached paper, and even paper made from recycled coffee cups.
We still offer bamboo pulp paper, although find this quite expensive.
We have now moved most of our system and household style toilet rolls to a sugarcane product.
Sugarcane has an estimated 65% lower carbon footprint than recycled paper².
Where bamboo is grown specifically to be harvested for paper, the sugarcane pulp is a biproduct - derived from the waste product of sugar production – making it even more sustainable, and cheaper. It is also 100% plastic free, and all boxes are very compact to reduce the delivery footprint throughout. The dispensers are made from a bio plastic, with no oil content, and include clever ideas such as feed restrictors to reduce actual paper use.
‘Vegan friendly’ paper is a confusing concept when you consider it. However, most toilet paper products have multiple layers. These are glued together to create the illusion of a thicker paper product, and this glue is usually an animal biproduct. Our sugarcane product is embossed to hold the layers together, and are much softer to touch.
And because the fibres are short, the paper is strong to hold but breaks down in the bowl flush within 4 seconds².
Chemical Initiatives
As part of our waste reduction to customers, we promote chemical dosing systems for all large chemical use sites. A 5-litre super concentrated chemical bottle can create 500 spray bottles of cleaning solution, or fill up to 250 mop buckets. We use Evans Vanodine products for the majority of our chemical offering, and all their dosing range are part of their ‘GreenTick’ range.
“Encompassing the raw materials used, through making, filling, transportation and impacts of use the GreenTick system makes a life cycle assessment of each product in the range. We have also aligned the system with some of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The lower the score the less impact the product has on the environment. Only the lowest impact products go into the GreenTick range and display the GreenTick logo³”.
For smaller sites, there are a range of products within the GreenTick range, and any small pump or spray bottles we provide have a 5-litre refill option available. We always recommend a 30ml pelican pump for these to give accurate manual dosing.
For a more sustainable offer that could eliminate up to to 80% of chemical use, we also offer the Toucan Eco range. This is designed for cleaning, disinfecting and deodorising both the home and commercial spaces while reducing plastic waste, replacing synthetic chemicals and saving money.
The systems, designed for in-situ use, have the benefits of ultra-low carbon emission footprints when compared with purchased synthetic chemicals, low operational costs, and improved health and safety for users and environments.
Equipment Initiatives
Plastic waste single use bags are still a large part of the industry. With the Welsh government waste stream initiative finally due to come into force in April 2024, we will be pushing these strongly starting in January to ensure compliance and already stock 5 different colours of standard waste sack. Our bag and glove supplier are Polyco Healthline. Most are made from recycled plastic, and they are working on the rest!
Our main supplier of mopping equipment is Robert Scott. As members of the CHSA Accreditation Scheme for Cotton Mops, they guarantee the weight, absorbency, and ethical cotton content of their cotton mops.
Even so, we will promote the use of microfibre mops above and beyond this, as the efficiency of these mops far exceeds that of traditional, leaving the floors drier after mopping, and using a fraction of the water.
And for a better clean and less water use again, we would promote the use of scrubber driers in all areas currently using a mop. Numatic International is our preferred supplier. Using recycled plastic and manufactured in the UK, this company is ahead of the rest when it comes to sustainability with solar panels reducing their energy use, zero waste to landfill in place since 2017 and supporting Charity:Water⁵ amongst other schemes in place.
Our Story.
Founded in 2012 by Mother and Son, Helen & Sean Cotton, Cotton & Sons cleaning supplies are on a constant mission to bring fresh perspective to the cleaning industry.
Since starting, Cotton & Sons have become a well-established name of integrity in the cleaning industry, providing quality products with the back-up & support from manufacturers worldwide. Our dedication to promoting the importance of correct training and maintenance is paramount to our success, with every single customer knowing that they can trust this family-owned business to guide them towards the highest standards of cleaning.
Growth & Development.
With a strong family history in the cleaning industry, Sean was always destined to either follow the family into specialist cleaning and maintenance services, or into the supply of knowledge and products to help others. As the opportunity emerged, he grasped it with both hands - recognising the need for quality products and specialist knowledge that may have been lacking in the area.
Starting small with just a few trusted customers, the business quickly grew, along with the reputation for first class customer service.
From that the company expanded with strong, steady growth that was both sustainable and stable.
Going into the Covid pandemic in 2019 proved a real turning point for us. With NHS services rightly at the head of the queue for both PPE & sanitising products - supplying the needs of all the other companies desperate for the products to keep their companies open was a massive challenge. Thanks to their strong supplier links, Cotton & Sons quickly became the go to supplier for the likes of councils, other emergency services and local businesses alike.
Coming out of the pandemic was, of course, not the end of the issues. Coming away from Europe provided more challenges. With importing of goods being heavily affected, 2021 was no less challenging. We have always championed local business over national, and national over international, and this helped us to transition quickly. Our grit and determination continued, and we knew we would be able to continue the five-star service our customers have come to expect.
Cotton & Sons became more focused on sourcing the highest quality products created by British Manufacturers, allowing us to continue to deliver on our promises without compromising on our high standards.
In 2021, we were proud to be awarded as the sole distributor in Wales for the new, Numatic 244NX scrubber drier. A unique floorcare machine that would require a “hands-on” approach to demonstrations, training and after service. With cleanliness and hygiene never more important, the new unique machine would be a great statement for British manufacturing in the UK and beyond, which we are proud to be a part of.
After that success, we were again offered exclusivity in Wales for their latest innovation, the Numatic Quick commercial stick vacuum.
In December 2022, the decision was made to make the company a legal entity in it's own right, and since then we have been a limited company - Cotton & Sons Cleaning Supplies Ltd.
In 2023, as part of our efforts to continually improve our green credentials and reduce our carbon footprint, we have started supplying new ranges of paper - not made from wood pulp but from bamboo. We hope this will become commonplace within a few years.
Certificated training is available from our own training facility at our South Wales depot. Customers can have the benefit of private training at our facility or choose to host at their own site.
There are always a range of machines in our showroom so customers can get the feel of the machines before having to commit to the purchase, and we are happy to provide demonstrations on most machines we sell.
After-sales backup is another strong point for Cotton & Sons Cleaning Supplies Ltd, with our own engineers on site to provide complete peace of mind.
From online training videos to 'how to' cleaning guides for the likes of fire restoration or floor stripping and sealing, we are always striving to innovate and give that fresh perspective that underlies our values.
There's so much more to come from Cotton & Sons Cleaning Supplies Ltd - looking forward to a bright future in the cleaning industry, together!