Written on: January 30, 2025 by SprayTM
The American Cleaning Institute (ACI) is well-equipped to confront marketplace challenges that lie ahead for the cleaning product supply chain, including a rapidly changing legislative and regulatory landscape, according to ACI Board Chair Eric Reynolds, Executive VP & COO, The Clorox Company.
Reynolds at the ACI Annual Meeting
Reynolds reflected on ACI’s “extraordinary 2024” and mapped out the association’s 2025 priorities during the State of the Association Address at the January ACI Annual Meeting & Industry Convention in Orlando, FL.
“ACI is prepared to engage with the new Administration and Congress to advocate for sound policies that promote business competitiveness and scientific rigor,” he said.
ACI’s Government Affairs team in Washington is already highlighting those policies, including:
ACI is also engaging with State legislatures, as they consider bills affecting packaging, recycling, microplastics and chemicals. ACI communicated its policy priorities to more than 8,000 state lawmakers, governors and policymakers. “On the regulatory front, ACI will be ready to provide comprehensive technical and scientific information to EPA and state regulators to help drive informed decision-making on 1,4-dioxane rules,” Reynolds added.
On the sustainability front, ACI aims to expand its Sustainable Feedstocks Initiative by educating members on the use of Life Cycle Assessments and increasing the information available so that members can better understand environmental impacts when switching between ingredient sources.
ACI will have a more robust presence throughout the media ecosystem for its communications and outreach initiatives, ensuring concise, resonant messaging on policy topics and issues that can impact the industry’s ability to innovate and compete in today’s complex landscape, as well as reinforce the positive role the industry plays in supporting public health, Reynolds shared. He added that ACI’s leadership is in very capable hands with Interim Co-CEOs Douglas Troutman and Korie Traver. A Board of Directors search committee is already hard at work in finding a successor to the recently departed President & CEO Melissa Hockstad.
Among the past year’s ACI highlights cited by Reynolds:
“As we begin 2025, we affirm our readiness and commitment. Together, ACI and its members will shape a future marked by innovation, collaboration and resilience. The future is ours to define, and together, we are unstoppable,” Reynolds stated.
As the association readies to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2026, Reynolds called upon ACI members to harness their collective strengths. “Each of us plays a vital role in making sure that cleaning, hygiene, and disinfection remain forces for good—protecting public health and creating safer, healthier communities,” he said.
“But we are not just participants; we are catalysts for change. Together, we shape the future of our industry. Together, we are serving people, improving lives.”
ASHTON
Also at the Annual Meeting, Wayne Ashton, Senior VP, Home & Personal Care at IFF, was named the 2025 recipient of the ACI Elva Walker Spillane Distinguished Service Award.
This honor is for Ashton’s many years of outstanding service to ACI and the cleaning products industry. He was actively engaged at ACI as a member of the Board of Directors from 2014-2023, having served as Chairman from 2021-2023, Treasurer from 2019-2021, member of the Board’s strategic planning Work Groups and as a Board sustainability liaison for multiple years.
During his time on the Board of Directors, he provided invaluable expertise and insights as part of ACI’s extensive efforts to transform as an organization as well as to drive growth and innovation throughout the cleaning products value chain.
“Wayne Ashton is an outstanding leader, collaborator and colleague,” said Troutman, ACI Interim Co-CEO, General Counsel & SVP, Government Affairs.
“We are proud to honor Wayne’s contributions to ACI and the industry at-large.”
Ashton has over 30 years of global industry experience at multiple companies including IFF, DuPont, Genencor, Denykem Ltd. and Dorenal Ltd. where he has held a wide range of supply, business and technical leadership roles throughout the Pharma, home, fabric, industrial and personal care spaces. He holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) and a Ph.D. in Chemistry.
ACI’s Distinguished Service Award is named in honor of the late Elva Walker Spillane, the former National Purity LLC chief executive who served on the association’s Board for 20 years. The award honors an individual for extensive or exceptional service to ACI, who promoted the growth and interests of the Institute and the industries it represents and who exercised outstanding leadership within ACI.
