Surfactants Monthly - May 2025

May 2025

I know you’re inordinately busy this month, so I’ll try to make this blog brief, but there are eleven (11) things you need to know right now in order to consider yourself reasonably well informed in our field of surfactants. Six of those things are companies. They are Dot Ingredients, Nor-Falk, Terra Mater, Integrity Biochem, Future Origins and Acies Bio. I’ve a (less than) 3 minute video about them all here:

The other five of those eleven things are takeaways from our 15th World Surfactants Conference in Jersey City. They are :

1. The value of a balanced surfactant and feedstock portfolio (Shell, Sasol, P&G etc..)

2. Massive changes in the surfactants supply chain in Asia and the Americas (Unilever, Unilever!)

3. Sustainability still a megatrend but forget the Field of Dreams (BASF)

4. Frustration and Uncertainty (Tarrifs, TSCA and Trade)

5. Innovation still happening like crazy. (Too many companies to mention)

I’ve a (slightly more than) 5 minute video about them here:

So, look, if you haven’t committed these to memory, ready to deploy when your boss asks you – “hey what’s going on in surfactants these days?” – well I’m not sure what else I can do for you.

By the way, we are next together at our eleventh (11th) Asian Surfactants Conference in the literal beating heart of surfactant innovation and development, the very core of the Asian supply chain – yes - in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia on November 13 – 14th. https://events.icis.com/website/14105/home/

Some crazy surfactant scenes in KL this November

More News:

One of my favorite companies, Inolex, has recently underlined for me a point I’ve been making for a while, that you can’t just claim to be sustainable and wave your hands around exclaiming “green” and “renewable” and holding up the 12 principles in front of you like a talisman. You gotta come with numbers and a third party ( an independent one – not, you know, your brother-in-law or something). The company is lining up their sustainability program with The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project). Inolex has disclosed its climate progress to CDP since 2022, as a measure and transparency effort in carbon management. In 2024, for the first time disclosing as a small-to-medium-sized enterprise, Inolex earned a B, the highest available score to SMEs. This year, Inolex received approval of its decarbonization commitment through SBTi. The corporate climate action organization enables companies and financial institutions worldwide to properly account for their greenhouse gas emissions. They’re bringing receipts as the common vernacular today has it. Good for them. See – you don't have to be a global multinational to do it right.

There’s something in the water over there at Pilot Chemical and it’s causing innovation fever! Fresh from causing a splash with BioIOS (bio-derived internal olefin sulfonates) in partnership with Kao, earlier this year, they’ve now announced Biobased AOS (Alpha Olefin Sulfonate). Go back. Read it again. Yes, you read that right. Here’s a slightly abridged version of the press release they put out [with my comments in square brackets], followed by some further information.

Pilot Chemical Company today announced an exclusive partnership with Novvi LLC to bring a new sustainable surfactant technology, biobased alpha olefin sulfonates, to the North American market. In partnership with Novvi, Pilot will supply CalCare® AOS biobased alpha olefin sulfonates to the North American household, industrial and institutional (I&I), and personal care (PC) markets…

The partnership leverages Novvi’s bio alpha olefin technology and commercial-scale feedstock supply with Pilot’s reputation as a leading alpha olefin sulfonator and anionic surfactant provider. Through the Novvi partnership, Pilot is the exclusive sulfonator and marketing channel for biobased alpha olefin sulfonates in North America for the household, I&I, and PC markets. It will produce CalCare® AOS biobased alpha olefin sulfonates at commercial scale in its Middletown, Ohio, facility.

…

CalCare® AOS biobased alpha olefin surfactants have the performance of traditional synthetic [meaning petrochemical] alpha olefin sulfonates with the added benefit of being fully biobased. .. Commercial quantities will be available starting in the second half of this year.

About Pilot Chemical Company [Well you know all about them already. I worked there 20 years ago, BTW. Great people].

About Novvi LLC [You may not know them, so I’ll leave this bit more or less intact] Novvi is a market leader in renewable specialty chemicals, leveraging plant-based feedstocks to deliver high-performance alternatives to petroleum-based products. We specialize in designing and manufacturing sustainable molecules tailored for diverse applications, including personal care, phase change materials (PCM), polymers & composites, immersion cooling, automotive fluids and industrial lubricants. As a joint venture of H&R Group (www.hur.com/en/) and Chevron (www.chevron.com), we combine the strengths of our global partners … [etc..] We are headquartered and manufacture in La Porte, Texas, with an additional site in Alameda, California. For more information, visit www.novvi.com.

I asked for a little more on the olefin feed being used for this and Pilot told me the following: The CalCare® AOS product line is built on Novvi® LAO technology, providing our customers with a biobased AOS solution. We are not using the exact Novvi® C16 LAO specification to meet our needs, and we will be fine-tuning the overall LAO specifications as we come closer to commercialization. Through an exclusive partnership with Novvi, which enables the production of hydrocarbon olefins from plant oils, Pilot Chemical Company offers a distinctive opportunity to formulate AOS chemistries without altering CAS numbers [ok interesting]. In essence, our biobased CalCare® AOS is designed to be an equivalent sustainable alternative to synthetic AOS. Very nice. I like this initiative. And yes – we’re talking Alpha Olefin Sulfonate (not internal olefin).

It’s about the Alpha

More new product news - and actually a world exclusive scoop! Econic Technologies (who we’ve written about before) will soon launch Recreaire™ carbonate ethoxylate surfactants. They are novel and offer up to a 65% reduction in CO2-eq emissions against common fatty alcoholethoxylates—a figure that climbs to 75% when comparing only the hydrophobe component of thesestandard non-ionic surfactants. As a result, they present a meaningful opportunity for manufacturers to reduce their carbon footprint without compromising product performance (it says here). This is a blog exclusive so there’s nothing on their website yet. Get in touch with them directly if you’re interested and tell them I sent you. Econic works in carbon capture and already has a growing business in polyols. And they’re headquartered in Macclesfield, so there is that..

When Bio? In questions reminiscent of cries of “When Lambo” in Bitcoin forums (fora?) I’m often asked when biosurfactants are really going to make it commercially. I don't know. However I recently downloaded an e-book here (https://imicrobes.com/resources) that purports to answer the question about microbially produced materials more generally and their answer is ten years or less. Of course, they’re talking their book, so to speak, but it’s interesting.

The core of their thesis is that the much vaunted "Energy Transition" (shift to EVs, renewable energy) will reduce demand for oil as fuel. Since petrochemical feedstocks are a co-product of oil refining (only 5-10% of a barrel), reduced oil refining to match lower fuel demand will lead to a scarcity and significant price increase for petrochemical feedstocks (projected 50-85% rise by 2030). Of course this makes bio-based alternatives highly cost-competitive, if not cheaper, on a large scale. The book emphasizes the use of abundant and potentially low-cost waste-derived feedstocks (ethanol from various wastes, biomethane), which also supports a circular economy and avoids issues like land-use competition with food crops. Hmm so.. I’m not sure. It’s a cool scenario but I’m just not sure. The petrochemical sector is a highly profitable and growing segment for oil and gas companies. It's reasonable that these companies will adapt to protect and grow this revenue stream. Consider for example Crude-to-Chemicals (COTC) Technology: There is significant investment and development in COTC technologies that aim to directly convert a much larger proportion of a barrel of crude oil (40-80%) into chemicals, bypassing traditional fuel refining pathways. If COTC becomes widespread, it could decouple petrochemical feedstock availability from fuel demand to a large extent, potentially mitigating the feedstock scarcity scenario the report describes. Nexant published an interesting summary on COTC here (https://www.nexanteca.com/blog/202502/crude-oil-chemicals-cotc-future-petrochemicals) Then there’s the Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs) which are a feedstock for petrochemicals, particularly ethylene and propylene. NGL production is linked to natural gas production, which may not decline in the same way as oil demand for transportation. Anyhow, it’s a good debate and analysis to have. For me – the answer to the question, When Bio? - is still “I don't know”.

I got a note from L’Oreal that they promoted Delphine Viguer-Hovasse to a new role, overseeing their innovation teams and Strategic Prospective Department. The title is Chief Innovation & Prospective Officer. I asked Google Gemini (which is doing a lot better for me than Perplexity these days) what a Strategic Prospective Department does. It tells me that it focuses on anticipating and preparing for the future. It analyzes trends, explores possible scenarios, and develops strategies to navigate uncertainties and seize opportunities. Wow! That’s great. So, in all seriousness, I recommend that companies interested in talking to L’Oreal about brand new ingredients or technologies should be in touch with Delphine or at least someone on her team.

Henkel had a tough first quarter and that matters as they are big users of surfactants. As reported recently by the company:

Group sales: around 5.2 billion euros; organic growth negative1.0 percent
Adhesive Technologies: positive organic sales growth of 1.1 percent with positive volume development despite challenging environment
Consumer Brands: organic sales growth of negative 3.5 percent; volumes impacted by subdued consumer demand and supply chain challenges
Sale of Retailer Brands business in North America closed – strategic portfolio optimization program in Consumer Brands concluded.
Outlook for fiscal 2025 unchanged despite increased volatility in market environment:

Organic sales growth: 1.5 to 3.5 percent
Adjusted return on sales: 14.0 to 15.5 percent
Adjusted earnings per preferred share (EPS): increase in the low to high single-digit percentage range (at constant exchange rates)

Henkel posted consolidated sales of around 5.2 billion euros in the first quarter of 2025, compared to around 5.3 billion euros in the same quarter last year. Organic sales were down -1.0 percent compared to the prior-year quarter. The development was mainly due to the challenging geopolitical and macroeconomic environment, which has significantly increased since the start of the year. This affected both industrial demand and consumer sentiment – particularly in North America. Nevertheless, sales in Adhesive Technologies increased organically supported by a balanced price and volume mix. As expected, sales were below the prior year in Consumer Brands, also due to strong comparables and challenges in the supply chain.

I’ll focus in on on the consumer brands piece, which is where most of the surfactants go:

In the Consumer Brands business unit, sales in the first quarter of 2025 totaled 2,484 million euros, a nominal decrease of -4.6 percent versus the prior-year quarter. Organically (i.e. adjusted for foreign exchange and acquisitions/divestments), sales decreased by -3.5 percent. The business unit posted good price development compared to the first quarter of 2024, while volumes declined as expected, mainly due to subdued consumer sentiment and retail customer destocking – especially in North America – compounded by challenges in the supply chain. Foreign exchange effects had a negative impact of -2.0 percent on sales, while acquisitions/divestments had a positive influence of 0.8 percent on sales.

In the first quarter, the Laundry & Home Care business area posted a negative organic sales development of -4.1 percent. The Laundry Care business recorded negative growth caused predominantly by a decline in the Fabric Cleaning category, while the Fabric Care category posted very strong growth. The Home Care business area, by contrast, generated a good organic increase in sales, driven mainly by significant sales growth in the Dishwashing category.

The Hair business area saw organic sales decline by -1.6 percent. The Consumer business showed positive growth, which was driven in particular by the Hair Colorants and Hair Styling categories. Overall, the development of the Professional business was below that of the prior year, which was mainly due to a decline in sales as a result of the challenging consumer environment in the North America region.

The Other Consumer Businesses area recorded a decline in organic sales of -6.8 percent as a result primarily of negative development in the Body Care business in the North America and Europe regions.

From a regional perspective, sales development in all regions – with the exception of IMEA – was below the previous year’s level. The IMEA region posted a good organic sales increase overall, driven by significant organic sales growth in the Hair business area and good development in the Laundry & Home Care business area. Europe, on the other hand, experienced a decline due to developments in the Laundry & Home Care business area, while the Hair business area showed good growth. Sales growth in the North America and Asia-Pacific regions was below the previous year’s level across all business areas. The performance of the Latin America region as a whole was below that of the prior year due to developments in the Laundry & Home Care business area. The Hair business area, by contrast, posted very strong organic sales development.

[So – I’m not liking the look of this canary in this coalmine. While they note a positive outlook for the year, they’re in a bit of hole to dig out of. Let’s see]

Portfolio cleanup news: Stepan Company announced that its subsidiary, Stepan Philippines Quaternaries, Inc. (SPQI), has entered into an agreement to sell SPQI's manufacturing assets located in Bauan, Batangas, Philippines to Masurf, Inc., a subsidiary of Musim Mas Holdings Pte. Ltd.

"The sale of this facility aligns with our strategy to focus on core growth areas; our global manufacturing network and the tolling relationship with Masurf after the transaction closes will allow us to continue to service and grow with our broad customer base in Southeast Asia," said Luis Rojo, Chief Executive Officer of Stepan. Rojo continued, "I want to thank our Philippines team for their valuable contributions over the last 30 years. We are confident that this facility will thrive under Masurf ownership."

As part of the transaction, SPQI [doesn't that sound like a Roman legion or something?] will enter into a tolling agreement with Masurf to continue to serve customers after the closing. The transaction is subject to normal closing conditions. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

More kinda cleanup of portfolio news: Sasol confirmed the timing of the previously announced mothballing of its alcohol and LAB plants in the US and Italy. Sasol will mothball its 30,000 metric tons per year Guerbet alcohols plant at the company’s Lake Charles Chemicals Project (LCCP) in Louisiana before the end of the current quarter, it stated. Contributing factors include high fixed and variable costs, and an oversupplied market with “little chance of short-term recovery,” it said. The plant began operations in 2020. Sasol also operates a 173,000 metric tons per year Ziegler alcohols unit at the LCCP complex, which also started up in 2020. In Italy, Sasol said it would mothball its LAB plant in the third quarter due to a decline in its cost competitiveness “due to energy costs in Europe and market oversupply.” [Ugh].

The internet is all agog with the sale of Hailey Bieber’s Rhode Cosmetics to E.L.F for $1 Billion. The deal is structured with $800 million payable at closing, consisting of $600 million in cash and $200 million in e.l.f. Beauty common stock. An additional $200 million could be paid based on Rhode's growth performance over the next three years. Rhode, launched in June 2022 by Hailey Bieber (née Rhode), achieved $212 million in net sales in the 12 months ending March 31, 2025. So the EV is 4.7 X Sales! Not too shabby. The brand, known for its "clean girl aesthetic" (according to Google) and strong social media presence, primarily sold its products directly to consumers online. It was recognized as the No. 1 skincare brand in Earned Media Value in 2024. Hailey Bieber, you’ll be pleased to know, will remain involved with Rhode, serving as its Chief Creative Officer and Head of Innovation. She will also act as a strategic adviser to the combined companies. Rhode plans to expand its distribution by launching in Sephora stores in North America and the U.K. by the end of the year. The partnership with e.l.f. (dunno if it’s supposed to be capitalized or not so I’m doing both) is expected to accelerate Rhode's ability to reach more consumers globally with innovative products. The deal is expected to close between July and September or in the second quarter of e.l.f.'s fiscal year 2026.

So, I talked to someone who uses cosmetics every day and they told me that E.L.F. products are actually pretty good and quite cost effective, so good combo maybe. I went on the Rhode website checked out the ingredients. It’s mostly skincare, makeup, lip stuff and so forth and built on things like polyisobutene (and its hydrogenated version) and octyldodecanol which, interestingly, per our note above re Sasol, is a Guerbet alcohol. Hmm..

I’m not sure if this is Hailey Bieber but the photo is off the Rhode website and ..man, that’s a lotta blush right? It’s called date cake warm red berry and the young lady’s wearing scads of it. Lotta octyldodecanol in there @Sasol – you sure you wanna mothball that Guerbet plant now that Rhode’s hooked into the E.L.F distribution machine?

Now look, re this Rhode / E.l.f. business, I know what some of you are thinking. You’re thinking – Yeah of course Hailey Bieber, supermodel and wife of the Biebs who sends pop fans into frenzies, gets to sell her brand for $1Bn. It’s the Matthew principle all over innit – to those that have, even more will be given. But what about the rest of us who aren’t supermodels or married to a popstar– eh!? We just have to grind it out in the trenches for crumbs. The game is rigged. The cards are stacked. Woe is me! Well think again, quit your whining and read the next story. You can do it.

Hand Sanitizer continues to be big and Church & Dwight continues to grow. As reported by HAPPI, the company has agreed to acquire the Touchland brand for $700 million and a payment up to $180 million contingent on the achievement of Touchland’s 2025 net sales for a total purchase price of up to $880 million.

Touchland was founded in 2018. The brand’s net sales for the trailing 12 months through March 31, 2025 were approximately $130 million. The products are currently marketed in the US and Canada and recently launched in the Middle East with Sephora. [OK so that’s enterprise value of up to 6.8 X Sales. That’s a lot ! In fact it’s 2 additional whole turns of revenue above the aforementioned Biebs multiple]. The company sells body mists and hand sanitizer – that’s it. They also have a partnership with Disney. The brand seems to be targeted to young adult women judging by the imagery on the site. But hand sanitizer? I dunno, it seems so 2020. But what do I know? I’m so far from their demographic, I might as well live on a different planet. What I do know is the founder, Andrea Carbona just landed the better part of 880 Mil in 7 years. That’s great! She was born in Barcelona and earned her fortune in America. That’s also great. And she’s only in her 30’s, I’m guessing. And she’s not Hailey Bieber! So – yeah! God bless the USA. Seriously.

Not married to a global pop icon and not a supermodel. Don’t misconstrue that remark. I’m not saying she’s not good looking. I am saying I’m certain her looks aren’t a big factor in her creating a close to a billion dollar brand. It’s more to do with a bit of smarts, a bit of daring and a lot of hard work. You can do that right?

I’ve been hearing and reporting a lot of negative news out of Europe, recently. And I’ve just written an opinion piece for HPC Today on EUDR which will be published soon. It’s a bit scathing and concerns the enormous containership sized loopholes threatening the existence of entire industries. Anyway, you can read it in the next issue. I’m therefore not surprised to read the most recent statement from CEFIC (European Chemical Industry Council) which says they expect slower EU chemical output growth in 2025 [no kidding!]. The European chemical industry’s output is forecast by CEFIC to grow 0.5% in 2025, compared with 2.5% in 2024, mainly due to the “highly uncertain” economic environment. In the first two months of the year, European chemical output decreased slightly, 0.3% year over year, and remained 9.1% below the pre-crisis levels of 2014 to 2019, CEFIC said. Yep you read that right. And if Europe doesn't get smart about regulation and energy, among other things, it’s just going to get worse. Chemicals are important not just for surfactants but for strategic national security. Think about it.

In other regulation news, I got the following from a blog reader (don’t we have the best readers!?). It’s the new schedule of export taxes on various palm products from Indonesia. Everything’s going up including some previously untaxed products. I’m just getting to grips with the full implications of these taxes and so for a proper nuanced understanding, you’ll have to wait another month or so – or find a more specialized blog.

We’ve been talking a bit about how to “do specialty chemicals” recently. One element of that is a real thorough understanding of the customers’ applications – better maybe than any single customer’s Here’s an example from Clariant. They’re well known for their strong position in surfactants for mining. On this page (https://www.clariant.com/en/Business-Units/Care-Chemicals/Mining-Solutions/Flotation-Reagents-Tool) you can find which product is suitable for flotation of which element in which mineral. This is just one tool in the marketing and tech service and sales toolkit. And here’s just one technical paper explaining the performance of a few of their flotation products. (https://d3e2i5nuh73s15.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/ALTA-2024-LBR-Paper-Clariant.pdf). You don’t need all this to sell LAS to guys making laundry detergent – right? But then the gross margins on LAS are (I sincerely hope) lower than those on the ore flotation products. The tradeoff is that you have to spend all that money on SG&A – and time to develop and communicate the applications understanding – for the mining products. But you should still come out ahead on net profit before tax. And the business is “stickier”. That’s it. By the way, Clariant talked about innovation in this area at my conference in Jersey City.

K-Beauty is still a big thing. I learn from my well-thumbed copy of the Korean Economics Daily that the Seoul Business Agency (SBA) has selected five K-beauty and wellness brands—VT Cosmetics, Kim Jeong Moon Aloe Co., Round Lab, BeautySkin Co., and ModaModa—for its "Seoul Edition Members" program. This initiative aims to elevate their global recognition and reinforce Seoul's status as a beauty hub by providing promotional support, including online/offline marketing and global market access, and granting them the right to use the "Seoul Edition emblem" on their products. Each brand specializes in distinct areas, from microneedling treatments and aloe-based products to clean beauty, ODM services (I don't know what they are either), and innovative hair-darkening shampoos. I’ve learned Korean indie brands will often take a flyer on new ingredients way ahead of more conservative companies. So – if you have something new, approaching one of these five or similar peer companies in Korea, may not be a bad idea.

Tarrifs – I’m not going to cover them in the blog. It seems silly to in a monthly publication, considering how fast things change. For example, on May 29th I read two headlines less than 5 hours apart, both true at the time i) “Court ruling to remove nearly all US chem tarrifs imposed in 2025” and ii) “Appeals court allows US to maintain chem tarrifs.” So – to stay up to the minute, I encourage you to use the ICIS issues page.

Market News:

In detergent range alcohols the Asian fatty alcohols market, downward price pressure is being felt, especially for mid-cuts, due to falling palm kernel oil (PKO) costs and reduced demand, as buyers look forward lower prices. Spot prices for certain mid-cut and short-chain alcohols have softened, while C8 alcohol prices increased. Long-chain alcohol prices remained stable.

In the US, third-quarter contract negotiations for fatty alcohols are underway, with PKO costs trending lower and supplies improving. Spot availability is limited, and overall demand is below average. While lower PKO costs are a factor, tight supplies from import challenges have recently supported spot demand. Contract prices for various fatty alcohol grades for the second quarter showed increases. Buyers are managing tariff impacts, with nonionic surfactants excluded from a baseline tariff. Upstream, ethylene supply is tight, but facility turnarounds are concluding, with spot prices projected to decline.

The European fatty alcohols spot market is generally stable, although supply tightness persists. Mid-cut spot prices were unchanged, with upward pressure from limited supply likely to continue through the second quarter before an expected improvement. Demand from derivatives is flat at best. Second-quarter contract prices for C12-14 alcohols saw an increase. Discussions for third-quarter contracts are expected to commence soon; while some buyers anticipate lower offers due to softer PKO values, tight supply might support current price levels.

Asian fatty alcohol ethoxylates : continued to experience downward price pressure due to declining feedstock fatty alcohol mid-cut costs, while feedstock ethylene oxide values were stagnant. In China, domestic FAE spot prices decreased, while feedstock ethylene oxide prices were flat.

The LAB market in Asia has some suppliers quoting higher offers to improve margins, while others remained cautious. Buying interest showed signs of tapering off, though tight spot supply in Asia supported some pricing. Relief from tight supply is anticipated as regional turnarounds conclude. Looking ahead, softening upstream markets could pressure LAB prices. Increased Chinese offers might ease supply tightness in Asia, although ongoing and upcoming maintenance in the Middle East and Asia could counter this. Upstream, benzene prices in South Korea and China fell weekly, impacted by demand weakness and talk of incoming European cargoes. In production news, a Thai LAB plant is scheduled for maintenance from July, while an Iranian plant is expected to restart in early June after maintenance.

We Have the Best Readers - Section:

It’s true: We literally have the best blog readers in the er… blogosphere. Here from a reader who, in keeping with adopted practice, will remain anonymous. “Great blog, as usual. You touched on plastics. My take is that something disruptive needs to happen in either recycling or reuse. Recent studies suggest we may each have 7 grams of microplastics in us and no idea of the effect that will have, but there are reasons to think it won’t be good. Reduced packaging has been underway for decades but we still throw way too much away, and I’m not sure how much more we can concentrate delivery forms.

I would not refill my containers unless I couldn’t refuse, like losing $5/container that I paid in deposit. Or if I got $4 of $5 back if I recycled into a plastic-type specific bin, meaning sorting all the different types. A pure stream of used HDPE or PET can be easily processed back into their feedstocks. It might be worth investigating what the big CPG firms have in mind that would disrupt the current disposability problem. They will be the targets, just as they were on phosphates, even though they weren’t the largest contributor.

Unfortunately a lot of people might get sick before society decides it needs to intervene.”

[Agree? Disagree? Let me know. And if there’s something else you’d like to say in the blog, please email me. Starting off with a gratuitous compliment, maximizes your chances of getting published.]

AI Corner

Surfactants are crucial to the modern economy. Let’s delve into the reasons why! Stereotypical AI written prose right? Words like “crucial” and “delve” are dead giveaways of LLMs behind the scenes. Pity really because this week twice already, I’ve come across one of those words in stories in the WSJ and FT and I’ve stopped reading. Who knows if AI wrote the articles or not, but I just figured.. meh.. if I can’t trust that I’ll get proper news and critical analysis, why bother. By the way, as I intimated above, I’ve found Perplexioty is getting really lazy these days, even in Pro mode. Have you found that ? Google – pretty good though. I recommend you get into Google AI Studio. There you can try a number of their models, including not yet released experimental ones, many of which can be augmented by Google search. Pretty impressive and head and shoulders above Perplexity for now.

Next Section

OK – so if you only read the blog for the business and markets news, you should stop reading here.

For the rest of you, I’m sure you know that we work hard here to keep abreast of developments. Well it seems that Sydney Sweeney is marketing a soap made from her bathwater.

As I said, stop reading here, if your interest is solely business and markets news. If you choose to continue, you can’t say you weren’t warned.

So, Ms. Sweeney has partnered with Dr. Squatch and they are selling a barsoap “Sydney’s Bathwater Bliss” claimed to be the “only bricc made with Sydney Sweeney's very own bathwater”. This is big.

The only way to access this product currently is to enter a sweepstakes for which there will be just a hundred lucky winners.

Alright, let’s look at the ingredients. They are listed on the Squatch (I’m sure he’s not a real doctor) site as: Saponified Oils of (Olive, Sustainable Palm, Coconut), Shea Butter, Natural Fragrance, Sydney's Bath Water, Sand, Mica, Kaolin Clay, Sea Salt. Well the first thing to notice is - no silicone, which I guess sends a positive message – of sustainability – Squatch claims to promote all natural. The use of a variety of oils also mitigates the risk of huge tracts of land being deforested due to the roaring success of the product. The other thing that sticks out somewhat prominently and hard not to notice, is the INCI name “Sydney’s Bath Water”. I could not find it in the PCPC database, nor in the all-important IECIC China list. Interesting.

Now look – Sydney is not the first person to pursue this bathwater avocation but she may well be the best, if not just the biggest. In July of 2019 I recorded a YouTube video (and it’s still up there on my channel) which related the story of one gamer-girl, Belle who was selling bottles of her used bathwater online for $30. I analyzed the economics and they were not compelling. Sydney’s genius, however, is that she is selling a bar of soap in which there is the merest drop of bathwater – look how far down the IL it’s listed. That’s leverage! So I think there is real potential for Squatch and Sweeney to accumulate massive mounds of money from this venture. Indeed it’s hard to see barely any constraint to the margins that could be made. Inflated profits are sure to be supported by ballooning demand.

But seriously; and if you’ve read this far, I’m not sure you’re expecting anything serious. But I’ll ask what I asked in the video five years ago. Is this the end now, of Western Civilization? I think the answer is yes. We’re done. We had a good run, but this is it. Yes, bodies have been monetized for thousands of years, but not like this – at scale, instantaneous, global and virtual. The product is targeted at young men. No Kidding! The sad thing is that for every hour and dollar the dude spends buying and using this sad commoditization, he could be out meeting real women and forming real relationships; getting married; making new humans. Heck even Sydney herself (Google tells me) is single, but you’re not going to meet her by buying her soap. I find myself torn because the story itself is quite fascinating and amusing and we have fun with the double-entendres. But in the final analysis, it just seems sad. Especially, as people tell me, she’s actually a good actress. Too curmudgeonly? Do let me know.

Music Section

I gotta get this blog finished and published so I’m feeling like we should just do that thing where I go on Youtube, put up a music video I like and then see what the algorithm in its wisdom recommends down the right hand side.

First off – I put up the great Welsh rock band Lone Star, from their 1977 John Peel sessions with a cover of the Beatles’ She Said. Really great band and so good, live.

Now, I won’t show every algo-recommendation because there’s some rubbish and obvious ads – but you’ll get a flavor of what YT thinks of me and my initial choice.

Next up – 2 minutes to midnight. Yep – seems good. Listen to these lyrics – wow!

And now – Ben Webster (nope don't know him either) with the King of Tenors. Hmm seems like good, genuinely legit, Jazz..

Oh wow, YT must know I’m a sucker for this one. Barber’s Adagio. Have you heard the Agnus Dei set to this also? Incredible.

Ah now, proper Genesis, with Peter Gabriel – Citizens of hope and glory. Time goes by, it’s the time of your lives. Three achingly great songs. These lyrics man…

Hey the Lurkers! Remember them. From another music-loving Johnny Plee session.

You know Black Keys did some good stuff. Here’s their version of She Said.

And finally this. I did a bit of underage drinking in a pub that had this on the jukebox constantly. I went back there last year. They didn't remember my name.

That’s it. See you very soon for Asian Surfactants XI (that’s Eleven) https://events.icis.com/website/14105/home/

Surfactants Monthly - May 2025

Surfactants Monthly - April 2025