ARTICLE | Stepping Up Sustainably: The Future of Floorcare is Here

The floorcare market is experiencing a revolution. As concerns about fluorosurfactants have increased due to regulatory pressure, the need for sustainable alternatives has never been more urgent.

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While effective in providing excellent performance in coatings, fluorosurfactants have come under scrutiny for their concerning environmental impact, especially in our waterways, prompting suppliers and manufacturers to find greener solutions.

To create a sustainable and efficient alternative, our Global Resins & Additives team focused on developing water-based floorcare coatings that could rival the performance of products containing fluorosurfactants. Through a collaborative effort, the team identified non-slip silicone surfactants as viable substitutes, specifically Hydropalat^® WE 3225 and Hydropalat WE 3229, which match the performance of traditional fluorosurfactants when combined with our Acroflor^® floorcare dispersions. These non-slip agents provide effective performance and boast a significantly lower health rating of 1 on the NFPA scale, compared to 4 for fluorosurfactants, making them a safer and more sustainable choice for floorcare.

The culmination of this effort has positioned BASF as the first supplier to offer innovative, non-fluoro formulations tailored for the floorcare market. This groundbreaking solution allows formulators to comply with changing regulations, enabling them to achieve their environmental health and safety goals. Additionally, BASF's commitment to sustainability means the elimination of concerning components in our customer’s formulations and significantly reduces risks associated with hazardous materials. The feedback from customers who have qualified these new formulations has been overwhelmingly positive, showcasing the value of this sustainable shift in floorcare.

In addition to providing solutions for fluorosurfactants to the floorcare market, a new dispersion was launched in 2025, named Acroflor 3000, which is both high-performance and Green Seal^® verified. Acroflor 3000 brings unique value to the floorcare market, exhibiting exceptional levels of performance, including high gloss, alcohol resistance and burnishability. Acroflor 3000 is available for sampling and commercial orders, proudly produced in the USA.

The team understands the importance of our customers working with domestic suppliers to ensure reliability. In this sense, the Additives team looks forward to exploring and ensuring the local manufacturing of Hydropalat WE 3225, which is expected to yield the best coating appearance (flow and leveling) among the alternative chemistries examined. To further promote the benefits of BASF materials in the floorcare market with the Acroflor product line, which includes resin emulsions, resin solutions, waxes, and additives, a specialty distributor, Sea-Land^®, was carefully selected to service the US floorcare market. In partnering with Sea-Land, we are able to leverage their market expertise and high level of customer service in support of the Acroflor product line and floorcare market growth. As the floorcare market embraces these innovative Hydropalat - silicone surfactants additives and Acroflor dispersions, we’re not just raising the bar, but leading the charge into a greener future, one coat at a time.