Portrait
History and meaning
The Swiss Cosmetic and Detergent Association (SKW) is the leading Swiss national association of the cosmetics, detergent and cleaning products industry and the soap producers.
Its 80 members pull in domestic sales of about CHF 4.0 billion (reseller prices) and employ approx. 5,500 people.
The SKW was created in 2001 with the merger of the «Verband Schweizerischer Seifenfabrikanten» (Association of Swiss soap producers), which was founded in 1899 and renamed to «Verband der Schweizerischen Seifen- und Waschmittelindustrie» (Association of the Swiss soap and detergent industry) in 1988, and the «der Schweizerischen Kosmetikindustrie» (Association of the Swiss cosmetics industry), founded in 1934.
The SKW is affiliated with the European umbrella organizations «International Association of the Soap, Detergent and Maintenance Products Industry» (AISE) and the «European Cosmetics Association» (COLIPA).
Furthermore, the SKW is a member of «economiesuisse», the Swiss Business Federation.
Purpose according to the Articles of Incorporation
According to Article 2 of the Articles of Incorporation, the purpose of the SKW is to protect and promote the common interests of the cosmetics and detergent industries and their individual sectors, in particular by:
- representing them in dealings with the authorities, official bodies, business associations, consumer organizations, and the media
- acting on their behalf as a collective member of international industry associations
- promoting contact among the members
Main activities
externally:
- representing the industry before members of the Swiss Parliament, the authorities and the media
- collaborating with business associations, consumer organizations, and technical colleges
- representing Swiss viewpoints in the European umbrella organizations
- drafting statements about proposed bills or official requests
- actively exchanging information with scientific institutes
- keeping a list of members, their sales and production programs, and brand names
- supplying and distributing information material and technical brochures
internally:
- promoting contacts and exchange of experiences among the members and the industry and product partners
- providing information about new technological and legal developments on a national and international scale
- recording, processing, analyzing and communicating trends, statistics, and key data
- setting annual aims and reporting openly on all activities and projects
Further information about our aims, our activities, and our organization is available in our mission statement.
