Soap & Toilet Preparation Manufacturers NAICS 3256

May 27, 2025 - Trump’s Deregulatory Agenda

• The second Trump administration's first 100 days in office have ushered in a new era of chemical regulation, characterized by a strong emphasis on deregulation and a leaner federal infrastructure, The National Law Review (NLR) reports. Central to Trump’s aggressive deregulatory agenda is a January executive order requiring “that for each new regulation issued, at least 10 prior regulations be identified for elimination.” In March, the EPA announced it will reconsider the regulation governing the review of chemicals already in commerce, a plan that may result in changes to foundational assumptions in the risk assessment methods used under the Biden administration, according to the NLR. The American Cleaning Institute (ACI), the trade association for the US cleaning products industry, supports the administration’s initiatives to re-evaluate overburdensome regulations, which ACI says will make cleaning products companies more competitive globally.
• Makers of household and health and beauty products are facing increasing competition from private label brands, Chain Store Age reports. As retail prices remain high, consumers are gravitating toward private-label products, according to the latest Private Label Trends report from Numerator. Across 10 major product sectors, private-label products accounted for nearly a quarter of unit volume (24%). Sectors with the highest percentage of US households buying private label brand products include health & beauty (99.2%) and household products (98.9%). Aldi and Trader Joe’s rely most heavily on private brands, accounting for 76% and 75%, respectively, of their overall sales volume, while Sam’s Club, Costco, and Walmart see more than a quarter of their overall sales volume coming from private-labels. Numerator found that 41% of surveyed consumers purchase private label items to save money and 25% think they’re as good as name brands.

• President Trump’s threat to impose sweeping tariffs on imports from Mexico and China poses challenges for global supply chains. During his campaign, Trump proposed tariffs ranging from 10-20% on all imports, and up to 100% for Chinese goods, sparking concerns among businesses and trade groups about inflationary impacts and market disruptions. Mexico is a critical hub in the supply chains of several consumer goods giants, including Procter & Gamble and Unilever, reports Mexico Business News. In the third quarter, roughly 10% of P&G’s US-bound shipments came from Mexico, according to ImportYeti, while Unilever’s sea imports from Mexico accounted for about 2% of its US shipments. Both companies have invested heavily in infrastructure in Mexico after tariffs imposed during Trump’s first term and the pandemic spurred diversification away from China. Tariffs would have widespread ramifications for US manufacturers, making it more expensive to produce goods that use foreign components.
• Employment by soap and toilet preparation manufacturers was flat in March compared to a year ago, while average industry wages rose 4.2% over the same period to $24.96 per hour, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Retail prices for personal care products, as measured by the consumer price index, rose 0.4% year over year in April and 0.1% from March, BLS data show. Sales for the US soap and toilet preparation manufacturers industry are forecast to grow at a 2.49% compounded annual rate from 2025 to 2029, slower than the growth of the overall economy, according to the latest forecast by the Interindustry Economic Research Fund.