Cleaning and janitorial supplies serve both consumer (household cleaning, personal hygiene) and commercial/B2B (contract cleaning, facilities management, hospitality) markets. The regulatory requirements for many products — particularly concentrated industrial cleaners, disinfectants, and chemical products — make this category more complex than it appears. Migrating to Shopify requires careful handling of COSHH data, product authorisations, and B2B pricing structures.

Product categories

Household cleaning: Multi-surface sprays, bathroom and kitchen cleaners, floor cleaning products. Consumer-facing, lower concentration.
Commercial/industrial cleaners: High-concentration degreaser, descaler, sanitiser, disinfectant. Sold to trade/facilities management.
Hygiene and hand care: Hand soaps, sanitisers, skin care for frequent hand washers. MHRA regulated if making medicinal claims.
Laundry products: Detergent, fabric conditioner, commercial laundry chemicals.
Cleaning equipment: Mops, buckets, microfibre cloths, floor scrubbers, pressure washers.
PPE for cleaning: Gloves, aprons, eye protection.
Janitorial consumables: Bin liners, paper towels, toilet tissue, dispensers.
Pest control: Rodenticides and insecticides (regulated — RRAC registered rodenticides for some products).

COSHH and GHS/CLP hazard data

The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations and UK CLP Regulation (Classification, Labelling and Packaging of chemical substances) require that hazardous cleaning chemicals are correctly labelled and accompanied by safety data sheets:

Hazard pictograms, signal words (Danger/Warning), and hazard statements must be on product labels
Safety Data Sheets (SDS) must be available for all hazardous products — link to SDS PDF from each product page
Suppliers must provide SDS within one working day of request

product.metafields.chemical.ghs_hazard_class = "Corrosive / Irritant / Harmful / Flammable"
product.metafields.chemical.signal_word = "Danger / Warning"
product.metafields.chemical.hazard_statements = "H314 / H318 / H290"
product.metafields.chemical.sds_url = "https://..."
product.metafields.chemical.ph_value = "1.5"              // for acids and alkalis
product.metafields.chemical.concentration_pct = "10"
product.metafields.chemical.active_ingredient = "Sodium hypochlorite 5%"

Biocide product authorisation (UK BPR)

Disinfectants, sanitisers, and pest control products are classified as biocidal products under UK BPR (Biocidal Products Regulation). Key points for online retail:

Only authorised biocidal products can be sold in the UK
UK Biocidal Product Authorisation (UKBPA) number must be displayed on product labels and ideally on product pages
Hand sanitisers making efficacy claims against specific pathogens are biocidal products — check authorisation before listing

product.metafields.chemical.ukbpa_number = "UK-2021-1234"
product.metafields.chemical.biocide_product_type = "PT1 (Human hygiene) / PT2 (Disinfectants) / PT14 (Rodenticides)"
product.metafields.chemical.approved_organisms = "MRSA / E.coli / Norovirus / C.diff"

Dilution ratio variants

Commercial cleaners are often sold in concentrate form at different dilution strengths. Options:

Volume variants: 1L / 5L / 20L / 205L drum — different sizes at different price points
Concentration variants: If the same product is available at different concentrations (e.g. 5% and 10% industrial strength), use variants with clearly labelled concentration
Add dilution ratio and yield information to the product description (e.g. "Dilute 1:50 — 1 litre makes 50 litres of ready-to-use solution")

B2B and contract cleaning accounts

Contract cleaning companies, facilities managers, and hospitality businesses buy in volume with expected trade pricing and invoice terms. On Shopify:

Tag trade customers ("trade", "contract-cleaning") and apply automatic percentage discounts
Volume discount apps (Dealeasy, Quantity Breaks) for tiered pricing (1–11 units: £X, 12+ units: £Y)
Net 30 payment terms for established trade accounts: use Shopify's draft orders (create orders manually, send invoice with payment link) or a B2B invoicing app
Shopify Plus B2B for larger operations (custom price lists per company, purchase orders, net payment)

Shipping restrictions for chemical products

Many cleaning chemicals have shipping restrictions:

Corrosive and flammable products: ADR (road transport) regulations apply for large quantities. Consumer-sized products (under 1L for liquids) generally not restricted for standard courier delivery
Aerosols (pressurised containers): classified as dangerous goods — cannot ship by air. Ground courier only.
Large drums (20L+): heavy goods courier required; standard parcel couriers refuse oversized/heavy chemical drums

Post-migration checklist for cleaning and janitorial stores

GHS/CLP hazard data (signal word, hazard class, hazard statements) as metafields on all chemical products
Safety Data Sheet links on all hazardous products
UKBPA numbers on all biocidal products (disinfectants, sanitisers, rodenticides)
pH value and active ingredient on chemical products
Dilution ratios and ready-to-use yield in product descriptions
Volume variants (1L / 5L / 20L) configured
Trade/B2B customers: tag-based discounts or volume pricing configured
Shipping: aerosols and corrosives assigned to restricted shipping profile (ground-only)
Drum/bulk products (20L+): freight shipping profile

Migrating a cleaning and janitorial supplies store from WooCommerce to Shopify (2026)