Clorox Wipe Shortage: CEO Says Items Will Be Back in Stock in Mid-2021

Consumers hoping to get Clorox wipes to disinfect counters and other surfaces have been mostly out of luck since the coronavirus pandemic began, and that is likely to continue until next year. The wipes might not be widely available in U.S. stores until at least the middle of 2021, Clorox Company CEO Eric Reynolds told NBC News Thursday. Clorox wipes were among the first products to become increasingly difficult to find in stores once the pandemic began, alongside toilet paper and paper towels.

"People are suffering, Covid is surging, but everything we know right now – we probably won't be back in the type of in-stock positions, or you know, what people are used to going to the store, until mid-2021," Reynolds said, notes USA Today. It is the third time the company has pushed back the target date to return its products to shelves. In May, Clorox hoped disinfectant wipes would be more widely available by the summer. In August, one executive said they would not be back until the end of 2020.

The company knows "consumers are very frustrated with us," Reynolds continued. "We hear from them all the time. We are frustrated, too." The executive continued, "People are working overtime to take care of their families, to educate their kids, and they turn to us for help… We are producing more wipes than ever, but the demand is staying in incredible high levels."

The biggest issue is the cloth used to make the wipes. Clorox uses nonwoven polypropylene, a plastic also sued in face masks. China is the world's largest producer of polypropylene polymer, and the demand has only climbed around the world. Reynolds said there was also a holdup in making the plastic canisters the wipes are packaged in. The factories are "trying to protect their workers," which also caused a slowdown. Reynolds told NBC News they plan to ship 1.5 million canisters daily by February.

There are alternatives to Clorox when it comes to disinfecting surfaces. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that any 70% alcohol solution and hydrogen peroxide work. Pine-Sol, which is made by Clorox, and other bathroom cleaners can be used, as well as just soap and water. Clorox said it received regulatory approval to claim Pine-Sol is effective in killing the virus that causes COVID-19, notes CBS News.