COVID-19 sure has created some weird shortages. Clorox disinfectant wipes are one such product.
American grocery shelves won't be fully restocked with Clorox's disinfecting wipes until next year, CEO Benno Dorer told Reuters, "as the world's biggest cleaning products maker struggles with overwhelming pandemic-led demand for its top product."
Since the start of global lockdowns, makers of hygiene goods have seen a sustained boom in sales. While California-based Clorox typically holds aside excess supply for flu seasons, it says it has been unable to keep up with a six-fold increase in demand for many of its disinfectants.
The company is currently understocked across much of its portfolio, which includes Glad trash bags and Burt's Bees lip balm. Supply for most products, like liquid bleach, will improve dramatically over the next four to six months – but not wipes, Dorer said on Monday.
Clorox products are used in Uber vehicles and United Airlines planes, and are sold by major retailers like Walmart, Amazon and Kroger.
"Disinfecting wipes, which are the hottest commodity in the business right now, will probably take longer because it's a very complex supply chain to make them," Dorer said.
