WATSONVILLE—For 40 years, Watsonville’s Smith & Vandiver (S&V) has been manufacturing natural bath, body and skincare products at its FDA-certified facility on Airport Boulevard.
But since the outbreak of COVID-19 last month, the company has switched gears—focusing on the production of alcohol-based hand cleansers.
“We don’t normally do sanitizers,” said S&V President Jeffery Slaboden. “But when this situation occurred, we thought, let’s look at what we have and how we can help.”
The company’s new cleanser is made with 70 percent Ethyl Alcohol—a higher percentage than most brand name sanitizers like Purell. Technically, the company cannot market the cleanser as “sanitizer,” as it takes much longer to be credited by the FDA.
“If you look at a bottle of sanitizer… It has a drug panel. We don’t,” Slaboden said. “What we do have is a hand cleanser with just as much, even more alcohol than most products on the shelves.”
So far S&V has made about 25,000 bottles of product and is looking at another 25-30,000 next week. The company has donated large amounts to agencies and organizations across Monterey Bay, including Watsonville Fire and Police departments, Jacob’s Heart Children’s Cancer Support Services, post offices and healthcare facilities.
Of course, not all product can be donated, Slaboden said. The business is selling the cleansers online and to local grocery and hardware stores such as Ace Hardware, which Slaboden said has already sold between seven and eight thousand bottles.
“We are donating a lot, but we need to stay economically viable. We are trying to make enough to cover what we need,” he said.
The company’s hand cleanser and gels are for sale “way below market value,” Slaboden said, selling at reduced, “realistic” prices.
“It’s only right,” he said. “I think people have been appreciative of that.”
Most of S&V’s 100 employees have remained, working under new safety regulations: gloves and masks are mandatory, and social distancing implemented. Two new employees have been hired for keeping the facility itself sanitized.
“We gave our employees the option of not working but still getting paid,” Slaboden said. “So the majority are here on their own free will… I think they know it’s important.”
Despite the company pushing its new products, Slaboden wanted to remind people of the most effective way of combating COVID-19: hand washing.
“The best thing to do is wash your hands for 20 seconds,” Slaboden said. “Use sanitizers only when you don’t have access to soap and water.”
Slaboden said that he was proud of Santa Cruz County residents for doing their part in slowing down the virus.
“It’s hard to break old habits,” he said. “But most have been following the rules. We’re doing a good job. We will get through this.”
For information visit svnaturally.com.
