Polishing Glass with Bags, Cleaners by the Kilogram

Syrians have not only stopped purchasing some food items that their food tables now lack, and their shift towards new heating methods such as "blankets" instead of mazot and gas is not limited. The economy has also affected cleaning materials that are part of their daily routine, so citizens have turned to unbranded materials that are colloquially called “loose” due to their lower prices compared to branded materials.

Everything the citizen wants to obtain falls under the title of "loose", nothing remains intact except their body, which is also on its way to become "loose" too. 

In tandem with the deterioration of living conditions in the country, the crazy rise in prices, and the inability of Syrian citizens to withstand rampant inflation in the markets, large areas of the Syrian governorates have witnessed a widespread demand for purchasing cleaning materials that are sold “loose” without branded packaging due to their lower prices despite their lack of effectiveness and negative effects.  

Amidst a life that is completely "unoriginal", it is not strange that citizens' products are also imitation. Syrians have forgotten everything that is real, even the imitation they cannot afford in full to meet their needs, but having something, even a little, is more merciful than not having it.

Monthly cleaning expenses exceed 80,000 Syrian Pounds, including detergent bottles, washing powder, shampoo for bathing, air freshener and more. The price of a medium-sized branded shampoo bottle is 25,000 and is approximately enough for only twenty days, while the price of a hand-packed 1.5-liter shampoo bottle is 12,000 Syrian Pounds and on average suffices for two months. 

As for the price of 2 kilograms of branded washing powder, it is 35,000 Syrian Pounds, while the price of one kilogram of the “loose” washing powder is 9,000 Syrian Pounds. Branded liquid detergent is on average 8,500 Syrian Pounds, compared to 3,000 Syrian Pounds for the "loose" one.

Amidst these paradoxes, many families have found their salvation in these handmade materials. However, the joy has not been completed yet, as specialists warn of skin diseases resulting from the use of cleaning materials that are not subject to scientific manufacturing standards, in addition to burns and inflammation.

Most families no longer care about the outcome of cleanliness, the focus is saving money. Families may not care how much the hand sanitizer cleans and its pleasant smell as much as they care about its cheap price. Some even prefer shampoo of unknown origin over good shampoo, which increases cases of scalp diseases, as they do not contain conditioners and moisturizers, in addition to not knowing the percentages of ingredients, which are often unstudied. 

The labs that manufacture the "loose" materials, or even individuals licensed to work in this field, have patrols and supervision over them. The Ministry of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection periodically takes samples of the raw materials used in the manufacture of “loose” materials from the labs, analyzes them and ensures their safety, according to a source in the Ministry of Internal Trade.