In 2020, consumers swiftly learned how fragile supply chains can be. Various shutdowns led to shortages, first of paper goods and cleaning supplies and then almost everything, and some of those issues still persist. Unexpected instances of scantness have dotted the landscape since then — like the Great Saltine Shortage of 2022 — and many of them have resolved by now.
In 2020, Clorox wipes achieved overnight must-have status, which sent production into overdrive. Sparseness eventually resolved as Clorox cranked up supply numbers, and all has been well in the “disinfecting wipes” aisles until recently. If you’ve noticed a newfound dearth of these wipes in stores and online lately, you aren’t imagining things. As CNN reported in mid-September 2023, Clorox suffered a widespread cyberattack on its infrastructure in mid-August. This caused the company to shut down production of not only cleaning products but much more.
At this point, the actual attack has been contained for weeks, but Clorox has advised that they will slowly be ramping “back up to full speed” throughout late September and early October. A spokesperson “[could not] estimate how long it will take to resume fully normalized operations,” and this episode is expected to “hurt its current-quarter financial results materially.”
Clorox boasts a wealth of brands under its umbrella. Those include some brands of kitty litter like Fresh Step as well as products from the Pine-Sol, Brita, Burt’s Bees, and Glad’s lines. Fingers crossed that this gets resolved sooner rather than later, but for now, other (arguably inferior) disinfecting wipes appear to be in stock, although who knows how long that will last.