Without suppliers of chemical products, the economy cannot function. Individuals and businesses need them to provide cleaning solutions, and almost every manufacturing process relies on chemicals at some point in the production chain. Even companies that do not deal directly with the chemical industry often rely on plastics or other products that do depend on chemicals. This demand has driven the growth of the industry over the past century, and as a result, there are a large number of chemical suppliers to choose from for each business. With so many options, it's hard to find the right one, but checking out a few things can make the decision easier.

Some chemical suppliers are much larger than others, and their size can be important when choosing your own business. "Before you start looking for a supplier, make sure you know the quantity of each chemical," Rightpath Industries said. If you get all your chemicals from one source, your logistics becomes easier, so you can usually exclude any supplier that can't fully meet all of your needs, unless you need so many chemicals that no one company can supply them all.

Ideally, you should choose a supplier that can produce many more chemicals than you actually need. This will ensure that you have the opportunity to increase the order size later if your business expands. It also reduces the risk of an unexpected event at a supplier's refinery that could disrupt your supply or cause an unacceptable delay in one of your orders.

The chemical industry rarely gets credit for its work in protecting the environment, but many leading chemical suppliers are working hard to provide their customers with green chemicals. Their most common approach is to produce from as sustainable raw materials as possible. Many of them have begun phasing out fossil fuels as much as possible in favour of other hydrocarbons. This reduces pollution from harvesting oil into the environment and protects the planet's oil reserves for other uses.