Sunlight soap

Sunlight is a brand of household soap introduced by the British company Lever Brothers in 1884. It was the world's first packaged, branded laundry soap. Designed for washing clothes and general household use, the success of the product led to the name for the company's village for its workers, Port Sunlight. The soap formula was invented by a Bolton chemist named William Hough Watson, who also became an early business partner. Watson's process created a new soap, using glycerin and vegetable oils such as palm oil rather than tallow (animal fats).William Lever and his brother James Darcy Lever invested in Watson's soap invention and its initial success came from offering bars of cut, wrapped, and branded soap in his father's grocery shop. Prior to this, commercially made soap was bought in long bars, an early labour-saving device for the housewife.

Sunlight was eventually supplanted by modern products made from synthetically produced detergents rather than naturally derived soaps.

In 1971, the company rebranded its Sunlight washing-up liquid in the UK. The new packaging for Sunlight Lemon Liquid had a large picture of a lemon, and only featured the words "washing up liquid" in small letters. There were complaints that children might mistake the product for lemon squash and drink it. The matter was discussed in the House of Lords. The company responded by changing its packaging.

In several markets (e.g., Belgium and the Netherlands) Sunlight soap has survived as a personal wash product rather than a laundry detergent.

Sunlight is still used in some markets as a brand by Unilever (the successor of Lever Brothers). In Sri Lanka, Sunlight laundry soap has a market share of more than 75%, and won the “brand of the year” award in 2004. In South Africa, the brand is used for bath soap, dishwashing liquid, washing powder and fabric conditioner.

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