Concentrated, dilutable bleaching additive for laundry

Reckitt is seeking a highly-concentrated and compact fabric treatment that can be safely diluted by the consumer at home and used at various concentrations.

Reckitt is a global consumer products company that operates a portfolio of leading household brands in nutrition, health, and hygiene, including laundry detergents such as Woolite. Laundry detergents have historically been sold in large plastic containers, ranging from 25 to 210 fluid ounces in size. To reduce waste, a variety of household products are now being sold in concentrated versions for consumers to use as-is or by diluting the formula at home. Laundry pods are one example, but they have inherent limitations. In addition to a high cost per wash, laundry pods do not allow consumers to pretreat fabric or adjust the concentration. An alternative may be to use a liquid or gel concentrated booster that can double as a pre-treatment for spot stains and is adaptable to load volume and soil level.

Eligibility

We are seeking to develop a highly-concentrated and compact fabric treatment that can be safely diluted with water at home by the consumer.

Our must-have requirements are:

  • Final formula diluted in a range from 1:3 to 1:10 must be stable for use in the short term (approximately 2 weeks)
  • Capable of being produced at high commercial volumes (1-15 million units at 50-100ml/unit) at a reasonable cost (< $1.80/Kg of finished formula)
  • Effective on oxidizable stains
  • Safe for consumer use under European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) guidelines
  • Decreases packaging, weight, transport costs, and related environmental impacts compared to traditional gel detergents in 750ml bottles

See Full Details & Apply

Agency Name: 
Reckitt
Contact Name: 
Sola Fasunwon
Grant Amount: 
Up to $150,000 for 6-8 month proof of concept; potential to renew
Grant Location: 
External
External Deadline: 
Friday, April 16, 2021
Grant Type: 
Research
Grant Area: 
Natural Science
Grant Eligibility: 
Faculty
Students
Postdoc