Sustainably superior cleaning
Sunlight was the first Unilever brand in South Africa to use bottles made from 100% recycled plastic and they’re fully recyclable.
“We create everyday moments of joy through our cleaning and laundry brands. As well as using science and technology to create premium experiences that consumers come back to time and time again, we are also focused on creating products and packaging that support our plastic reduction and net zero ambitions.”
Eduardo Campanella, Business Group President, Home Care
Creating unmissably superior experiences with our brands
Creating unmissably superior experiences with our brands
From removing stains to designing packaging that makes our products easier and more enjoyable to use at home, we’re focused on delivering superior experiences through our brands.
We evolve our brands based on what consumers tell us. It’s not just about how well a product cleans – it’s about how it feels, how it smells, how easy it is to use, the sound of a spray and knowing the ingredients are biodegradable.
Consumer habits around cleaning and laundry have changed significantly in recent years. We’ve responded by growing Cleanipedia, our platform to serve an emerging desire for advice grounded in science. Inspired by ‘cleanfluencers’ and social-first content, we’re engaging Gen Z consumers – a historically underserved and hard-to-reach group with increasing levels of disposable income.
Delivering great value to our consumers and partners
Product performance at the right price equals great value. And we know that’s exactly what shoppers and our trade partners are looking for.
To deliver great value, we develop clever formulations that have improved cleaning power but with fewer, more innovative ingredients.
We also ensure that our business is as agile and efficient as possible, by investing in technology that accelerates the digitalisation of our operations.
Embedding sustainability
We’re meeting the desire for superior and sensorial cleaning and laundry experiences, while driving sustainability practices and influencing public policies.
We’ve reduced virgin plastic use by switching to better or no plastic in our innovations. We’re also cutting greenhouse gas emissions and aiming for net zero by using ingredients from renewable and recycled feedstocks.
We’re collaborating with policymakers, NGOs, industry, academics and trade groups to accelerate the transition to lower-emission chemicals and drive meaningful change.
Impeccable cleaning, plastic-free pack
Dirt Is Good launched their most powerful capsule in plastic-free cardboard packaging, reducing carbon emissions and plastic waste.
Accelerating the shift to net zero
In India, Hindustan Unilever is helping reshape the chemical industry by backing a government-led shift to bio-based materials. This has been supported by a white paper outlining technology priorities and policy moves to accelerate the transition.
Innovations that transform everyday chores into superior experiences
These innovations reflect our ongoing commitment to create exceptional products that meet all aspects of consumer preference, from formulation and packaging to price point.
How we’re using probiotics to transform home cleaning
An all-in-one cleaner from Cif is using pioneering bioscience technology and the natural power of probiotics to keep homes cleaner for longer. Cif Infinite Clean is specifically formulated to provide a longer-lasting clean on surfaces ranging from home electronics and worktops to sofas, soft toys and pet beds, long after its application.
Revolutionising liquid laundry detergents for short cycles
In 2024, we launched our biggest Home Care innovation ever, Wonder Wash, under our Dirt Is Good brand (also known as OMO, Persil, Surf Excel, Breeze, Rinso, Ala and Skip). This is our first liquid laundry detergent specifically designed to work in short and cold cycles – as quick as 15 minutes – in response to the growing need for speed and convenience.
Answering consumer needs in the changing fabric-enhancer market
The increasing use of short wash cycles, more clothes being made from synthetic fibres and the desire for sophisticated fragrances are some of the major trends influencing the fabric enhancer market. Comfort’s innovations – the Botanicals range and fragrance booster Elixir – have been designed to address these consumer needs, tapping into an opportunity with huge potential.
Find out more about Comfort Botanicals and Scent Booster Elixir
Turning the germ-killing world upside down
Shoppers want a toilet and bathroom cleaner that kills germs more effortlessly in hardest-to-reach places, so Domestos came up with Power Foam Spray. This specially engineered formulation delivers foam which expands and clings to surfaces, and a trigger head that works upside down. The brand’s biggest innovation for a decade is set to lead the growth of a category where consumers are increasingly looking for products that are both high-performance and convenient.
Premiumising dishwashing with 100% plant-based technology
When it comes to washing up, consumers want maximum performance with clean ingredients and minimum effort. To deliver that, our Sunlight brand has leveraged the power of rhamnolipid – a 100% natural, biodegradable and renewable ‘biosurfactant’ that delivers outstanding performance – which was developed in collaboration with Evonik.
World class manufacturing
Three of our Home Care factories are part of the World Economic Forum’s network of ‘Advanced Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) Lighthouses’. These sites adopt and deploy advanced technologies to maximise efficiency and competitiveness, and drive sustainable and responsible business growth. They stand as a benchmark and a replicable model for manufacturers of all sizes, across different geographies and industries.
Indaiatuba, in São Paulo, was the first of our factories in Latin America to earn this recognition. Dapada, in Mumbai, was the first FMCG factory in India to join the network. And Hefei, in China – which is our largest production facility in the world – joined the network in 2020.
The power of partnershipsThe power of partnerships
Breakthrough innovations are only possible by joining forces with partners who are at the forefront of their fields. This is how we develop the new technologies and solutions that will help us deliver superior, sustainable and great value products, and revolutionise the cleaning industry.
Advancing cutting-edge probiotic technology (Opens in new modal)
In partnership with Genesis Biosciences since 2019, we’re pioneering the development of innovative probiotic cleaning technologies for home care and professional cleaning applications.
Advancing cutting-edge probiotic technology (1 of 8)
In partnership with Genesis Biosciences since 2019, we’re pioneering the development of innovative probiotic cleaning technologies for home care and professional cleaning applications. This long-term partnership brings together Genesis’ deep expertise in microbial fermentation and Bacillus strain development with Unilever’s global reach and commitment to sustainable innovation.
Together, we’re advancing cutting-edge probiotic cleaning formulations designed to provide long-lasting cleanliness, enhanced surface hygiene and reduced environmental impact.
Read more about Cif Infinite Clean which harnesses the power of probiotics
Transforming CO2 into usable carbon (Opens in new modal)
In 2024, we extended our partnership with Econic Technologies: a start-up that’s pioneering a process to replace fossil-based raw materials with renewable carbon.
Transforming CO2 into usable carbon (2 of 8)
In 2024, we extended our partnership with Econic Technologies: a start-up that’s pioneering a process to replace fossil-based raw materials with renewable carbon. Together we’re exploring how we can transform CO2 into usable carbon to create fossil-free raw materials for our household cleaning and laundry products.
From early phases of the trial, we’re confident this method will bring advantages compared to other ways of using CO2, and that the greenhouse gas footprint of the material will be significantly lower. We’re also hoping that harnessing CO2 in this way will lead to the potential for untapped performance benefits.
Co-creating the future of laundry (Opens in new modal)
Our Home Care Power Brands Dirt Is Good (Persil) and Comfort are partnering with world-leading consumer technology and domestic appliance company Samsung with the aim to transform the future of home laundry and deliver unmissably superior products.
Co-creating the future of laundry (3 of 8)
Our Home Care Power Brands Dirt Is Good (Persil) and Comfort are partnering with world-leading consumer technology and domestic appliance company Samsung with the aim to transform the future of home laundry and deliver unmissably superior products.
Until now, laundry detergents, fabric enhancers and washing machines have been developed pretty much in isolation from one another. The aim of the partnership is to combine future learnings and insights for a fully end-to-end view of the new ‘laundry lifestyle’. This will empower R&D teams to harness the rapid evolution of technology in both the laundry and consumer technology sectors to drive category growth and innovation.
Find out how Unilever’s Home Care and Samsung will deliver a fully connected laundry experience
Developing and commercialising a crop of the future (Opens in new modal)
In partnership with Nufarm, a global agriculture innovator, we’re aiming to develop a variety of sugar cane to extract plant-based oils for use in our cleaning ingredients.
Developing and commercialising a crop of the future (4 of 8)
In partnership with Nufarm, a global agriculture innovator, we’re aiming to develop a variety of sugar cane to extract plant-based oils for use in our cleaning ingredients. The project aims to cultivate a crop with significant biomass to produce sustainable oils. The biomass oil – derived from plant material, including the leaves and stems – will be a source of fatty acids, a core base ingredient for our laundry detergents and beauty and personal care products.
Read more about how this biotech partnership aims to identify alternative cleaning ingredients
Developing new proteins and enzymes (Opens in new modal)
We’re working with protein design company Arzeda to explore the potential of some of the most incredible ingredients in nature: enzymes.
Developing new proteins and enzymes (5 of 8)
We’re working with protein design company Arzeda to explore the potential of some of the most incredible ingredients in nature: enzymes. We’re using artificial intelligence and bioscience to create new proteins and enzymes that fight stains better, use less water and energy, and replace petrochemical-derived ingredients. This will help us cut the amount of ingredients in our formulas to reduce their impact on the environment, and create products that work superbly well in cold water. The partnership will also advance our commitment to reach net zero emissions from our products by 2039.
Scaling alternatives to palm oil (Opens in new modal)
Alongside Genomatica, a leader in biotech and sustainability, we launched a venture to scale and commercialise alternatives to palm oil and fossil-fuel-derived cleansing ingredients.
Scaling alternatives to palm oil (6 of 8)
Alongside Genomatica, a leader in biotech and sustainability, we launched a venture to scale and commercialise alternatives to palm oil and fossil-fuel-derived cleansing ingredients. With growing demand for sustainably sourced palm oil, we aim to bring responsibly sourced alternatives to the market at a competitive cost. The innovation is particularly relevant to cleaning products that require ingredients to lather and lift dirt. At present, there are few viable and affordable alternatives to palm and fossil sources that can be produced at scale to make those ingredients.
How we’re finding alternatives to fossil-fuel-based chemicals
Putting carbon waste to work for net zero (Opens in new modal)
In the UK, we’re working with 14 industry partners on the Flue2Chem programme – a cross-sector collaboration aiming to find ways of turning waste gases into sustainable chemicals for consumer products.
Putting carbon waste to work for net zero (7 of 8)
In the UK, we’re working with 14 industry partners on the Flue2Chem programme – a cross-sector collaboration aiming to find ways of turning waste gases into sustainable chemicals for consumer products. This is the first initiative that has committed to finding solutions that could work at scale and provide the step change needed to ensure that the UK, and in time the world, reaches its net zero targets. We have already piloted products using captured carbon emissions such as OMO laundry detergent in China, Sunlight hand dishwash in South Africa and Coral+ laundry detergent in Germany.
Creating biodegradable biosurfactants (Opens in new modal)
We have been working with world-leading chemical specialist Evonik for several years now, looking to develop the use of rhamnolipids – a high-performance biosurfactant made using sugar as its main raw material.
Creating biodegradable biosurfactants (8 of 8)
We have been working with world-leading chemical specialist Evonik for several years now, looking to develop the use of rhamnolipids – a high-performance biosurfactant made using sugar as its main raw material. The biosurfactant has great potential to help reduce the cleaning industry’s carbon impact as it’s fully biodegradable with a low-impact lifecycle. When we started using this revolutionary sustainable foaming agent in our Quix hand dishwash liquid in 2019, it was a world first. Now, we’re taking it global.
Putting laundry and cleaning products on net zero emissions pathway