Editing Persil (section)

== History ==
[[File:Wismar Wasserturm.JPG|thumb|left|upright|Persil advertisement in [[Wismar]]]]
The chore of washing the laundry began to change with the introduction of washing powders in the 1880s. These new products originally were simply pulverized soap. New cleaning product marketing successes, such as the 1890s introduction of [[Gold dust washing powder|Gold Dust Washing Powder]] (created by industrial chemist [[James F. Boyce Sr.|James Boyce]] for the [[N. K. Fairbank]] Company in the United States),<ref>The ''Holland Evening Sentinel''; Holland, MI; [[obituary]], 4 June 1935</ref> proved that there was a ready market for better cleaning agents. Henkel & Cie, founded in [[Düsseldorf]] in 1876, pursued the opportunity, and on 6 June 1907 launched the first of its kind product, Persil. The manufacturer had found a method to add [[sodium perborate]]—a bleaching agent—to its base washing agents ([[silicate]]), creating what the marketing department called a "self-activating powder" detergent. During the washing process, oxygenated perborate forms small bubbles, doing the "''work of the [[washboard (laundry)|washboard]]''"—saving consumers time and rendering the historic method of "sun-bleaching" (by laying clothes out in the sun) unnecessary.<ref name="henkel2006" />

Persil was the first commercially available laundry detergent that combined bleach with the detergent. The invention of Persil was a significant breakthrough.<ref name="henkel2006" /> The name, "Persil", is derived from two of the original ingredients, sodium perborate and silicate. This name was however deemed unsuitable as an international brand because the pronunciation of this spelling is not clear or easy in some languages. Coincidentally, ''persil'' is the French word for the herb, [[parsley]].<ref name="henkel2006" />

In France, the Marseillais Jules Ronchetti launched a soap under the brand "Le Persil" in 1906. During the First World War, the company of Electro-Chimie, concessionaire for France of the Henkel laundry, signed an agreement with Ronchetti by which it would no longer sell detergents under the Persil brand. A legal battle ensued which resulted in an agreement in 1927 reserving the use of the mark to the English company Lever Brothers (which bought the company from Jules Ronchetti) in France and the United Kingdom, and to the German company Henkel in the rest of the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://la-revue-des-marques.fr/documents/gratuit/54/persil-centenaire-sans-tache-de-vieillesse.php |title=la revue des marques}}</ref>

Persil is sold in powder, liquid detergent, liquid capsule, gel, and tablet forms. There are [[enzyme|enzymatic]], non-enzymatic, and colour care (containing enzymes, but bleach-free) formulations as well. The Persil line also includes specialist care products for wool and silk items. Additionally in the UK, Unilever formerly marketed a range of Persil [[Cleaning agent|washing up liquids]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Unilever to axe Persil washing up brand |url=https://www.marketingweek.com/unilever-to-axe-persil-washing-up-brand/ |access-date=4 December 2021 |work=Marketing Week |date=9 November 2009}}</ref>