Sunlight (cleaning product) 1897433 220640194 2008-06-20T21:01:24Z Eubot 231599 Hatnote formatting, see [[User:Eubot/Hatnote formatting]] {{for|other meanings|Sunlight (disambiguation)}} {{Cleanup|date=June 2007}} '''Sunlight''' is a brand of household [[soap]] originally produced by the [[United Kingdom|British]] company [[Lever Brothers]] in [[1884]]. 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]]. William Lever's 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. It was one of the earliest internationally-[[marketing|marketed]] branded products, and one of the first examples of a cleaning product being produced as a [[consumer]] commodity; prior to Sunlight, clothing was generally washed using homemade soap. Sunlight was eventually supplanted by the more modern products made from sythentically-produced [[detergent]]s rather than naturally-derived soaps. In several markets (e.g. Belgium and the Netherlands) Sunlight soap has survived up till today as a personal wash product rather than a laundry detergent. In Canada, it remains a leading brand of dish soap. ==Later brand usage== It appears <ref>[http://www.google.com/search?q=sunlight+brand]</ref> that Sunlight is still used in some markets as a brand by [[Unilever]] (the successor of [[Lever Brothers]]); at least in some markets it was taken over by [[Lilleborg]] in 1930 <ref>[http://www.lilleborg.no/eway/default.aspx?pid=232&trg=MainPage_6464&MainPage_6464=6844:0:4,962:1:0:0:::0:0 Lilleborgs historie i korte trekk - Lilleborg<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>; in 2003 exclusive licensing rights to the Sunlight brand of dishwashing detergents in Canada, Puerto Rico and the USA were sold (along with some other Unilever brands) to [[Lehman Brothers]] bankers <ref>[http://www.secinfo.com/d6Kad.23c.d.htm SEC Info - Unilever NV - 6-K - For 12/9/03 - EX-99<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>, who set up [[Phoenix Brands]] for the purpose<ref>http://www.amsouth.com/business2/capital/success.asp?story=phoenixbrands</ref>. The Sunlight brand is used by [[JohnsonDiversey]] in Canada and the USA. <ref>[http://www.jdbrands.com/ctlg/default.asp?product_id=44 JohnsonDiversey Consumer Branded Professional Products Catalog<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> ==References== {{Reflist}} [[Category:Laundry detergents]] [[Category:Soap brands]] {{product-stub}}