Fabric care under pressure
Staying ahead of luxury and DIY detergent threats
For fabric care manufacturers, new threats are emerging from the high and low ends of the market.
At the high end, luxury detergent brands are capturing attention with premium products that shift consumer expectations for scent, packaging, and performance.
At the same time, a wave of social media–driven do-it-yourself (DIY) detergent production is pulling value-driven and eco-focused consumers into homemade solutions. With the global fabric care sector expected to add an estimated $30 billion in value through 2032, these trends could create disruption for established detergent manufacturers by:1
- Fragmenting market share
- Pressuring pricing power
- Reshaping consumer expectations.
To understand how to navigate these trends, it’s important to explore what’s driving them.
Let’s begin with the rapid growth of luxury detergents, which are redefining consumer expectations at the high end of the market.
The rise of luxury detergents
The premium segment of the fabric care market has accelerated in recent years, with high-end detergents commanding price points several times higher than conventional products.
Luxury offerings combine sophisticated fragrances, elevated packaging and specialised formulations, positioning laundry as part of a broader lifestyle experience.
Growth is most visible in mature, high-income regions such as the US, UK, and France, where rising disposable incomes encourage consumers to trade up to premium products that promise enhanced performance, sustainability, and sensory appeal.2
Some brands amplify luxury rollouts with marketing campaigns relying on influencers and celebrities.3 4
Recent luxury launches have demonstrated just how much some consumers are willing to pay for a more elevated laundry experience
Bath & Body Works Fabric Care Collection:
Known for its fragrance portfolio, Bath & Body Works entered laundry care with scents like Moonlit Goddess and Lavender Vanilla. A 32 oz bottle retails for $19.95 and offers up to 64 small loads. The line leverages fragrance familiarity and brand loyalty to quickly establish a premium-tier presence in more than 1,800 stores.5 6
Laundry Sauce:
A direct-to-consumer brand with luxury, fragrance-forward positioning, the brand’s flagship format is laundry detergent pods sold in 30-count for $40, in scents such as Australian Sandalwood and Mojave Peach.7
Homecourt Laundry Collection:
Homecourt, the home and body care brand founded by Courteney Cox, launched a luxury laundry collection in 2025 that includes a laundry concentrate (retailing for $48 for approximately 70 washes. Scents include Cece, Steeped Rose, and Neroli Leaf.8
Maison Francis Kurkdjian Laundry Care:
This French perfume house extended its Aqua Universalis fragrance into fabric care with a luxury detergent retailing at $55 for 1 liter (about 33 washes).9
Dr. Barbara Sturm Laundry Detergent:
From the German skincare brand, this dermatologist-developed, plant-based detergent is designed for sensitive skin and gentle cleaning, retailing at $60 per liter.10
Key drivers of the luxury detergent trend
Several factors are helping to propel the growth of luxury detergents:
Exclusivity and lifestyle appeal:
Consumers perceive luxury detergents as an extension of personal style and home aesthetics.11
Performance and fabric longevity:
Specialised formulations promise to clean effectively while protecting fabrics over time.12 13
Sustainability:
Many brands use eco‑friendly ingredients and biodegradable packaging, appealing to environmentally conscious buyers.14
Sensory experience:
Premium, long‑lasting fragrances elevate the laundry process into a sensorial ritual.15 16
What’s the impact on established manufacturers?
Luxury detergents remain a niche, with limited public data on revenue or market share, but the steady pace of launches suggests the category is growing.
These products target high-margin consumers who once showed loyalty to mainstream brands, drawing them toward premium alternatives.
For established manufacturers, the result is a widening gap in both performance and perception unless they invest in premiumisation. As disposable incomes rise, more households are willing to pay extra for detergents that promise better results, added fabric care, and eco-friendly credentials.17 18
At the same time, luxury offerings are resetting expectations around scent, sustainability, packaging, and storytelling, pushing large brands to raise their game.
Strategies to compete in the premium tier
Brands can seek to protect market share from luxury detergents by:
Enhancing sensory appeal:
Develop proprietary fragrance blends or partner with fragrance houses to match the sophistication and longevity of luxury offerings.
Premium-ising strategically:
Introduce select SKUs with elevated fragrances, formulations, and packaging to compete directly in the high-margin segment without diluting your core lines.
Showcasing sustainability and transparency:
Leverage voluntary certifications such as EPA’s Safer Choice program and CleanGredients database, as well as EU Ecolabel.
Refining brand storytelling:
Build campaigns that position your products as aspirational and experiential, not just functional, reinforcing quality and innovation.
Social media pushes more consumers into DIY formulation
While luxury brands are reshaping the premium tier, another disruptive force is rising at the opposite end of the spectrum: DIY detergents fuelled by social media.
Platforms like TikTok and YouTube have given rise to viral “laundry hacks” and formulation tutorials that spread rapidly across online communities.
These DIY detergent videos range from simple powder blends to liquid mixtures and even more unconventional experiments like freezing homemade detergent in silicone trays to mimic pods.
DIY recipes rely on everyday household staples such as washing soda, baking soda, borax, and castile soap.19 Because these ingredients are inexpensive and familiar, they reinforce the perception that detergent can be mixed at home for less money and with greater control over ingredients.
While it’s difficult to gauge how many consumers regularly make their own detergent, online engagement points to growing curiosity. DIY detergent content has collectively garnered millions of likes on TikTok, and certain YouTube tutorials have surpassed a million views within only a few months
Performance reality
DIY detergents may look effective in viral videos, but real-world testing tells a different story.
Homemade formulas can handle light soil loads, yet often fail on stubborn stains, odour removal, and long-term fabric care.20
The reason is simple: without specialised surfactants, enzymes, and optical brighteners, homemade mixes lack the cleaning power and consistency of commercial detergents.
Industry and safety warnings
Experts warn that DIY detergents carry risks beyond poor cleaning.
The American Cleaning Institute notes that untested mixtures can damage fabrics, clog or corrode machines, and spoil without preservatives.21
Viral hacks, like freezing liquid detergent into silicone moulds to mimic pods, make matters worse, leading to separation, weak cleaning, and even safety hazards if mistaken for food.22
Key drivers of the DIY trend
Despite their drawbacks, DIY detergents are gaining attention because they align with powerful consumer motivations:
Affordability:
Homemade formulas can cut the cost per load, appealing to budget-conscious shoppers.
Ingredient transparency:
Consumers are trying to know exactly what goes into the mix, avoiding “hidden” chemicals they may perceive as unhealthy. However, some may be purchasing base surfactants that don’t disclose the presence of 1,4-Dioxane.
Sustainability:
DIY reduces packaging waste and avoids additives, reinforcing eco-friendly values.
DIY culture and self-reliance:
Reinforced by online communities and video tutorials.
How DIY detergents may impact established brands
DIY detergents may be niche in volume, but their influence is growing.
Viral recipes and tutorials frame branded detergents as costly, less “pure,” or wasteful. This erodes loyalty among price-sensitive shoppers and fuels scepticism among eco-minded consumers.
The real risk isn’t scale, but perception. DIY trends shift the narrative in ways established brands can’t afford to ignore.
Turning DIY disruption into opportunity
Brands seeking to counter DIY trends may consider leveraging performance proof and sustainability:
Show performance:
Use third-party tests and side-by-side demos to highlight superior stain, odour, and fabric care results.
Offer more sustainable formats:
Provide concentrates, refills, or reusable packaging that deliver the eco-benefits consumers want, without sacrificing performance.
Engage on social:
Publish content that busts myths, educates on safety, and shows brand expertise in relatable ways.
Stress safety and reliability:
Leverage industry guidance to underline the risks of untested formulas and position branded detergents as the safer choice.
Protect your fabric care turf
Luxury and DIY may sit at opposite ends of the market, but both chip away at mainstream brands.
High-end products lure high-margin consumers with fragrance, design, and lifestyle appeal. DIY trends attract value-driven shoppers with low cost, transparency, and sustainability claims. Together, they pressure market share and pricing power.
To stay competitive, manufacturers must raise the bar on fragrance, quality, packaging, and eco-credentials while also offering affordability and transparency. Brands that balance performance with credibility and clear storytelling will be best positioned to protect their turf.
As luxury brands push performance and DIY trends push sustainability and transparency, Shell NEODOL and Shell NEODENE give manufacturers the flexibility to deliver on both fronts. These alcohol ethoxylates and linear alpha and internal olefins offer:
Proven performance:
Supports superior stain removal, emulsification, and fragrance delivery.
Formulation flexibility:
Works in high- and low-active systems, enabling innovation across premium, value, and products meeting EPA Safer Choice or EU Ecolabel criteria.
Speak to an expert to learn how we can help your formulas stay competitive in an evolving market.
Sources
1 https://dataintelo.com/report/laundry-detergent-by-brand-market
2 https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/laundry-detergents-market
3 https://www.newbeauty.com/homecourt-expands-into-laundry/
4 https://variety.com/2024/shopping/lifestyle/scott-eastwood-laundry-sauce-commercial-products-1236125054/
5 https://www.retaildive.com/news/bath-body-works-fabric-care-collection-laundry-detergent/728511/
6 https://bestlifeonline.com/bath-body-works-laundry-detergent/
7 https://laundrysauce.com/
8 https://www.newbeauty.com/homecourt-expands-into-laundry/
9 https://www.franciskurkdjian.com/us-en/p/aqua-universalis-scented-universal-laundry-detergent-RA3040301.html
10 https://www.drsturm.com/laundry-detergent
11 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/retail/indians-go-premium-to-do-the-laundry/articleshow/114918829.cms
12 https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/laundry-detergents-market
13 https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/laundry-care-market-report
14 https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/luxury-laundry-detergent/
15 https://www.whowhatwear.com/best-smelling-laundry-detergents
16 https://www.purewow.com/home/bath-and-body-works-laundry-detergent-review
17 https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/laundry-care-market-report
18 https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/report/fabric-wash-and-care-market
19 https://sustainablykindliving.com/diy-natural-and-non-toxic-laundry-detergent/
20 https://www.ksl.com/article/51253342/will-homemade-laundry-soap-save-you-money-we-put-our-own-diy-soap-to-the-test
21 https://www.bhg.com/diy-laundry-detergent-7487785
22 https://www.bhg.com/avoid-frozen-laundry-trend-117430111