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Product type | Air freshener |
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Owner | Procter & Gamble |
Country | United States |
Introduced | March 1996 |
Markets | Worldwide |
Website | www |
Febreze is an American brand of household odor eliminators manufactured by Procter & Gamble. It is sold in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.
First introduced in test markets in March 1996, [1] the fabric refresher product has been sold in the United States since June 1998, and the line has since branched out to include air fresheners (Air Effects), plug-in oil (Noticeables), scented disks (Scentstories), odor-eliminating candles, and automotive air fresheners.
The name Febreze is a portmanteau of the words fabric and breeze. In many non-English speaking countries, the products are sold as Ambi Pur.
The active ingredient in several Febreze products is hydroxypropyl beta-cyclodextrin (HPβCD). The molecule traps and binds volatilized hydrocarbons within its structural ring, retaining malodorous molecules, which reduces their volatility and thus the perception of their scent. [2] The active ingredient is produced from corn cobs. [3] The use of cyclodextrin as a sprayable odor absorber was patented by Procter & Gamble. [4]
The products include additional ingredients such as emulsifiers, preservatives, and perfumes. Benzisothiazolinone is a preservative included in some of the products. [5]
There are many types of Febreze branded products. For example, the main Febreze products are air freshener sprays, which are claimed to have a disinfectant effect. There are specialized ones for odor from pets, for cars, and for fabric. Some are aromatic and others are odorless.
In other countries, there are Febreze products for house dust and toilet facilities.
The product was initially marketed as a way to get rid of unpleasant smells. It sold poorly until P&G realised that people become accustomed to smells in their own homes, and stop noticing them even when they are overpowering (like the smell of several cats in a single household). The marketing then switched to linking it to pleasant smells and good cleaning habits instead, which resulted in a massive increase in sales. Only after the product became well established in the marketplace did the marketing go back to emphasising odour elimination properties as well. [6]
Febreze fabric freshener products are considered safe for use in households with pets. [7] However, the package labeling indicates that the product is considered not safe around birds, and results from testing with other animals are not indicated.[ citation needed ]
Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. Perfumes can be defined as substances that emit and diffuse a pleasant and fragrant odor. They consist of manmade mixtures of aromatic chemicals and essential oils. The 1939 Nobel Laureate for Chemistry, Leopold Ružička stated in 1945 that "right from the earliest days of scientific chemistry up to the present time, perfumes have substantially contributed to the development of organic chemistry as regards methods, systematic classification, and theory."
A deodorant is a substance applied to the body to prevent or mask body odor caused by bacterial breakdown of perspiration, for example in the armpits, groin, or feet. A subclass of deodorants, called antiperspirants, prevents sweating itself, typically by blocking sweat glands. Antiperspirants are used on a wider range of body parts, at any place where sweat would be inconvenient or unsafe, since unwanted sweating can interfere with comfort, vision, and grip. Other types of deodorant allow sweating but prevent bacterial action on sweat, since human sweat only has a noticeable smell when it is decomposed by bacteria.
Old Spice is an American brand of male grooming products encompassing aftershaves, deodorants and antiperspirants, shampoos, body washes, shaving cream, and soaps. It is manufactured by Procter & Gamble.
Air fresheners are products designed to reduce unwanted odors in indoor spaces, or to introduce pleasant fragrances, or both. They typically emit fragrance to mask odors, but may use other methods of action such as absorbing, bonding to, or chemically altering compounds in the air that produce smells, killing organisms that produce smells, or disrupting the sense of smell to reduce perception of unpleasant smells.
Ivory is an American flagship personal care brand created by the Procter & Gamble Company (P&G), including varieties of white and mildly scented bar soap that became famous for its claim of purity and for floating on water. Over the years, the brand has been extended to other varieties and products.
A stink bomb, sometimes called a stinkpot, is a device designed to create an unpleasant smell. They range in effectiveness from being used as simple pranks to military grade malodorants or riot control chemical agents.
New car smell is the odor that comes from the combination of materials found in new automobiles, as well as other vehicles like buses, trucks, and aircraft. It constitutes of various elements such as new leather, plastics and textile interiors. Due to its liking, many automobile manufacturers have also started mimicking desired scents and utilising them to attract customers in show rooms. Although the scent is described as pleasant by some, there is some question about the possibility that these chemicals pose a health risk. A study in 2023 found that formaldehyde and acetaldehyde gases exceeded Chinese government safety standards, and researchers recommended that new car buyers drive with windows open.
Household chemicals are non-food chemicals that are commonly found and used in and around the average household. They are a type of consumer goods, designed particularly to assist cleaning, house and yard maintenance, cooking, pest control and general hygiene purposes often stored in the kitchen or garage.
Glade (/gleɪd/) is an American brand of household air fresheners that were first introduced in 1956. Glade is a worldwide brand owned by S. C. Johnson & Son, known variously around the world as Glade, Gleid, Brise, etc. Brise was renamed Glade in Germany, France and the Netherlands in 2012.
Liquid Ass is a stink bomb product. It was invented by former engineer Alan Wittman when he was in high school. In 2005, he founded Liquid Ass Novelties, LLC, in North Carolina, alongside fellow engineer Andrew Masters.
The iSmell is a commercial application of digital scent technology. Personal Scent Synthesizer developed by DigiScents Inc. was a small device that can be connected to a computer through a USB port and powered using any ordinary electrical outlet. The appearance of the device is similar to that of a shark's fin, with many holes lining the "fin" to release the various scents. Using a cartridge similar to a printer's, it can synthesize and even create new smells from certain combinations of other scents. These newly created odors can be used to closely replicate common natural and man-made odors. The cartridges used also need to be swapped every so often once the scents inside are used up. Once partnered with websites and interactive media, the scents can be activated either automatically once a website is opened or manually. However, the product is no longer on the market and never generated substantial sales. Digiscent had plans for the iSmell to have several versions but did not progress past the prototype stage. The company did not last long and filed for bankruptcy a short time after.
Air Wick is an American brand of air freshener owned by the British multinational company Reckitt. It was launched by creator Guy Paschal in 1943 in the United States, and is now sold worldwide.
An odor or odour is caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds that are generally found in low concentrations that humans and many animals can perceive via their sense of smell. An odor is also called a "smell" or a "scent", which can refer to either an unpleasant or a pleasant odor.
Secret is an antiperspirant/deodorant for women manufactured by Procter & Gamble. It is sold in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Secret was launched as the first female deodorant in 1956, after more than 10 years of research that began in 1945. Secret is the only female brand antiperspirant/deodorant in Procter & Gamble's portfolio of products, which includes male brands Gillette and Old Spice.
Christophe Laudamiel is a French perfumer, chemist, writer and model. He is co-founder and Master Perfumer of DreamAir creative studios in New York City, where he currently resides. In 2019 he was named Chief Perfumer to BélAir Lab in Tokyo: a perfume composition and technology studio newly managed by Rohto Pharmaceuticals. He is a founder and president of the non-profit Academy of Perfumery and Aromatics.
Armenian paper is a type of incense that has been produced for centuries. The paper is infused with essences, fragrances or essential oils in order to achieve a perfuming or cleansing effect. Examples of Armenian paper include Papier d'Arménie, which is produced in France, and Carta d'Armenia, which is produced in Italy. The scents from the French production is "Tradition", "Arménie" and "Rose".
Chavibetol is an organic chemical compound of the phenylpropanoid class. It is one of the primary constituents of the essential oil from the leaves of the betel plant and catatia. It is an aromatic compound with a spicy odor.
Women's Voices for the Earth (WVE) is a feminist, women-led, North American environmental organization that specializes in research and advocacy regarding toxic chemicals used in products that disproportionately impact women's health, including cosmetics, menstrual care products, professional salon and cleaning products. WVE is a non-profit organization whose mission is to amplify women's voices to eliminate toxics that harm communities and health. With its inclusive vision of environmental work WVE has become a hub for visionary feminist environmentalism that recognizes the systemic connections between health, class, race, and the environment. Addressing the inter-connectivity of these various channels of exposure to toxic chemicals has been key to WVE's approach which is multi-scalar: targeting consumer behaviors, corporate practices, and government policies.