Pears Soap Old v New

Pears' Soap was created in 1789 and was the worlds first transparent soap. It is also the longest continually existing commercial brand in the world! You don't get longevity like that by messing with a masterpiece but for some inexplicable reason in late 2009 Unilever decided to change the soap into a smelly inferior product. Apart from the awful overpowering, chemical smell it doesn't last as long as the old bars and the shape is different.

Try as I might I just can't find anything good to say about the new formula Pears' Soap! Whilst it's horrid when something you like is discontinued by some accountant with his eye on the bottom line, this isn't just dislike of change -New Pears is poor quality and smells vile, artificial and cheap. I wouldn't mind if it was something to clean the loo with but I don't want a stink like that clinging to my skin.

Finally consider this; Old Pears had 7 Natural ingredients New Pears has an additional 24 chemical ingredients. It's also notable that Old Pears had the words hypoallergenic and non-comedogenic on the pack. New Pears has dropped those claims. Worse still they've now added a layer of plastic round the soap, whereas before it just came in the box. Do we really need more disposable packaging in the world?

Sodium Palmitate, Natural Rosin, Glycerine, Water, Sodium Cocoate, Rosemary Extract, Thyme Extract, Pears Fragrance Essence.

Sorbitol, Aqua, Sodium Palmate/stearate, Sodium Palmkernelate, Sodium Rosinate, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, PEG-4, Alcohol, Glycerin, Perfume, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Meta Bisulfite, Etidronic acid, Tetra Sodium EDTA, BHT, Cl 12490, Cl 47005, Benzyl Benzoate, Benzyl Salicylate, Cinnamal, Eugenol, Limonene, Linalool.

Whilst Unilever have promised to continue to improve the new formula Pears- in response to widespread horror, they have stopped short of returning to the original. This is not good enough.

As ever it's up to consumers to vote with their wallets. If you don't like the new Pears' formula, then don't buy it and contact Unilever telling them exactly why you won't be buying it. If enough people hit Unilever in the pocket by boycotting all their brands and let them know why, they'll be forced to bring the original and the best Pears back!