The Great Pears Soap Disaster
It is one of those small comforts the morning bath routine. The merest sniff has the power to transport me back to my childhood. A gentle, vaguely biscuity smell like the soft, warm aroma of the linen cupboard; the comforting concave oval shape with indents into which you can fit the old worn bar (waste not, want not!). Yes, I am talking about Pears Transparent Soap.
This particular brand is 200 years old, as the newly reworded carton reminds me. In fact the soap is 220 years old. First formulated in 1789, it was the world’s first registered brand and therefore is the world’s oldest continuously existing brand.
Transparent it still is. It used to claim to be hypoallergenic and non-comedogenic, natural and original. Don’t look for these strap-lines on the new carton. They have disappeared; discretely and without fanfare. It is surely a wise move for the owner of a 200 year brand not to trumpet the words, “new, improved formula” on a product that is not only much loved but is used by people whose skin does not respond well to harsher soaps.
Pears Transparent Soap :: Before and After
The list of ingredients, which once read like a cargo on John Masefield’s Quinquireme of Nineveh – a Pandora’s box of exotic sounding ingredients sourced from the far reaches of the British Empire, now includes PEG 4, BHT, CI 12940 and CI 47005 (respectively a dispersant, antioxidant and colour additives). Then there’s the new smell. Biscuits and linen replaced with a whiff that to my untutored nose is just too strong, redolent of pine disinfectant and the hospital waiting room. Other noses might detect a herbal note – perhaps not unpleasant – but just not the proper familiar Pears smell.
My wife and I both suffer from sensitive skin. My wife is allergic to PEG8 and its close relatives, so PEG4 is a no-no. Ah well, that’s goodbye then to Pears Soap after 100 bath years of use in this household?
Not being one to take these things lying down, I called the 0800 customer service number on the box. Disconnected. Undeterred, I googled the name on the box, CERT Brands in Rotherham and found a telephone number where, I reasoned, I might be able to talk to a brand manager. I spoke with a nice lady, the receptionist. No, she said, nobody else had complained so far. She made careful, precise notes of my comments. Yes, yes, somebody would call me back shortly.
A month later, I am still waiting.
Let’s face it, when you are a busy, important brand manager (I mean, the manager of an important brand), the last thing you want to do is talk to a disgruntled consumer. That’s what you have receptionists for.
Am I really the only consumer to have noticed? Not acccording to the author of Wikipedia’s entry on Pears Soap: ”In 2009 the formula was changed to take out the peanut oil that it contained and adding other ingredients like more glycerin. This unfortunately completely changed the smell and texture of the soap, making it unrecognizable from the original product.”
I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the concave shape of the soap is [presumably, was] formed by shrinkage while the soap is drying, and is not due to deliberate moulding. To quote Wikipedia again, “Recent changes to quality of ingredients used in the manufacturing process have resulted in a noticeably different shape (flatter rather than concave) and difference in scent.”
So, is there a lesson in here for much loved 200 year old brand managers (I mean the managers of much loved 200 year old brands)? It should be that you tinker with your brand at your peril. My experience thus far tells me that there is little chance that this message is going to get through. The only real sanction we consumers have at our disposal is to vote with our feet (and hands and faces) and stop using it. If too many did that, it might finish what others have already started and kill off the brand completely.
After 200 years that would be much more than a great pity, it would be a disaster.
My stock of Pears soap was running low, so I went to buy some today from a shop where I get it cheaper than anywhere else. I was disappointed to find only one left – I usually buy several. The box was a bit crushed, so rather than put it in the cupboard with all the others, I decided to take the soap out and put it the soap dish in the bathroom. WHAT? different shape! horrid smell! I looked at the details on the box – made in India! I thought it was a copy (never studied the box before, didn’t need to I must have been buying old stock previously) This can’t be Pear’s soap, Pear’s is an English soap! I went on the net to see if anyone else had bought rogue copies. I came across the reports that Pear’s had changed and could not believe it. The end of an era, it its the last bar of that soap I will buy. I was thankful that there was only one left in the shop today. I will ration the 4 originals I have and will never buy Pear’s soap again. I shall in future buy handmade soap (very reasonably priced) from a market in the next town – worth the journey.
You bastards unilever. I won’t buy ANY of your products.
The new product that uses the Pears name is vile. Unilever products are off my shopping list.
I’d dearly love to know what the overall sales figures of the new version soap look like. Today, just out of interest, I asked the manager of the local Asda (friend of mine) if she’d noticed any difference in buying patterns. “See that stock there?”, she pointed at the shelf, “We’ve moved the Pears soap to the bottom shelf because no-one’s buying it any more, even on ‘special’”.
Shame shame shame on Unilever. Thanks Alan West for your original comments. I have used Pears for over 35 years too – since I was a kid – and there is no denying that Unilever have now destroyed one of the last bastions of stability and simplicity in the toxic world of our supermarkets’ toiletries aisles. Shame Unilever. Shame!
Just a ‘me too’. Maybe I’m growing old (at 36) to be complaining about soap.
Edited extracts from my message via pearsinternational dot com.
—
Yesterday I opened a bar of ‘Pears’ soap. This was my first exposure to the reformulated version, as I had had a stock of the previous version for some months.
The smell and feel of the soap has been changed beyond recognition: The smell puts me in mind of kitchen cleaning products. It is not ‘gentle’ on the skin. Words such as ‘antiseptic’ spring to mind.
For many years I have not even looked at the price when picking up a bar of Pears – it was Pears, enough said. Price was not important. Now, sadly, it’s just another soap.
No, actually, it’s worse than that: it’s a soap that puts me in mind of disinfectants and insect repellents.
—
So, then. Enough moping. There is a market and I’m not the only one willing to pay for a good product.
Over the last two weeks, I’ve been bitterly complaining about the ‘smell’ of the last two boxes of Pears soap that I’ve purchased. I had no idea that this was actually a new formulation, thought to be… improved. I have to say that I will be looking for a new brand of soap after many many years of using Pears. Both my husband and I have sensitive skin, and I have a sensitive nose. For days we’ve been trying to figure out why my husband has these itchy blotches all over his body…. It wasn’t until today that we realized that it is caused by the new Pears soap. So.. it’s not just the strong smell, but. unfortunately, the new formula isn’t tolerated by my husbands skin. I can not believe that there was a need to change the gentle, stable, wonderful, Pears that we’ve counted on for so long. I just have no idea what to change to. If anyone has a suggestion, please let me know. I see discrepancies in the information out there…. some saying Pears will be back to what it was… some saying that’s not true at all. What are the facts? I’m not a happy camper…. what would possess a company to think that change is required.. with a product as good as Pears. Please go back……..
I’m just catching up, as when Pears had a BOGOF promotion some while back (must have been before the “improved” version launch) I bought a stack to last me, and have just run out.
I’m 60, and have used Pears exclusively all my life, certainly as far back as I can remember, at least 55 years. A quarter of Pears own proclaimed lifespan.
Can’t say I have any medical or sensitive skin reasons for using it, but then having never used any other soap, perhaps that is why problems never arose – until now..
Pears was one of the few, perhaps the last joy left that remained the same, not “improved” a simple joy of how things were, of things that were just right, classics in their field.
This new Pears lathers up like shaving foam, clings the the skin and clogs the flannel, whereas previously the lather was open-textured, easy to wash off. I wear a full beard, and rinsing the suds from that is nigh impossible without submersion.
I honestly thought I’d bought some “pirate” bars when I opened the pack – someone flogging cheap imitations to retailers as the real McCoy. Everything about this new style shouts “cheap”. Previously the bar had a sleek, finished appearance, a design that was easy on the eye – and I remember, at age 5, being impressed with how the concave side perfectly accepted the sliver of soap from the last bar, so nothing wasted. Today’s version is just a cheap apology. Another classic gone – and why? Do Unilever have so little respect for themselves? For their loyal customers? For tradition? What the hell profiti s there in this change for anyone at all?
When they made the change here in South Africa, I went out and bought as many of the old bars as I could find – 19. I’m now nearly out of my stash… and still hoping Unilever realises their horrible mistake. Does anybody know how their sales are doing? Unless they’ve dropped dramatically, we’ve got no hope of seeing our clean, gentle, natural, lovely smelling soap again *sigh*
Pears original formula had been a fixture in my family for three generations – why? – (are you listening Hindustan Unilever) . . . BECAUSE IT WAS UNIQUE – AND THE BEST ON THE MARKET !!!
I was also incensed by the way the new product was quietly packaged in near-identical form to the original -to the extent that I unwittingly bought a several three-bar packages before I realised my mistake – these went
straight into the trash.
I emailed Unilever to voice my displeasure, and received a somewhat puzzling reply to the effect that if I supplied my personal details (address and telephone number) a representative would call and quote “take the necessary steps” – end quote.
I responded since the only acceptable action would be for the plant in India to re-instate the original formula in production – a decision I doubt a travelling rep would be authorised to make – I would graciously decline.
I then received a longer email detailing the technical differences between the new and old formulae and reasons why the change was made – none of which allayed my suspicion that the new product is cheaper
to produce, and lasts only half as long in use.
My parting shot was that if the company persisted with the policy, I would – reluctantly – have to look elswhere.
So another (great) British institution disappears forever.
It’s all very sad . . .
Slightly less than one year ago (late September 2009) I was getting low on Pears, but I couldn’t find it at my local Denver, Colorado, USA, area stores, so I bought a 12-bar carton from Amazon. Now I only have 4 bars left, and so today I bought some bars at a local Dollar Tree store. I noticed the packaging changes, but I didn’t realize the extent of the disaster until I got home, compared a new box with an old, and saw the strange new ingredient list. That motivated me to open a new box, which revealed the new plastic/cellophane wrapping. I opened it and was greeted by the horrible new odor! It’s quite a nasty smell, reminiscent of some kind of industrial cleaning product or insecticide. I immediately returned the bars. Such a shame for a great 220-year-old brand, which Unilever has totally ruined. Needless to say, I won’t be buying the horrific “New Pears” formula.
Like others I’ve been using Pears soap most of my life (since the ’50s) and can’t believe what Unilever has done to it. I have neither soap allergies or skin conditions, just an old family tradition of using Pears soap. I have half a bar of the old formula left and am saving it just to smell it from time to time. As for the Queen’s seal of approval, it is nowhere to be found on the new Pears boxes, which should have tipped me off that it had changed (and struck from the list of excellent products she sanctions). What a shame! Unfortunately, I mistakenly purchased 12 in a box and will be sending them back to the retailer with a strongly-worded letter of dissatisfaction. This (and not purchasing it anymore) is really our only chance to have any influence with Unilever—a huge corporation, so I’m not hopeful—to get the old Pears back. And for the blogger above who mentioned how depleted bars fit so nicely in the cup of the new bars, that hit the nail on the head. This bar had more than simple, unharmful ingredients, it was practical too.
What can I say that hasn’t already been said. No, I won’t buy the new Pears.
Absolute disaster by makers of Pears. I can’t believe there hasn’t been a question in the House of Commons. Another a dickweed multinational messes up a British institution.
I’ve been getting old stock from a stall holder at Ashford Sunday market in Kent… But it all went wrong this morning, Sept 5, she’s started flogging the new crappy one.
Unilever, you suck.
I just want the original Pears soap please. The new one is damaging my skin and it smells aweful. I have been using Pears for more than 20 years . I am 62 and I now have skin problems from this new formula. Unilever should know that Pears soap has been tried and tested over 200 years. I am sure there was a good reason behind the formula. I am in a real predicament and I am very upset.
To add… Please post in addition to my original comment. I should make it clear that I am only disappointed by the soap and have no issues with stores that sell it, for they may not even know, about the change in the formula, or how many people out there are sentimentally attached to it. I thought it would be a good idea to inform the store that I bought it from of my disappointment. Perhaps if more people do the same, the bigger chain stores’ buyers will advocate for a revival of the Original Pears. There may be other people out there who don’t mind the new Pears, or couldn’t care less about what’s in it…but it seems to me that most people who buy it have some sentimental attachment to it, including me, otherwise I wouldn’t be wasting my time on the subject .
Wow! I just bought some Pears the other day (I live in Canada). Immediately after opening all the excess packaging, I noticed that the smell seemed off, not the way I remembered it growing up. I thought maybe my nose was playing tricks on me. Then I read the ingredients and was confused…because I was mistakenly under the impression that Pears was natural…after checking online, I ws suprised to learn how many people share my disappointment.
In recent years, I have been buying all natural, olive oil based soaps from the healthfood store (only olive oil, salt, and essential oils for fragrance), as my skin tolerates them much better than commercial soaps…but tend to be expensive. So, I decided to buy some Pears. It’s disappointing, especially in this economy, to waste money on products that don’t live up to their claims…even if it was only $1.99. I emailed London Drugs (where I bought the soap) and asked them to stop selling it, and to send feedback to Unilever that customers are disappointed and would like to see them chage back to the original formula. London Drugs responded promptly (it’s the soap, not the store that I was complaining about) and told me that if they heard concern from their customers, perhaps Unilever would then consider changing back to the original.
Anyway, there are worse things to worry about than soap, but it is a little sad and disappointing that so many devoted consumers have been robbed of a little oval piece of history and nostalgia.
UNILEVER SUCKS!
I hate the new Pears soap. When I first bought one of the new formula in Hong Kong, I brought back to the pharmacy & told them that the soap is a fake product & demanded refund! Of course, my demand was not met cos it is a genuine Pears but with a new formula. It smells so strong & chemical that I reckoned it a fake product without hesitation when I first saw it, you will then understand how bad it is. My nostrils just can’t stand it!
BRING BACK THE ORIGINAL PEARS SOAP!!
I, too, just purchased what I thought were 2 cases of original natural Pears Soap. Only to discover after opening the box that the ingredients list is more than just one 8 ingredients. I haven’t even tried using it because of the propylene glycol and benzoate ingredients, which I steer clear of in any products that I buy. Had I known of these new harmful, cancer causing ingredients, I would not have made this purchase. Pears Soap is, unfortunately, still being marketed as though it’s the original product. It is far from original. I have thrown both cases I bought into the trash. I cannot even bring myself to give it away, it’s just that horrible a product. I’m now on the hunt for a product as simple as the original original Pears Soap with the same cost effectiveness. This will be a difficult task, indeed. Original original Pears was simple, effective and inexpensive. Gone are the days!
I’ve never been so sad about the loss of product. Having grown up in the UK and having had hypersensitive skin since birth, I’ve used Pears soap for 41 years. I was bathed with it as a baby and, throughout my life, have cherished the fact that even a faint whiff of it reminds me of my Grandmother.
The lightening of the scent about a decade back was disappointing, but I was grateful that the formula was still gentle on my hypersensitive skin. I have never been able to use any other soap. Whenever I’ve lived somewhere in the US where I can’t find it, I’ve brought loads of it back when I’ve visited my family. This go round, I’m grieved to learn that I packed my bags with a toxic waste dump.
I should have read the label this morning after seeing how different the soap looked and smelled. Instead, I was stupid enough to take a bath with it. Because I’m allergic to sodium lauryl sulfate, which turns out to be one of many harsh and carcinogenic ingredients in the new Pears, I am covered in a painful rash from one bath with the stuff. Like many of you, I hoped on the internet and learned the bad news.
I’m glad to find this blog but am so sad about what’s happened. I’m in my robe, tending to my rash, and crying. Corporate greed wins again, it seems, and destroys such a fine brand, which has been a source of British pride for generations.
One idea is to write the Queen, since she gives the product her seal of appointment. Perhaps someone would pay attention to the concern, as her seal should not be on the box of a bar of carcinogens – or a pack of lies.
Unilever is a disgrace. I would pay much more for the original, as I suspect many of you would as well.
The “new” Pears soap is not Pears soap at all. It is a petroleum-smelling fake. I hate it. And I have 9 bars sitting here! Yeesh, this makes me sick!
Make your own OLD FORMULA Pears Soap :
Readers may want to try GRISI SEAWEED SOAP that has rosemary and Sage
(Rosemary was in the OLD Pears Formula)
Otherwise, try this :
Buy any transparent glycerin soap :
In a Spray bottle, mix some Listerine Mouthwash (has Thyme extract),
and add a small amount of Bay Rum, Rosemary, Cedar Wood oil.
If desired, add a little clove and allspice).
Spary on both sides of the soap and let sit overnight to
diffuse in. Next morning, shower. Spray soap bar each night
before use.
My rude awakening has been delayed by the fact that I have a stockpile of Pears that I’ve bought in the UK at various times and which I’ve been blithely using without realizing that they’re now a precious and dwindling resource.
So when I went poking around online today looking into whether I could get Pears in the US and happened across the new formula news, I rushed to check out my stash. Alas, more than half new! I opened a new bar and tried it out, just to see if it was really as bad as everyone was saying. It was. I almost cried.
I have a mere three bars of the old Pears left–four if you count the nearly-new one I grabbed out of the shower and packaged up with the other survivors. I’m saving these for special occasions now. And for everyday I’ll find an alternative that has nothing to do with Unilever or any who sail in her.
As for the new ones, someone should write a book: 101 Things To Do With Your Unwanted Bars of New Pears.
If I had known they were going to change the formula, I would have bought 200 bars and stowed them in the closet. Now I have only one original formula bar left from 2008 and I feel lucky I have that.
What am I going to do with these yucky new formula bars? I’m glad I only bought 4 of them. Stocking stuffers for people I don’t like I guess.
I hope Unilever drives this product financially into the ground, then maybe they will give up, sell the brand to another company with more ethics and fewer retarded executives, and original Pears production will go on as before.
I’m not going to buy any other Unilever products….ever. I can do without them. Sorry, India.
My skin now feels burnt due to this **** that claims to be pears. Someone create a clone of the original please and put those **** at unilever out of business. I hope those ***** at unilver all burn in hell for taking my money and burning my skin.
All the comments from earlier emails are so true. I purchased some soap and thought this smells different! On investigation found packaging different too. BRING BACK THE OLD PEARS. My skin loved the old Pears.
Why change a sound product!
Hello,
I would just like to re-iterate what most of you have been saying!
My wife and I have been using Pears soap for years…pretty much our whole lives!
Our last box, when opened just smelled different. Like a camphor stone or menthol. My wife can’t take the smell at all and changed soaps immediately. The day I started using it I developed a rash on my entire body. I’m not sure what to do other than return the box, if the shop will let me, but unfortunately no one in my family will be using Pears any more.
It’s nice to know we’re not crazy or alone in this.
Thanks everyone. any ideas on other good non-allergenic, scent-free soaps?
I’ve been using Pears Soap for 25 years – it’s the only soap I’ve found available in supermarkets that doesn’t irritate my skin. This morning, I opened a new box & discovered what I’d thought to be a “bad” bar of soap – It was pale, soft, and smelled awful. I opened the next bar in the box & discovered the same thing. Not having any other bath soap in the house, I tried it anyway. After my morning shower, I hit the internet to try & find a website for Pears Canada or somesuch, to let them know that a bad batch of soap had made it onto the market – I’ve since found out about the change in ownership of the original company, and the change in the formula. In the short time it took to do that little bit of research, the skin around my eyes has reddened & become inflamed, something that I’ve experienced with nearly every other soap I’ve used in the past, but prior to today, never with Pears.
Bastards. Beyond the discomfort that I’m dealing with right now, what I find most offensive about this is the way this totally different and inferior soap was packaged and sold to me as though it were the original soap that I’ve been using for a quarter of a century. It feels like fraud, I feel like I’ve been tricked out of my money, and I will be returning this to the Safeway that I bought it from.
Beyond that, Hindustan Unilever Corporation has a website that lists many of their other products in addition to their version of Pears Soap – it is now a ready list of products for me to boycott.
I don’t like being tricked.
Our family has been using Pears soap since our children were born (they are now 29 and 31).
This recent reconfiguration of formula and branding has definitely brought our long-standing link with what used to be a fabulous soap to an abrupt halt !
All of the new product left from our recent purchase at Canada Safeway is going back today with a copy of this blog article.
The only real constant is change, and, in this case, it is not positive. What a shame.
Our resolution now proceeds to ensure that any and all Unilever products are not on our shopping list.
I have found exactly the same issues as reported by other posters :
• Soap is not like the original Pears.
• It lasts only a third the time of the original so you have to buy 3 times as much. Other brands that always lasted less time now look good value.
• I’m not too bothered about the new smell but did like the old one a lot more.
• I don’t have issues with skin problems but bought Pears because it was the soap I liked most.
• The new shape means you can’t stick the old, part-used bar into the new one to extend the usage and get zero waste. On environmental grounds alone, this is a waste. Having to use 3 times as many bars due to the shortened life adds tho this. The extra plastic bag also adds to land fills. This change is an environmental disaster for the brand which in these days should be having a very negative effect on tehir profits.
I seem to remeber that they used to print copies of old Victorian adverts on the inside of the Pears box. I recall it saying that the soap had been made in India from very early days and that each bar was dried in the Indian sun for a month to harder in. I think that the new bar, which turns to mush very easily has simpky been mass produced and has been simply left to set overnight or oven dried.
Unilever, you ought to be ashamed of yourselves to what you have done to the Pears brand!
But…is it going to change back??
Smells of childhood in the 1950s include going to granny’s every summer for a week and the whiff of Pears Soap coming from the bathroom.
Then for the last few few years, it wasn’t just so scented and now, removed from its cellophane wrapping, it is positively emetic.
March has come and gone and this week’s supply is just as bad as ever!
My husband and I thought we were going mad – our much loved pears soap was disappearing right before our eyes at easily twice the rate it had done in the past.
This ‘improved’ soap is rubbish and we will only buy Pears soap again if the original and LONG LASTING formula is returned to the shelves.
The message I got from the freephone number was that is was changed for environmental reasons.
It looks to me like the marketing people failed to get that message across. They want a good kick failing in their role.
From a technical point of view, I was once told by a chemical engineer specialising in food flavourings that they could make just about any flavour. To my mind, why can they not do this in this case. In addition, why did they not consider launching the product as a new brand? That way they could have tested the new and perhaps even picked up some new customers that wouldn’t buy Pears original.
Personally, I don’t like the new formula.
I very much doubt we’ll ever see the old formula again, and that’s very sad.
Just picked up 3 bars at the Dollar Tree store today. Opened a box and noticed a new plastic wrapper. Removed the wrapper and noticed the bar looks different (much flatter) and smells way different. Hopped on the Internet and discovered the formula change.
Why do companies continue to mess with simple, time-tested, well-loved products? This seems Unilever’s “New Coke”, but at least Coca-Cola had the integrity to advertise the new, “improved” formula, not sneak it on consumers without warning as Unilever has done with Pears.
Based on what I’ve read, the main driver of the change in the 200-year-old formula was Unilever’s desire to make “modifications to the manufacturing process designed to make the process less energy intensive,” i.e., cheaper. And now the bar lasts only half as long? Wow, what a disappointing combination – Unilever wins and the consumer loses by getting a product with decreased lifespan and new, questionable chemicals.
Sadly, it’s all about the money at Unilever, folks. My solution? Buy locally-made soaps from people who still take pride in their products and aren’t just looking to trim the bottom line. As if moving the entire manufacturing operation to India wasn’t savings enough.
I have been buying Pears soap at a Dollar Tree store (United States). I was very disappointed to find (the recent purchase) the Pears Soap formula is changed. I was buying it for the simple and non-comedogenic ingredients. While I was looking for information about the product I see reports that the new formula was abandoned. Is that true? Has the original formula been restored? I had no idea of the change until I opened the package and could SMELL the difference. I have sensitive, dry skin and don’t want a reformulation. Now I’m stuck with soap I can’t use. No. It is going in the trash. Oh yeah and why do they have to create more waste by putting it in a plastic wrap??
I have been looking everywhere in the physical stores for Pears and cannot find it. I hail from the Detroit area, MI USA. I was incredibly blessed because I caught Pears on sale before they changed the formula and stocked up. I still have two of the original bars left.
Like many of you, Pears is the only soap I can use. I have tried other glycerin soaps to no avail. I just discovered Pears only three or four years ago, and I’m very happy with it. It does not cause me to break out, and it smells good on, even after a couple of hours. One of my biggest problems with soaps is a bit unusual I think-they don’t curb the odors of sweat. In fact, many other brands seem to make it worse, and it matters not what I use, whether it is deodorant, natural ingredient, perfumed, etc. I have tried them all.
I am very upset that Pears would change their formula on me, after many years of trying to find a soap that works! (I did have great luck with Avon’s bar soaps–but they discontinued those so I had to find something else, and that something else is Pears).
I do not understand why in the world they did not put some money into advertising the product? A couple of months of a good media blast (internet, TV, radio) and the sales would have most certainly increased. There are many people with skin issues, and the original Pears addressed a good percentage of those people.
I live in the UK and have also used Pears soap for more years than I prefer to remember.
I came across bars of the new recipe in January and have tried to persevere with them. I noticed two things about the new recipe; it stinks of chemicals and it lasts approximately half as long as the old one. I guess they changed the recipe to increase profits by using more chemicals… what a bonus that customers would have to buy twice as much!
I did call the 0800 number and had the same response as everyone else – no response.
I understand that the next reincarnation of the soap we’ve all been hoping for will only be a reduced scent but will still contain all the horrible chemistry so I’ve just closed the door on Pears for good.
I’ve just started testing a range of Droyt’s natural soaps which, besides the change in smell, seem to have the same ethos as older Pears soap.
Happy washing!
I live in Australia, and like many of you, been using the transparent for a very long time – an hour ago I opened a new pack, and lo, WHAT A STINK….out of the shower and onto the web and here I find that I’m not imagining things…..
It seems we in regional NSW have just started to get the”new improved” formula…but one shower and I’m done with it unless I can find an old supply/know the new supply has been changed to something approximating the old formula. My sympathies to us all, and I’m sure Pears have trashed a lot of long term good will with this move…..
Never thought I’d be this worked up about soap, but, I certainly am
Unfortunately, at >70 I’m unwilling to “fight” on these things. I will keep trying other “plain” glycerine soaps … there are several available. In fact, my coffee bean purveyor carries a no-name soap. I may try it next.
But, if Unilever is targeting Russia, China and South America, Canada’s market verges on the invisible. I wonder which South American countries Fitzgerald is considering. Or will it be merely A[rgentina], B[razil], and C[hile]?
@Peter – Which only goes to show that the Marketing Week article cited in the very fist comment on this blog is fast becoming self-fulfilling prophesy:
“The likes of Pears, a brand bigger in name than in wallet and only really known in the UK, simply does not fit in with [newly appointed CEO Niall] Fitzgerald’s ambitions for long-term global growth in Russia, China and South America.”
This is, nevertheless a bizarre and costly way to destroy a 200 year old brand!
Well, here in Toronto, Canada, the result of Unilever’s insanity has been marked: you can no longer buy Pear’s Soap. It has been discontinued at Shopper’s Drug Mart and at the Rexall chain as well as at the Loblaws (grocery) chain. I have purchased Neutrogena glycerine soap, but find it too soft. I’ve used [old] Pear’s since 1956. Perhaps I will try using Ivory — at least it doesn’t smell.
I had been using Pears for 30 years, and it was the ONLY soap I’ve ever found that does not irritate my skin. Recently I purchased a bar of Pears that appeared to come from a single bad batch. Instead of the usual hard-milled texture and familiar scent, it became gummy like a bar of cheap glycerine soap and had an odd smell. Worse, it irritated my skin. So I threw the bar out and opened a new one, with the same result.
After doing some research on the internet, I discovered that they changed the formula. As far as I am concerned it is no longer Pear’s; it’s a detergent-based product in a Pear’s box.
Unilever—I will now start looking at labels and will avoid all of your products in the future.
SHAME ON YOU!!!!!
We (wife & I) just recently noticed Pears “felt” different and worsening ezcema..
Similar to the comments above, one of the reasons we purchased Pears was due to the lack of skin irritating chemicals…
I’m disgusted & dissapointed with Unilever to have messed around with the Pears soap formula.
Suffice it to say, i wont be buying any more Pears or other Unilever products in the future..
O M G I just bought some of the new Pears, not realising they had wrecked it totaly
MG it stinks and is so strong, swear my neighbours who live about 1/2 a mile from here will be able to smell it!
I have used this soap for 50 or so years without a problem
So glad they did not have the 12 pack only 3 so I do not feel so bad throwing it out and possibly contaminatig the garbage dump by doing so
Can’t wait till they bring back the old formula
New: Pears to keep new formula, but with improved perfumes.[1]
The media incorrectly reported in early January that Pears would abandon the new Pears formula due to customer demand.
However, according to cosmeticsdesign-europe.com, contrary to initial media reports, Pears has no plans to return to the original Pears formula. Instead, Pears will “make further improvements, by delivering a scent that more closely resembles the product our consumers are familiar with while retaining all the benefits that the new formulation delivers”.[1]
[1] http://www.cosmeticsdesign-europe.com/Products-Markets/Unilever-clarifies-Pears-Soap-reformulation-reports
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pears_soap#Overview
Not Facebook alone but a victory for consumer power and social media in general, I think.
E.g. see comment at http://www.yourmandate.com/pears-soap-facebook
Let’s wait for the re-reformulated Pears Soap before laying down our arms!
How amazing! I have just read that a Facebook campaign has forced the Indian branch of Unilever to abandon its recipe for Pears soap. They (from March) will produce something ‘much closer to the old soap’. I knew nothing of this Facebook campaign when I started my own search for the original Pears soap so it is gratifying to know so many people care. However, Pears soap is only Pears soap if it is made from the original eight ingredients.
Thank you for creating this blog. I have used Pears Soap since childhood and along with my husband am disappointed with the new strange version. It has a pungent strange smell dominated by rosemary and certainly has lost the comforting subtle scent of the Pears Soap that we know and love! Please Pears bring back the original 200 year old version or I might be forced to change my allegiance!
I appreciate your comments (and support) Ann. Interestingly, on the “new” box that I purchased back in November (the one with the Unilever logo on it) the slogan “Natural, Original’ had been replaced with the much blander claim “Gentle Care”. Either you have managed to actually find a rare example of the old stock…. or, could it be they’ve reverted to the original wording to console those of us who have complained about the new formulation? Hmmmm…
I made one New Year Resolution : to be kinder to my skin and to read the small print on shampoos, handcream and soap; two members of my family have recently suffered skin rashes. I decided to use dear old Pears soap again, remembering it as a ‘pure’ product. I was so disappointed to find that it has been transformed into a travesty of its former self. No gentle fragrance reminding me of an English meadow but a pungent whiff like peppery carbolic. Then the list of new chemical ingredients that I looked up and despaired over. I tried to find ‘old stock’ in local shops and on EBay but to no avail. LIke you I chased it up and spoke to someone at CERT Brands and was promised a return call. I doubt if one will ever come as the person answering the phone was hard to understand. A brand we have had for 200 years, a part of our heritage even, has had its name taken and its integrity raped. On the box I have just bought it says ‘Pears. Natural. Original.’ That is so untrue.
It’s a bit of an old story now but there was some speculation in Marketing Week a couple of years back-
http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/home/pears-cuts-pave-way-for-unilever-shake-up/2012774.article
- that suggesed that Pears doesn’t fit with Uniler’s global brands strategy: “The likes of Pears, a brand bigger in name than in wallet and only really known in the UK, simply does not fit in with [newly appointed CEO Niall] Fitzgerald’s ambitions for long-term global growth in Russia, China and South America.”