Market and product

Content editor: Bảo Hiền

After years of liquid detergents and pods dominating the market, the cleaning industry is now seeing a new generation of solid-format detergents emerge in the form of dissolvable sheets and fiber tiles. The technology removes most of the water from the product, cutting shipping volume and the amount of plastic used in packaging.

Solid laundry products are not a new concept. But instead of traditional powder detergent, this new generation comes in the form of dissolvable laundry sheets or fiber-detergent tiles, aiming to concentrate cleaning ingredients into a solid structure that is lighter and easier to transport.

Removing Water to Cut Costs and Emissions

In liquid detergent, water typically makes up most of the product's weight but mainly serves as a solvent for the active ingredients rather than doing the cleaning itself.

That means manufacturers have to ship large volumes of water, driving up logistics costs, carbon emissions, and the need for heavy-duty plastic bottles.

Solid formats were developed to address this problem. By removing most of the water from the formula, the resulting product is significantly lighter and can be packaged in cardboard boxes instead of plastic bottles.

Two Different Technologies

The market is currently developing along two distinct paths.

Dissolvable sheets are the earlier of the two technologies. The product is formed from a single film layer containing surfactants, using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) — a water-soluble polymer — as the carrier material.

Manufacturing requires heating to around 90°C. This is considered a drawback, since the high temperature can reduce the stability of enzymes and other heat-sensitive active ingredients.
Fiber-detergent tiles, by contrast, take an entirely different approach.

The leading example is Tide evo, which Procter & Gamble (P&G) rolled out nationally in the US market in early 2026. Rather than forming a single film layer, the product is built from tens of thousands of microfibers bound into six separate functional layers.

According to P&G, each layer performs a different task — from lifting stains via surfactants and enzymes, to preventing soil from redepositing on fabric, neutralizing odors, chelating metal ions, and softening water to maintain cleaning effectiveness.

Thanks to the fiber structure's large surface area, the active ingredients are released more quickly on contact with water.

The Cold-Water Dissolution Problem

The ability to dissolve completely in cold water is one of the biggest technical challenges facing solid detergents.

For sheets, the PVA layer can dissolve slowly at low temperatures, sometimes leaving residue or white streaks on clothing if it doesn't fully dissolve.

For the tile format, P&G says its development team — about 15 chemists and engineers — spent more than a decade on research and holds more than 50 patents related to the product, including patents covering the manufacturing process. To optimize dissolution across different conditions, engineers had to account for variables such as water temperature, water hardness, agitation levels, and the operating quirks of different washing machine types, including water-efficient models.

Cost Remains a Barrier

The new design comes at the cost of higher production expenses.

According to published figures, the cost per load of washing with Tide evo is nearly double that of the same brand's liquid detergent.

Sheet-format products on the market are also priced around €0.25–0.50 per load, notably higher than liquid or traditional powder detergent.

Cleaning performance remains a matter of debate as well.

Some technical assessments show many sheet-format products perform worse than liquid detergent on protein-based stains, even with added enzymes. P&G says its fiber technology has addressed this limitation, though independent studies confirming the new technology's cleaning performance remain limited so far.

Requires Major Manufacturing Investment

Shifting to solid-format detergent production isn't just a formula change — it requires building entirely new production lines.

P&G invested $97 million to expand its plant in Alexandria, Louisiana, to manufacture Tide evo. According to market-test results ahead of the nationwide rollout, actual consumer demand came in at double the company's original forecast.

Meanwhile, most sheet-format products on the market today are still manufactured by contract manufacturers in China before being exported to other markets.

Uncertain Whether It Will Replace Traditional Detergent

Many in the industry see clear benefits in solid detergent formats — less plastic packaging, lower shipping volume, and better alignment with sustainability trends.

Still, whether these formats will fully replace liquid detergent or pods remains an open question. Some voices in the industry believe these new solid formats could turn out to be a passing trend, unlikely to displace liquid detergent and pods, which have already won broad consumer acceptance over many years thanks to stable performance and competitive pricing.

Sources
1. Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), "Solid detergents are back, now as sheets, tiles, and tablets," June 25, 2026.
2. Laveries Speed Queen (independent review), "Laundry Sheets: Honest Review, Efficacy & Comparison," 2026.
3. IFF, "Clean Insights Issue 5," industry analysis report from the active-ingredient supplier.
4. Trellis (GreenBiz), "Inside P&G's waterless version of Tide detergent," February 18, 2026.
5. Procter & Gamble, press release "Tide Unveils World-First Laundry Breakthrough: Introducing Tide evo, the Fiber-Detergent Tile," February 17, 2026 (technical ingredient description only).
6. Gear Diary, "Tide Evo Reimagines Laundry Detergent with a 6-Layer Dissolvable Tile for Cold Water Washing," March 7, 2026.