EP2091840A1 - Protective packaging - Google Patents

Protective packaging

Info

Publication number
EP2091840A1
EP2091840A1 EP07847233A EP07847233A EP2091840A1 EP 2091840 A1 EP2091840 A1 EP 2091840A1 EP 07847233 A EP07847233 A EP 07847233A EP 07847233 A EP07847233 A EP 07847233A EP 2091840 A1 EP2091840 A1 EP 2091840A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
composition
side wall
plastic layer
zones
surfactant
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
EP07847233A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP2091840B1 (en
Inventor
Paul Anthony Anderson
Ian Howell
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Unilever PLC
Unilever NV
Original Assignee
Unilever PLC
Unilever NV
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Family has litigation
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Application filed by Unilever PLC, Unilever NV filed Critical Unilever PLC
Priority to EP07847233A priority Critical patent/EP2091840B1/en
Publication of EP2091840A1 publication Critical patent/EP2091840A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP2091840B1 publication Critical patent/EP2091840B1/en
Revoked legal-status Critical Current
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D81/00—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents
    • B65D81/24—Adaptations for preventing deterioration or decay of contents; Applications to the container or packaging material of food preservatives, fungicides, pesticides or animal repellants
    • B65D81/30—Adaptations for preventing deterioration or decay of contents; Applications to the container or packaging material of food preservatives, fungicides, pesticides or animal repellants by excluding light or other outside radiation
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D23/00—Details of bottles or jars not otherwise provided for
    • B65D23/08—Coverings or external coatings
    • B65D23/0842—Sheets or tubes applied around the bottle with or without subsequent folding operations
    • B65D23/0878—Shrunk on the bottle
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C11—ANIMAL OR VEGETABLE OILS, FATS, FATTY SUBSTANCES OR WAXES; FATTY ACIDS THEREFROM; DETERGENTS; CANDLES
    • C11D—DETERGENT COMPOSITIONS; USE OF SINGLE SUBSTANCES AS DETERGENTS; SOAP OR SOAP-MAKING; RESIN SOAPS; RECOVERY OF GLYCEROL
    • C11D17/00—Detergent materials or soaps characterised by their shape or physical properties
    • C11D17/04—Detergent materials or soaps characterised by their shape or physical properties combined with or containing other objects
    • C11D17/041—Compositions releasably affixed on a substrate or incorporated into a dispensing means
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C11—ANIMAL OR VEGETABLE OILS, FATS, FATTY SUBSTANCES OR WAXES; FATTY ACIDS THEREFROM; DETERGENTS; CANDLES
    • C11D—DETERGENT COMPOSITIONS; USE OF SINGLE SUBSTANCES AS DETERGENTS; SOAP OR SOAP-MAKING; RESIN SOAPS; RECOVERY OF GLYCEROL
    • C11D3/00—Other compounding ingredients of detergent compositions covered in group C11D1/00
    • C11D3/16—Organic compounds
    • C11D3/38—Products with no well-defined composition, e.g. natural products
    • C11D3/386—Preparations containing enzymes, e.g. protease or amylase

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a heat sensitive laundry composition in combination with protective packaging therefore.
  • Transparent/translucent packaging allows the consumer to view the detergent level without opening the packaging.
  • laundry packaging is often placed under lighting in retail outlets and, after purchase, may be left on window ledges in kitchens/utility rooms, which may be exposed to strong sunlight. Such areas can become intensely hot when sunny, even in temperate climates.
  • transparent packaging With transparent packaging the full force of the sunlight acts on the liquid especially near the surfaces of the bottle which can destabilise the composition. The problem is exacerbated when the detergent formulation is highly concentrated, so that certain components e.g. enzymes are even more vunerable to de-stabilisation.
  • the object of the present invention is to provide a package for a laundry composition comprising one or more heat sensitive components in combination with packaging which is protective but also allows viewing of the contents without opening of the package.
  • a first aspect of the invention provides a laundry composition comprising at least one surfactant and at least one heat sensitive component, the composition being contained within a package comprising a base and at least one side wall, the side wall/s comprising an inner transparent or translucent plastic layer enclosed at least partially within an outer plastic layer wherein the outer plastic layer incorporates a:
  • the outer layer provides a heat shield to protect the inner plastic layer and also the contained formulation, whilst still allowing convenient inspection of the level of contained product without opening the package.
  • the package may be a moulded package.
  • the invention is particularly advantageous for moulded packaging where creation of both transparent and opaque portions together during moulding is difficult.
  • the transparent region or regions may extends longitudinally of the bottle so that the fill level can be used to view the all levels of the contained product.
  • the region or regions may be an elongate strip.
  • the strip may be between 0.5 and 4 cm wide. However, the strip must be sufficiently narrow so as not to compromise the requirement for light protective zone coverage.
  • the bottle may present multiple discernable side walls or it may be circular in cross section and so only have a single wall.
  • plastics are affected by heat and become more reactive with anything contacting the material.
  • the outer layer protects the inner plastic layer from interaction with the product in extreme heat, which would be undesirable.
  • the outer layer also reduces the effects suffered by the contained formulation from heat generated by exposure of the packaging to light.
  • the invention protects all sides walls as these will be more likely exposed to light from e.g. sunlight when the bottle is stood on its base. As every side wall is protected, the orientation of the bottle (as long as it remains on the base) is not critical for the functioning of the invention.
  • the top may also have a construction according to the invention, although where the top is a closure or lid, it may be less critical as this may not have a role in the level indicator and so may not need to be transparent or translucent.
  • the reflectance spectrum, at wavelengths 420-1050 (visible and infrared) is maintained above 0.4 that is to say all the reflectivity values are maintained above 0.4.
  • L*a*b* values here refer to the CIE LAB colour space, (CIE 1976 L* a* b*), where L* is the lightness value, a* is the red-green value and b* is the yellow-blue value.
  • a* and b* are maintained to within 0.5 units of zero .
  • the inner transparent plastic layer is enclosed by at least 80%, more preferably 90% and especially 95% of its surface area by the outer plastic layer.
  • Transparency/translucency means that light transmissivity is at least 50%, preferably at least 70% and more preferably at least 80%. Preferably the light reflective zones cover at least 80% of every side wall.
  • the reflectivity scale is from 0-1 where 1 represents a reflection of all incident light, and 0 represents no reflection .
  • the at least one heat sensitive component may comprise one or more enzymes in a "cleaning effective amount", preferably 0.1 - 2% by wt. These components are denatured by high temperatures, further more they are denatured more easily in the presence of surfactants. Highly concentrated laundry compositions have increased levels of surfactant, rendering enzymes more vulnerable.
  • Certain components such as enzymes are more prone to denaturing on surfaces.
  • That part of the composition which is adjacent/close to the packaging wall is protected from heat generated by exposure of the packaging to light.
  • the invention provides a method of protecting a laundry composition comprising at least one surfactant and at least one heat sensitive component, the method including the step of packaging the composition within a package according to the first aspect of the invention .
  • the invention provides a method of protecting a heat sensitive component in a laundry composition from heat damage occurring at the surface of a package, the method including the step of packaging the composition in a package according to the first aspect of the invention.
  • the heat sensitive component may be an enzyme which undergoes heat-induced de-naturisation at the surface.
  • Light transmissivity of the outer container is preferably 80% -90%.
  • the composition comprises a liquid or gel and may be free flowing or in unit doses, such as water soluble sachets.
  • the composition may also comprise or contain particulate matter which is free flowing e.g. granular, or may be compacted (e.g. in tablet form) .
  • the package may take any suitable form and may be a bottle or a tub or carton. Where the composition is in unit dose form, the package may contain one or more of the unit doses.
  • the plastic may be of any suitable form such as polyethylene which may be high density (HDPE) , polyethylene terephthalate (PET, PETE) or polypropylene (PP) .
  • the container may formed by extrusion, moulding e.g. blow moulding from a preform or by thermoforming or by injection moulding.
  • the surfactant may include one or more nonionic surfactants, preferably at a concentration of 5 to 95 % by weight. Additionally, there may be one or more anionic surfactants, preferably at a concentration of 5 to 95% by weight.
  • the surfactant system may also contain cationic, amphoteric or zwitterionic detergent compounds.
  • the surfactants of the surfactant system may be chosen from the surfactants described in "Surface Active
  • Nonionic detergent surfactants are well-known in the art. They normally consist of a water-solubilizing polyalkoxylene or a mono- or di-alkanolamide group in chemical combination with an organic hydrophobic group derived, for example, from alkylphenols in which the alkyl group contains from about 6 to about 12 carbon atoms, dialkylphenols in which primary, secondary or tertiary aliphatic alcohols (or alkyl-capped derivatives thereof) , preferably having from 8 to 20 carbon atoms, monocarboxylic acids having from 10 to about 24 carbon atoms in the alkyl group and polyoxypropylene .
  • fatty acid mono- and dialkanolamides in which the alkyl group of the fatty acid radical contains from 10 to about 20 carbon atoms and the alkyloyl group having from 1 to 3 carbon atoms.
  • the alkyl group of the fatty acid radical contains from 10 to about 20 carbon atoms and the alkyloyl group having from 1 to 3 carbon atoms.
  • the polyalkoxylene moiety preferably consists of from 2 to 20 groups of ethylene oxide or of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide groups.
  • particularly preferred are those described in European specification EP-A-225, 654.
  • ethoxylated nonionics which are the condensation products of fatty alcohols with from 9 to 18 carbon atoms condensed with from 3 to 11 moles of ethylene oxide.
  • condensation products of Cg-is alcohols with on average 3 to 9 moles of ethylene oxide are preferred.
  • Preferred for use in the liquid detergent composition of the invention are C12-C15 primary, linear alcohols with on average 3 to 9 ethylene oxide groups .
  • the non-ionic surfactant of the present inventions is a C12-18 ethoxylated alcohol, comprising 3 to 9 ethylene oxide units per molecule. More preferred are C12-C15 primary, linear ethoxylated alcohols with on average 5 to 9 ethylene oxide groups, more preferably on average 7 ethylene oxide groups .
  • Suitable anionic surfactants for the laundry compositions include water-soluble alkali metal salts of organic sulphates and sulphonates having alkyl radicals containing from about 8 to about 22 carbon atoms, the term alkyl being used to include the alkyl portion of higher acyl radicals, including alkyl sulphates, alkyl ether sulphates, alkaryl sulphonates, alkanoyl isethionates, alkyl succinates, alkyl sulphosuccinates, N-alkoyl sarcosinates, alkyl phosphates, alkyl ether phosphates, alkyl ether carboxylates, alpha-olefin sulphonates and acyl methyl taurates, especially their sodium, magnesium ammonium and mono-, di- and triethanolamine salts.
  • the alkyl and acyl groups generally contain from 8 to 22 carbon atoms, preferably 8 to 18 carbon atoms, still more preferably 12 to 15 carbon atoms and may be unsaturated.
  • the alkyl ether sulphates, alkyl ether phosphates and alkyl ether carboxylates may contain from one to 10 ethylene oxide or propylene oxide units per molecule, and preferably contain 1 to 3 ethylene oxide units per molecule.
  • anionics examples include sodium lauryl sulphate, sodium lauryl ether sulphate, ammonium lauryl sulphosuccinate, ammonium lauryl sulphate, ammonium lauryl ether sulphate, sodium cocoyl isethionate, sodium lauroyl isethionate, and sodium N-lauryl sarcosinate.
  • the anionic surfactant of the present invention may be sodium alcohol ethoxy-ether sulphate (SAES) , preferably comprising high levels of sodium C12 alcohol ethoxy-ether sulphate .
  • SAES sodium alcohol ethoxy-ether sulphate
  • the surfactant systems may comprise mixtures of anionic with nonionic detergent active materials and additionally cationic or amphoteric surfactant.
  • the surfactant system may be a mixture of alcohol ethoxy-ether sulphate (AES) and a C12-C15 primary ethoxylated alcohol 3-9 EO ethoxylate and a quaternary ammonium cationic surfactant.
  • Anionic surfactants can be present for example in amounts in the range from about 5% to about 70% by weight of the total surfactant material.
  • the composition may include a saturated fatty acid antifoam system, enabling the use of low levels of higher foaming cationic as well as amphoteric and/or zwitterionic surfactants, while keeping the foaming at an acceptable level.
  • the compositions may also comprise a cationic surfactant or an amphoteric surfactant, wherein the cationic or amphoteric surfactant is present in a concentration of 1 to 20%, preferably 2 to 15% more preferably 3 to 12% by weight of the total surfactant.
  • Suitable cationic surfactants compounds which may be used are substituted or unsubstituted straight-chain or branched quaternary ammonium salts.
  • the cationic surfactant is of the formula:
  • R 1 is Cs-C22-alkyl, Cs-C22-alkenyl, C8-C22- alkylalkenylamidopropyl or Cs-C 22 -alkoxyalkenylethyl
  • R 2 is Ci-C 22 ⁇ alkyl, C 2 -C 22 ⁇ alkenyl or a group of the formula -A- (OA) n -OH
  • R 3 and R 4 are d-C 22 -alkyl, C 2 -C 2 i-alkenyl or a group of the formula -A-(OA) n -OH
  • A is -C 2 H 4 - and/or -C 3 H 6 - and n is a number from 0 to 20 and X is an anion.
  • a commercially available and preferred example of this type of cationic surfactant is a compound of the formula above, where R 1 is a C12 / 14 alkyl group, R 2 is a group of the formula -A-(OA) n -OH, wherein A is -C 2 H 4 - and n is nil, and R 3 and R 4 are both -CH 3 (i.e. Ci-alkyl) .
  • This type of cationic surfactant is commercially available from e.g. Clariant under the name Praepagen HY.
  • amphoteric and zwitterionic surfactants are alkyl betaines, alkylamido betaines, amine oxides, aminopropionates, aminoglycinates, amphoteric imidazolinium compounds, alkyldimethylbetaines or alkyldipolyethoxybetaines .
  • the laundry composition may contain a total level of surfactants which is greater than 40% preferably greater than 45% by weight of the composition.
  • Suitable enzymes that may be used in the composition of the present invention include proteases, amylases, lipases, cellulases, peroxidases, and mixtures thereof, of any suitable origin, such as vegetable, animal bacterial, fungal and yeast origin. Preferred selections are influenced by factors such as thermostability, pH-activity, and stability to active bleach detergents, builders and the like. In this respect bacterial and fungal enzymes are preferred such as bacterial proteases and fungal cellulases.
  • Enzymes are normally incorporated into detergent composition at levels sufficient to provide a "cleaning-effective amount".
  • cleaning effective amount refers to any amount capable of producing a cleaning, stain removal, soil removal, whitening, or freshness improving effect on the treated substrate. In practical terms for normal commercial operations, typical amounts are up to about 50 mg by weight, more typically 0.01 mg to 30 mg, of active enzyme per gram of detergent composition. Stated otherwise, the composition of the invention may typically comprise from 0.001 to 3%, preferably from 0.01 to 2% by weight of a commercial enzyme preparation .
  • Protease enzymes are usually present in such commercial preparations at levels sufficient to provide from 0.005 to 0.1 Anson units (AU) of activity per gram of composition. Higher active levels may be desirable in highly concentrated detergent formulations.
  • AU Anson units
  • proteases are the subtilisins that are obtained from particular strains of B. subtilis and B. lichen!formis .
  • One suitable protease is obtained from a strain of Bacillis, having maximum activity throughout the pH-range of 8-12, developed and sold as ESPERASE ® by NovoZymes of Denmark.
  • proteases include ALCALASE ® and SAVINASE ® RELASE ® from NovoZymes and MAXATASE ® from International Bio-Synthetics, Inc., The Netherlands.
  • composition may additionally comprise enzymes as found in WO 01/00768 Al page 15, line 25 to page 19, line 29, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.
  • Suitable lipase enzymes for use in the composition of the invention include those produced by microorganisms of the Pseudomonas group, such as Pseudomonas stutzeri ATCC 19.154, as disclosed in GB-I, 372, 034.
  • a very suitable lipase enzyme is the lipase derived from Humicola lanuginosa and available from NovoZymes under the tradename LIPEX ®.
  • the liquid composition of the present invention may comprise between 0.001 to 3% by weight of a perfume composition, more preferably between 0.1 to 2% by weight of a perfume composition.
  • Said perfume composition preferably comprises at least 0.01% by weight based on the liquid composition of a perfume component selected from terpenes, ketones, aldehydes and mixtures thereof.
  • the perfume composition may fully consist of the perfume component but generally the perfume composition is a complex mixture of perfumes of various differing perfume classifications.
  • the perfume composition preferably comprises 0.1 to 2% by weight of the perfume component.
  • the present invention has particular utility with the following preferred terpene perfume components: Terpinolene, Gamma- terpinene and pinane.
  • the present invention has particular utility to the following preferred ketonic perfume components: pulegone, vertofix asphalt, veloutone, Alpha-methylionone and damascenone.
  • aldehyde perfume component has particular utility with the following preferred aldehyde perfume components: trifernal, lilial, citronellal, cyclosal, heliopropanal, zestover, Aldehyde C12, tridecylenicaldehyde and cyclosia base octenal Bleaches
  • the liquid detergent composition of the present invention may also comprise bleaching material.
  • bleaching ingredients are those capable of yielding hydrogen peroxide in aqueous solution, the so-called peroxyl species.
  • Hydrogen peroxide sources are well known in the art. They include the alkali metal peroxides, organic peroxides such as urea peroxide and PAP (N, N-phthaloylaminoperoxy caproic acid). Mixtures of two or more such compounds may also be suitable. Since many bleaches and bleach systems are unstable in aqueous liquid detergents and/or interact unfavourably with other components in the composition, e.g. enzymes, they may for example be protected, e.g. by encapsulation or by formulating a structured liquid composition, whereby they are suspended in solid form.
  • a transition metal catalyst may be used with the peroxyl species, see, for example WO- 02/48301.
  • a transition metal catalyst may also be used in the absence of peroxyl species where the bleaching is termed to be via atmospheric oxygen, see, for example WO-00/52124 and WO-02/48301.
  • the transition metal catalysts disclosed in WO-00/52124 and WO-02/48301 are generally both applicable to what is known in the art as "air mode” and "peroxyl mode” bleaching.
  • Another example of a suitable class of transition metal catalysts is found in WO-02/48301 and references found therein . If a peroxygen bleach is present in the composition the presence of a transition metal chelating agent is preferred to stabilise the peroxygen bleach.
  • Photobleaches including singlet oxygen photobleaches, may also be used in the liquid detergent composition of the invention .
  • compositions When the composition is in the form of a liquid, segregation of various components may be necessary and these will be evident to one skilled in the art.
  • One form of segregation that is preferred is that of coacervation .
  • the use of pH- Jump compositions and antioxidants are also applicable to preserving the integrity of certain components within the composition.
  • the pH-value of said composition is above 7.5 in the diluted washing solution.
  • said composition additionally contains a pH-changing means capable of bringing about this increase of pH-value.
  • the pH-changing means is capable of raising the pH-value to at least 8 upon dilution with water.
  • the pH-changing means is effectively provided by a pH-jump system containing a boron compound, particularly borax decahydrate, and a polyol.
  • a boron compound particularly borax decahydrate
  • the borate ion and certain cis 1,2-polyols complex when present in the undiluted composition, so as to cause a reduction in pH-value to a value of less than or equal to 7.
  • the complex Upon dilution, the complex dissociates liberating free borate to raise the pH-value in the diluted solution resulting in a pH-jump.
  • polyols that exhibit the complexing mechanism with borax include catechol, galactitol, fructose, sorbitol, and pinacol. For economic reasons, sorbitol is the preferred polyol .
  • the desired ratio of the polyol to the boron compound needs to be considered since it influences performance.
  • the level of the boron compound, particularly borax, incorporated in the composition of the invention also influences the performance. Borax levels of at least 1% by weight are desired to ensure sufficient buffering. Excessive amounts of borax (>10% by weight) give good buffering properties; however, such levels lead to a pH-value of the undiluted composition that is higher than desired. Generally, pH-jump systems in which the weight ratio of the polyol and boron compound ranges from 1:1 to 10:1 are preferred for use in the present invention.
  • borax-sorbitol pH-jump system When applying a borax-sorbitol pH-jump system, said system preferably comprises at least 2% by weight of Sorbitol and at least 1 % by weight of borax.
  • compositions containing, as a pH-jump system, a combination of 5% wt borax and 20% wt sorbitol were found to yield the best results .
  • pH-jump system is known from EP-A-381, 262.
  • Salts of calcium and magnesium have been found to enhance the pH-jump effect by further lowering the pH of the undiluted composition.
  • Other di- and trivalent cations may be used but Ca and Mg are preferred. Any anion may be used providing the resulting Ca/Mg salt is sufficiently soluble. Chloride, although it could be used, is not preferred because of oxidation problems.
  • pH-jump systems are based on the principle of insoluble alkaline salts in the undiluted composition that dissolve on dilution to raise the solution pH.
  • alkaline salts are sodium tripolyphosphate (STP) , sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium silicate, sodium pyro- and ortho-phosphate.
  • An alternative type of pH-jump system for use in a liquid detergent composition includes a metal cation and an N- containing compound, as disclosed in US-A-5, 484, 555.
  • the liquid detergent composition of the invention may additionally comprise builders, solvents, sequestrants, polymers, preservatives, fluorescers, dyes, biocides, buffers, salts (e.g. citrate) and hydroptropes (e.g. sodium cumene sulphonate) .
  • citrate because of its additional builder and bleaching characteristics.
  • Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a package according to the invention.
  • Figure 2 shows a section through the side wall of the page of figure 1.
  • a container 1 comprises a high concentration laundry composition A detailed below, which comprising at total level of surfactant above 45% and includes and at least one heat sensitive component which is, in this embodiment, an enzyme preferably a protease enzyme.
  • the composition is packaged in a bottle 1 comprising a base (not shown) and four discernable side walls, only two 3,5 being are visible in figure 1. All four side walls comprise an inner transparent plastic layer 7 enclosed at least partially within an outer plastic layer 9 comprising a sleeve 9 which fits tightly around all the bottle covering 95% of the surface area of the side walls. As the sleeve may be applied to the bottle by heat shrinking, it is preferred that this step is completed before the bottles are filled with laundry composition.
  • the outer plastic layer or sleeve 9 incorporates light protective zone(s) covering approximately 60% of the area on every side wall, said zones being defined by a L*a*b* value where L is approximately 75% and a* and b* are maintained to within 0.5 of zero in combination with a reflectance of approximately 0.46 (i.e. to within 10%) for incident light having a frequency from 350 - 1050 nm.
  • the light protective zone(s) which are printed to present the required L*a*b* value. (Graphics, text and logos may or may not fall within the L*a*b* range) .
  • a gloss layer over the printed layer increases the reflectivity to the required level .
  • the sleeve also incorporates a level indicator (11) comprising a 1 cm wide transparent strip extending longitudinally of the bottle.
  • the sleeve 9 presents a steel/metallic look and functions to deflect visible and UV light so as to protect the inner plastic bottle and the contents especially at the surface or boundary layer. Because every wall of the bottle is protected to a substantial degree, protection is maintained regardless of the orientation the bottle (provided it remains on its base, as would normally be the case with a liquid bottle) e.g. on a sunny windowsill.
  • the container is rigid.
  • the present invention can be adapted for use with flexible packages such as bags, pouches and the like.
  • LAS acid C10-C14 alkyl benzene sulphonic acid
  • SLES sodium lauryl ether sulphate (with on average 3 ethylene oxide groups) ;
  • NI 7EO C12-C13 fatty alcohol ethoxylated with an average of

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
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  • Oil, Petroleum & Natural Gas (AREA)
  • Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Food Science & Technology (AREA)
  • Detergent Compositions (AREA)
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Abstract

A laundry composition comprising at least one surfactant and at least one heat sensitive component, the composition being contained within a package (1) comprising a base (3) and at least one side wall (5), the side wall/s comprising an inner transparent plastic layer (7) enclosed at least partially within an outer plastic layer (9) wherein the outer plastic layer incorporates a: (i) one or more transparent regions providing an indicator (11) of the level of contained composition; in combination with (ii) light protective zones on every side wall, said zones covering at least 60% of the area of each respective side wall and said zones being defined by (a) an L*a*b* value where a* and b* are maintained close to zero, and L is between 50 and 80; and (b) reflectivity above 0.4 for incident light having a frequency from 420 - 1050 nm.

Description

Protective Packaging
The present invention relates to a heat sensitive laundry composition in combination with protective packaging therefore.
After purchase, users frequently open the packaging to check the detergent level, to try to gauge when it is necessary to purchase further product. Each time this happens, the contents are exposed to the air of the surroundings which are most likely kitchens and/or utility rooms which can be of high humidity. Such exposure decreases the stability of certain ingredients.
Transparent/translucent packaging allows the consumer to view the detergent level without opening the packaging. However, laundry packaging is often placed under lighting in retail outlets and, after purchase, may be left on window ledges in kitchens/utility rooms, which may be exposed to strong sunlight. Such areas can become intensely hot when sunny, even in temperate climates. With transparent packaging the full force of the sunlight acts on the liquid especially near the surfaces of the bottle which can destabilise the composition. The problem is exacerbated when the detergent formulation is highly concentrated, so that certain components e.g. enzymes are even more vunerable to de-stabilisation.
The object of the present invention is to provide a package for a laundry composition comprising one or more heat sensitive components in combination with packaging which is protective but also allows viewing of the contents without opening of the package.
Accordingly, a first aspect of the invention provides a laundry composition comprising at least one surfactant and at least one heat sensitive component, the composition being contained within a package comprising a base and at least one side wall, the side wall/s comprising an inner transparent or translucent plastic layer enclosed at least partially within an outer plastic layer wherein the outer plastic layer incorporates a:
(i) one or more transparent regions providing an indicator of the level of contained composition; in combination with (ϋ) light protective zones on every side wall, said zones covering at least 60% of the area of each respective side wall and said zones being defined by
(a) an L*a*b* value where a* and b* are maintained close to zero, and L is between 50 and 80; and (b) reflectivity above 0.4 for incident light having a frequency from 420 - 1050 nm.
With this arrangement, the outer layer provides a heat shield to protect the inner plastic layer and also the contained formulation, whilst still allowing convenient inspection of the level of contained product without opening the package.
The package may be a moulded package. The invention is particularly advantageous for moulded packaging where creation of both transparent and opaque portions together during moulding is difficult.
The transparent region or regions may extends longitudinally of the bottle so that the fill level can be used to view the all levels of the contained product. The region or regions may be an elongate strip.
The strip may be between 0.5 and 4 cm wide. However, the strip must be sufficiently narrow so as not to compromise the requirement for light protective zone coverage.
The bottle may present multiple discernable side walls or it may be circular in cross section and so only have a single wall.
Certain plastics are affected by heat and become more reactive with anything contacting the material. The outer layer protects the inner plastic layer from interaction with the product in extreme heat, which would be undesirable.
The outer layer also reduces the effects suffered by the contained formulation from heat generated by exposure of the packaging to light. The invention protects all sides walls as these will be more likely exposed to light from e.g. sunlight when the bottle is stood on its base. As every side wall is protected, the orientation of the bottle (as long as it remains on the base) is not critical for the functioning of the invention. The top may also have a construction according to the invention, although where the top is a closure or lid, it may be less critical as this may not have a role in the level indicator and so may not need to be transparent or translucent.
The combination of the selected L*a*b* value and reflectivity range across the wide range of incident light provides maximum reflectance without requiring a perfectly white bottle (which would be costly and also may not be visually appealing) .
The reflectance spectrum, at wavelengths 420-1050 (visible and infrared) is maintained above 0.4 that is to say all the reflectivity values are maintained above 0.4.
The L*a*b* values here refer to the CIE LAB colour space, (CIE 1976 L* a* b*), where L* is the lightness value, a* is the red-green value and b* is the yellow-blue value.
Preferably a* and b* are maintained to within 0.5 units of zero .
Preferably the inner transparent plastic layer is enclosed by at least 80%, more preferably 90% and especially 95% of its surface area by the outer plastic layer.
Transparency/translucency means that light transmissivity is at least 50%, preferably at least 70% and more preferably at least 80%. Preferably the light reflective zones cover at least 80% of every side wall.
The reflectivity scale is from 0-1 where 1 represents a reflection of all incident light, and 0 represents no reflection .
The at least one heat sensitive component may comprise one or more enzymes in a "cleaning effective amount", preferably 0.1 - 2% by wt. These components are denatured by high temperatures, further more they are denatured more easily in the presence of surfactants. Highly concentrated laundry compositions have increased levels of surfactant, rendering enzymes more vulnerable.
Certain components such as enzymes are more prone to denaturing on surfaces. By protecting a major proportion of each surface of the side walls, that part of the composition which is adjacent/close to the packaging wall is protected from heat generated by exposure of the packaging to light.
In a second aspect, the invention provides a method of protecting a laundry composition comprising at least one surfactant and at least one heat sensitive component, the method including the step of packaging the composition within a package according to the first aspect of the invention .
In a third aspect the invention provides a method of protecting a heat sensitive component in a laundry composition from heat damage occurring at the surface of a package, the method including the step of packaging the composition in a package according to the first aspect of the invention. The heat sensitive component may be an enzyme which undergoes heat-induced de-naturisation at the surface.
Light transmissivity of the outer container is preferably 80% -90%.
Preferably the composition, comprises a liquid or gel and may be free flowing or in unit doses, such as water soluble sachets. However, the composition may also comprise or contain particulate matter which is free flowing e.g. granular, or may be compacted (e.g. in tablet form) .
The package may take any suitable form and may be a bottle or a tub or carton. Where the composition is in unit dose form, the package may contain one or more of the unit doses.
The plastic may be of any suitable form such as polyethylene which may be high density (HDPE) , polyethylene terephthalate (PET, PETE) or polypropylene (PP) . The container may formed by extrusion, moulding e.g. blow moulding from a preform or by thermoforming or by injection moulding.
Surfactant
The surfactant may include one or more nonionic surfactants, preferably at a concentration of 5 to 95 % by weight. Additionally, there may be one or more anionic surfactants, preferably at a concentration of 5 to 95% by weight. The surfactant system may also contain cationic, amphoteric or zwitterionic detergent compounds.
In general, the surfactants of the surfactant system may be chosen from the surfactants described in "Surface Active
Agents" Vol. 1, by Schwartz & Perry, Interscience 1949, Vol. 2 by Schwartz, Perry & Berch, Interscience 1958, in the current edition of "McCutcheon ' s Emulsifiers and Detergents" published by Manufacturing Confectioners Company or in "Tenside-Taschenbuch", H. Stache, 2nd Edn., Carl Hauser Verlag, 1981.
Nonionic detergent surfactants are well-known in the art. They normally consist of a water-solubilizing polyalkoxylene or a mono- or di-alkanolamide group in chemical combination with an organic hydrophobic group derived, for example, from alkylphenols in which the alkyl group contains from about 6 to about 12 carbon atoms, dialkylphenols in which primary, secondary or tertiary aliphatic alcohols (or alkyl-capped derivatives thereof) , preferably having from 8 to 20 carbon atoms, monocarboxylic acids having from 10 to about 24 carbon atoms in the alkyl group and polyoxypropylene . Also common are fatty acid mono- and dialkanolamides in which the alkyl group of the fatty acid radical contains from 10 to about 20 carbon atoms and the alkyloyl group having from 1 to 3 carbon atoms. In any of the mono- and di-alkanolamide derivatives, optionally, there may be a polyoxyalkylene moiety joining the latter groups and the hydrophobic part of the molecule. In all polyalkoxylene containing surfactants, the polyalkoxylene moiety preferably consists of from 2 to 20 groups of ethylene oxide or of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide groups. Amongst the latter class, particularly preferred are those described in European specification EP-A-225, 654. Also preferred are those ethoxylated nonionics which are the condensation products of fatty alcohols with from 9 to 18 carbon atoms condensed with from 3 to 11 moles of ethylene oxide. Examples of these are the condensation products of Cg-is alcohols with on average 3 to 9 moles of ethylene oxide. Preferred for use in the liquid detergent composition of the invention are C12-C15 primary, linear alcohols with on average 3 to 9 ethylene oxide groups .
Preferably the non-ionic surfactant of the present inventions is a C12-18 ethoxylated alcohol, comprising 3 to 9 ethylene oxide units per molecule. More preferred are C12-C15 primary, linear ethoxylated alcohols with on average 5 to 9 ethylene oxide groups, more preferably on average 7 ethylene oxide groups .
Suitable anionic surfactants for the laundry compositions which may be used include water-soluble alkali metal salts of organic sulphates and sulphonates having alkyl radicals containing from about 8 to about 22 carbon atoms, the term alkyl being used to include the alkyl portion of higher acyl radicals, including alkyl sulphates, alkyl ether sulphates, alkaryl sulphonates, alkanoyl isethionates, alkyl succinates, alkyl sulphosuccinates, N-alkoyl sarcosinates, alkyl phosphates, alkyl ether phosphates, alkyl ether carboxylates, alpha-olefin sulphonates and acyl methyl taurates, especially their sodium, magnesium ammonium and mono-, di- and triethanolamine salts. The alkyl and acyl groups generally contain from 8 to 22 carbon atoms, preferably 8 to 18 carbon atoms, still more preferably 12 to 15 carbon atoms and may be unsaturated. The alkyl ether sulphates, alkyl ether phosphates and alkyl ether carboxylates may contain from one to 10 ethylene oxide or propylene oxide units per molecule, and preferably contain 1 to 3 ethylene oxide units per molecule.
Examples of suitable anionics include sodium lauryl sulphate, sodium lauryl ether sulphate, ammonium lauryl sulphosuccinate, ammonium lauryl sulphate, ammonium lauryl ether sulphate, sodium cocoyl isethionate, sodium lauroyl isethionate, and sodium N-lauryl sarcosinate.
The anionic surfactant of the present invention may be sodium alcohol ethoxy-ether sulphate (SAES) , preferably comprising high levels of sodium C12 alcohol ethoxy-ether sulphate .
The surfactant systems may comprise mixtures of anionic with nonionic detergent active materials and additionally cationic or amphoteric surfactant. The surfactant system may be a mixture of alcohol ethoxy-ether sulphate (AES) and a C12-C15 primary ethoxylated alcohol 3-9 EO ethoxylate and a quaternary ammonium cationic surfactant.
Anionic surfactants can be present for example in amounts in the range from about 5% to about 70% by weight of the total surfactant material. The composition may include a saturated fatty acid antifoam system, enabling the use of low levels of higher foaming cationic as well as amphoteric and/or zwitterionic surfactants, while keeping the foaming at an acceptable level. The compositions may also comprise a cationic surfactant or an amphoteric surfactant, wherein the cationic or amphoteric surfactant is present in a concentration of 1 to 20%, preferably 2 to 15% more preferably 3 to 12% by weight of the total surfactant. Suitable cationic surfactants compounds which may be used are substituted or unsubstituted straight-chain or branched quaternary ammonium salts. Preferably the cationic surfactant is of the formula:
R1R2R3R4N+ X"
wherein R1 is Cs-C22-alkyl, Cs-C22-alkenyl, C8-C22- alkylalkenylamidopropyl or Cs-C22-alkoxyalkenylethyl, R2 is Ci-C22~alkyl, C2-C22~alkenyl or a group of the formula -A- (OA)n-OH, R3 and R4 are d-C22-alkyl, C2-C2i-alkenyl or a group of the formula -A-(OA)n-OH, A is -C2H4- and/or -C3H6- and n is a number from 0 to 20 and X is an anion. A commercially available and preferred example of this type of cationic surfactant is a compound of the formula above, where R1 is a C12/14 alkyl group, R2 is a group of the formula -A-(OA)n-OH, wherein A is -C2H4- and n is nil, and R3 and R4 are both -CH3 (i.e. Ci-alkyl) . This type of cationic surfactant is commercially available from e.g. Clariant under the name Praepagen HY. Typical examples of suitable amphoteric and zwitterionic surfactants are alkyl betaines, alkylamido betaines, amine oxides, aminopropionates, aminoglycinates, amphoteric imidazolinium compounds, alkyldimethylbetaines or alkyldipolyethoxybetaines .
The laundry composition may contain a total level of surfactants which is greater than 40% preferably greater than 45% by weight of the composition.
Enzymes
Suitable enzymes that may be used in the composition of the present invention include proteases, amylases, lipases, cellulases, peroxidases, and mixtures thereof, of any suitable origin, such as vegetable, animal bacterial, fungal and yeast origin. Preferred selections are influenced by factors such as thermostability, pH-activity, and stability to active bleach detergents, builders and the like. In this respect bacterial and fungal enzymes are preferred such as bacterial proteases and fungal cellulases.
Enzymes are normally incorporated into detergent composition at levels sufficient to provide a "cleaning-effective amount". The term "cleaning effective amount" refers to any amount capable of producing a cleaning, stain removal, soil removal, whitening, or freshness improving effect on the treated substrate. In practical terms for normal commercial operations, typical amounts are up to about 50 mg by weight, more typically 0.01 mg to 30 mg, of active enzyme per gram of detergent composition. Stated otherwise, the composition of the invention may typically comprise from 0.001 to 3%, preferably from 0.01 to 2% by weight of a commercial enzyme preparation .
Protease enzymes are usually present in such commercial preparations at levels sufficient to provide from 0.005 to 0.1 Anson units (AU) of activity per gram of composition. Higher active levels may be desirable in highly concentrated detergent formulations.
Suitable examples of proteases are the subtilisins that are obtained from particular strains of B. subtilis and B. lichen!formis . One suitable protease is obtained from a strain of Bacillis, having maximum activity throughout the pH-range of 8-12, developed and sold as ESPERASE ® by NovoZymes of Denmark.
Other suitable proteases include ALCALASE ® and SAVINASE ® RELASE ® from NovoZymes and MAXATASE ® from International Bio-Synthetics, Inc., The Netherlands.
The composition may additionally comprise enzymes as found in WO 01/00768 Al page 15, line 25 to page 19, line 29, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.
Suitable lipase enzymes for use in the composition of the invention include those produced by microorganisms of the Pseudomonas group, such as Pseudomonas stutzeri ATCC 19.154, as disclosed in GB-I, 372, 034. A very suitable lipase enzyme is the lipase derived from Humicola lanuginosa and available from NovoZymes under the tradename LIPEX ®. Perfumes
The liquid composition of the present invention may comprise between 0.001 to 3% by weight of a perfume composition, more preferably between 0.1 to 2% by weight of a perfume composition. Said perfume composition preferably comprises at least 0.01% by weight based on the liquid composition of a perfume component selected from terpenes, ketones, aldehydes and mixtures thereof. The perfume composition may fully consist of the perfume component but generally the perfume composition is a complex mixture of perfumes of various differing perfume classifications. In this regard, the perfume composition preferably comprises 0.1 to 2% by weight of the perfume component.
Having regard to the terpene perfume component, the present invention has particular utility with the following preferred terpene perfume components: Terpinolene, Gamma- terpinene and pinane.
Having regard to the ketone perfume component, the present invention has particular utility to the following preferred ketonic perfume components: pulegone, vertofix coeur, veloutone, Alpha-methylionone and damascenone.
With regard to the aldehyde perfume component, the present invention has particular utility with the following preferred aldehyde perfume components: trifernal, lilial, citronellal, cyclosal, heliopropanal, zestover, Aldehyde C12, tridecylenicaldehyde and cyclosia base octenal Bleaches
The liquid detergent composition of the present invention may also comprise bleaching material.
Particularly preferred bleaching ingredients are those capable of yielding hydrogen peroxide in aqueous solution, the so-called peroxyl species. Hydrogen peroxide sources are well known in the art. They include the alkali metal peroxides, organic peroxides such as urea peroxide and PAP (N, N-phthaloylaminoperoxy caproic acid). Mixtures of two or more such compounds may also be suitable. Since many bleaches and bleach systems are unstable in aqueous liquid detergents and/or interact unfavourably with other components in the composition, e.g. enzymes, they may for example be protected, e.g. by encapsulation or by formulating a structured liquid composition, whereby they are suspended in solid form.
Alternatively or in addition to, a transition metal catalyst may be used with the peroxyl species, see, for example WO- 02/48301. A transition metal catalyst may also be used in the absence of peroxyl species where the bleaching is termed to be via atmospheric oxygen, see, for example WO-00/52124 and WO-02/48301. The transition metal catalysts disclosed in WO-00/52124 and WO-02/48301 are generally both applicable to what is known in the art as "air mode" and "peroxyl mode" bleaching. Another example of a suitable class of transition metal catalysts is found in WO-02/48301 and references found therein . If a peroxygen bleach is present in the composition the presence of a transition metal chelating agent is preferred to stabilise the peroxygen bleach.
Photobleaches, including singlet oxygen photobleaches, may also be used in the liquid detergent composition of the invention .
When the composition is in the form of a liquid, segregation of various components may be necessary and these will be evident to one skilled in the art. One form of segregation that is preferred is that of coacervation . The use of pH- Jump compositions and antioxidants are also applicable to preserving the integrity of certain components within the composition.
pH-Jump system
For obtaining favourable cleaning performance when the composition of the invention is used for treating textile, it is preferred that the pH-value of said composition is above 7.5 in the diluted washing solution. For the compositions of the present invention with a pH-value below 7.5, it is preferred that said composition additionally contains a pH-changing means capable of bringing about this increase of pH-value. Desirably, the pH-changing means is capable of raising the pH-value to at least 8 upon dilution with water.
The pH-changing means is effectively provided by a pH-jump system containing a boron compound, particularly borax decahydrate, and a polyol. The borate ion and certain cis 1,2-polyols complex when present in the undiluted composition, so as to cause a reduction in pH-value to a value of less than or equal to 7. Upon dilution, the complex dissociates liberating free borate to raise the pH-value in the diluted solution resulting in a pH-jump. Examples of polyols that exhibit the complexing mechanism with borax include catechol, galactitol, fructose, sorbitol, and pinacol. For economic reasons, sorbitol is the preferred polyol .
The desired ratio of the polyol to the boron compound needs to be considered since it influences performance. The level of the boron compound, particularly borax, incorporated in the composition of the invention also influences the performance. Borax levels of at least 1% by weight are desired to ensure sufficient buffering. Excessive amounts of borax (>10% by weight) give good buffering properties; however, such levels lead to a pH-value of the undiluted composition that is higher than desired. Generally, pH-jump systems in which the weight ratio of the polyol and boron compound ranges from 1:1 to 10:1 are preferred for use in the present invention.
When applying a borax-sorbitol pH-jump system, said system preferably comprises at least 2% by weight of Sorbitol and at least 1 % by weight of borax. In practice, compositions containing, as a pH-jump system, a combination of 5% wt borax and 20% wt sorbitol were found to yield the best results . Such a pH-jump system is known from EP-A-381, 262. Salts of calcium and magnesium have been found to enhance the pH-jump effect by further lowering the pH of the undiluted composition. Other di- and trivalent cations may be used but Ca and Mg are preferred. Any anion may be used providing the resulting Ca/Mg salt is sufficiently soluble. Chloride, although it could be used, is not preferred because of oxidation problems.
Other types of pH-jump systems are based on the principle of insoluble alkaline salts in the undiluted composition that dissolve on dilution to raise the solution pH. Examples of such alkaline salts are sodium tripolyphosphate (STP) , sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium silicate, sodium pyro- and ortho-phosphate.
An alternative type of pH-jump system for use in a liquid detergent composition includes a metal cation and an N- containing compound, as disclosed in US-A-5, 484, 555.
Other components
The liquid detergent composition of the invention may additionally comprise builders, solvents, sequestrants, polymers, preservatives, fluorescers, dyes, biocides, buffers, salts (e.g. citrate) and hydroptropes (e.g. sodium cumene sulphonate) .
Builders, polymers and further enzymes as optional ingredients may also be present, as found in WO-00/60045. Suitable detergency builders as optional ingredients may also be present, as found in WO-00/34427. One salt of - I i
particular interest is citrate, because of its additional builder and bleaching characteristics.
Various non-limiting embodiments of the invention will now be more particularly described.
Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a package according to the invention.
Figure 2 shows a section through the side wall of the page of figure 1.
Referring to fig 1, a container 1 comprises a high concentration laundry composition A detailed below, which comprising at total level of surfactant above 45% and includes and at least one heat sensitive component which is, in this embodiment, an enzyme preferably a protease enzyme.
The composition is packaged in a bottle 1 comprising a base (not shown) and four discernable side walls, only two 3,5 being are visible in figure 1. All four side walls comprise an inner transparent plastic layer 7 enclosed at least partially within an outer plastic layer 9 comprising a sleeve 9 which fits tightly around all the bottle covering 95% of the surface area of the side walls. As the sleeve may be applied to the bottle by heat shrinking, it is preferred that this step is completed before the bottles are filled with laundry composition.
The outer plastic layer or sleeve 9 incorporates light protective zone(s) covering approximately 60% of the area on every side wall, said zones being defined by a L*a*b* value where L is approximately 75% and a* and b* are maintained to within 0.5 of zero in combination with a reflectance of approximately 0.46 (i.e. to within 10%) for incident light having a frequency from 350 - 1050 nm.
The light protective zone(s) which are printed to present the required L*a*b* value. (Graphics, text and logos may or may not fall within the L*a*b* range) . A gloss layer over the printed layer increases the reflectivity to the required level .
The sleeve also incorporates a level indicator (11) comprising a 1 cm wide transparent strip extending longitudinally of the bottle.
The sleeve 9 presents a steel/metallic look and functions to deflect visible and UV light so as to protect the inner plastic bottle and the contents especially at the surface or boundary layer. Because every wall of the bottle is protected to a substantial degree, protection is maintained regardless of the orientation the bottle (provided it remains on its base, as would normally be the case with a liquid bottle) e.g. on a sunny windowsill.
In both embodiments described here, the container is rigid. However, it will be appreciated that the present invention can be adapted for use with flexible packages such as bags, pouches and the like. Liquid detergent formulation A
Ingredient % by weight
Non-ionic Neodol 25-7 20.1
LAS acid 13.4
Anionic sLES 3EO 6.5
Fatty Acid P5908 4.7
Glycerol 5.0
Propylene Glycol 9.0
NaOH 2.7
Triethanolamine 3.2
Citric acid 0.8
Protease enzyme 1.8
Minors 2.0
Water balance to 100
Wherein :
LAS acid = C10-C14 alkyl benzene sulphonic acid;
SLES = sodium lauryl ether sulphate (with on average 3 ethylene oxide groups) ;
NI 7EO = C12-C13 fatty alcohol ethoxylated with an average of
7 ethylene oxide groups .
It is of course to be understood that the invention is not intended to be restricted to the details of the above embodiments which are described by way of example only.

Claims

Claims
1. A laundry composition comprising at least one surfactant and at least one heat sensitive component, the composition being contained within a package comprising a base and at least one side wall, the side wall/s comprising an inner transparent plastic layer enclosed at least partially within an outer plastic layer wherein the outer plastic layer incorporates a: (i) one or more transparent regions providing an indicator of the level of contained composition; in combination with (ii) light protective zones on every side wall, said zones covering at least 60% of the area of each respective side wall and said zones being defined by
(a) an L*a*b* value where a* and b* are maintained close to zero, and L is between 50 and 80; and
(b) reflectivity above 0.4 for incident light having a frequency from 420 - 1050 nm.
2. A laundry composition contained within a package wherein the inner transparent plastic layer is enclosed by at least 80% of its surface area.
3. A laundry composition contained within a package according to claim 1 wherein the light reflective zones cover at least 80% of the respective wall.
4. A laundry composition contained within a package according to any preceding claim wherein the total amount of surfactant is at least 40% by wt .
5. A laundry composition contained within a package according to claim 4 wherein the total amount of surfactant is at least 45% by wt .
6. A laundry composition contained within a package according to any preceding claim wherein the heat sensitive component is an enzyme.
7. A laundry composition contained within a package according to any preceding claim wherein the enzyme level is 0.1 - 2% by wt .
8. A method of protecting a laundry composition comprising at least one surfactant and at least one heat sensitive component, the method including the step of packaging the composition within a package according to any of claims 1 to 7.
9. A method of protecting a heat sensitive component in a laundry composition from heat damage occurring at the surface of a package, the method including the step of packaging the composition in a package according to any of claims 1 to 7.
10. Use of a package comprising: a base and at least one side wall, the wall/s comprising an inner transparent plastic layer enclosed at least partially within an outer plastic layer wherein the outer plastic layer incorporates a
(i) one or more transparent regions providing an indicator of the level of contained composition; in combination with
(ii) light protective zones on every side wall, said zones covering at least 60% of the area of each respective side wall and said zones being defined by (a) an L*a*b* value where a* and b* are maintained close to zero, and L is between 50 and 80; and (b) reflectivity above 0.4 for incident light having a frequency from 420 - 1050 nm, for the protection of a heat sensitive component within a laundry composition comprising at least one surfactant .
11. Use of a package comprising: a base and at least one side wall, the wall/s comprising an inner transparent plastic layer enclosed at least partially within an outer plastic layer wherein the outer plastic layer incorporates a (i) one or more transparent regions providing an indicator of the level of contained composition; in combination with
(ii) light protective zones on every side wall, said zones covering at least 60% of the area of each respective side wall and said zones being defined by (a) an L*a*b* value where a* and b* are maintained close to zero, and L is between 50 and 80; and (b) reflectivity above 0.4 for incident light having a frequency from 420 - 1050 nm, for the protection at the surface of the package of a heat sensitive component within a laundry composition comprising least one surfactant.
12. Use of a package according to claim 10 or 11 wherein the total surfactant level is above 40 % by wt .
13. Use of package according to claim 12 wherein the total surfactant level is above 45% by wt .
14. Use of a package according to any of claims 10-13 wherein the heat sensitive component is an enzyme.
15. Use of a package according to claim 14 wherein the enzyme level is 0.1 - 2% by wt .
EP07847233A 2006-12-20 2007-11-20 Protective packaging Revoked EP2091840B1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

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EP06126613 2006-12-20
EP07847233A EP2091840B1 (en) 2006-12-20 2007-11-20 Protective packaging
PCT/EP2007/062593 WO2008074584A1 (en) 2006-12-20 2007-11-20 Protective packaging

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WO2008065027A1 (en) * 2006-12-01 2008-06-05 Unilever Plc Packaging
EP2364352A1 (en) * 2008-12-04 2011-09-14 Unilever PLC Multi-coloured laundry products
WO2010069799A1 (en) * 2008-12-18 2010-06-24 Unilever Plc A flowable laundry composition and packaging therefor
CA2777277C (en) * 2009-11-05 2014-07-08 The Procter & Gamble Company Packaged product for protecting light-sensitive liquid composition
FR2959494B1 (en) * 2010-04-28 2014-01-03 Soc Lotoise Devaporation Solev RIGID PACKAGING FOR COSMETIC OR PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCT SENSITIVE TO ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION

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US6756350B1 (en) * 1999-12-29 2004-06-29 Unilever Home & Personal Care Usa, A Division Of Conopco, Inc. Transparent/translucent bottles
US6632783B1 (en) * 2000-05-10 2003-10-14 Unilever Home & Personal Care Usa, A Division Of Conopco, Inc. Liquid detergent package with transparent/translucent bottle labels with UV absorbers

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