Tide Liquid

Tide Detergent and the Political Environment According to Otto Bettmann's memorably titled book, The Good Old Days -- They Were Terrible, adulteration of soaps and foodstuffs were rife in the era of the 1910's and 1920's before Tide Detergent became a reality in the 1930's America. (Bettmann, 1974) Thus, the main legal consideration for Proctor & Gamble was not the safety of Tide or indeed any detergent as a product, rather it was forming a patent for its manufacture, to avoid the chemical process for manufacturing detergent becoming widely known.

Today, the method of securing patents is so widely circulated that there are books written on the subject in the form of do-it-yourself guides. (Pressman, 2000) Also, there are sites on the Internet devoted to patent protection. But at the time, P&G's methodology of creating something to make whites truly whiter was a hotly contested patented product.

After all, "for the farmer's wife of the Victorian Age who required a placid temperament to endure the rigors of running a country house," laundry was perhaps the most physically punishing labor of the farm, without the help of machinery or "miracle detergents." (Bettman, 1974, p.48) Today, however, environmental regulations rather than patent infringement is the main concern for Proctor & Gamble regarding Tide Detergent, as the leading surfactant used in laundry detergents is coming under increasing national scrutiny. (U.S.

Water News Online, 1998) In 1970 Canada banned the use of phosphates in laundry detergent, another key substance in the manufacture of Tide at the time. At present, thus, given the widespread knowledge of how to technically manufacture laundry detergent, the main political and regulatory concerns of Proctor & Gamble are not those of chemical impingement from their competitors, but dealing with the environmental issues that arise in the conflict between business, the government, the international arena of the marketplace, and environmentalist groups at home. Works Cited Bettmann, Otto.

(1974) The Good Old Days -- They Were Terrible. Random House. Canadian History Online. (2004). Today in Canadian History. Webopedia http://canada.asinah.net/canadian-encyclopedia/wikipedia/1/19/1970_in_canada.html Pressman, David. (2000). Patent it Yourself. Nolo Press. U.S.

Water News Online (November 1998) "Science, not politics, should determine environmental regulations, scientist tells detergent industry." Tide Liquid Detergent: Technological Development detergent is "a synthetic chemical that acts as a soap." (Willet, 1998) Until the 20th century, "very few synthesized chemicals existed," and the widespread synthesizing of materials out of the hydrocarbons that compose detergents was not possible until after the Second World War, when Tide was invented. (Willet, 1998) But still, it is difficult from today's perspective to appreciate the full implications for the technical components of the wide synthesizing of hydrocarbons.

Unlike soap, detergents do not react poorly with hard water and causes the mineral salts in the water to form an insoluble substance, leaving laundry.