It used to be curry sauce, egg yolk and red wine that ruined Britain’s clothes but in a sign of the times laundry detergents are being reformulated to tackle stains left by matcha lattes, Aperol spritz and bubble tea.
In a month when year-end gongs are dished out, from BBC Sports Personality to Pantone’s Colour of 2026 (a white called “cloud dancer”), matcha has received the dubious accolade “stain of the year”.
The honour has been handed to the Japanese green tea after it topped the inaugural “stains index”. The ranking, compiled by the washing detergent maker Unilever, identified “new and emerging stains based on evolving lifestyles and culture”.
To this end, matcha, Aperol and bubble tea top what was an actual laundry list of the country’s hottest stains. However, it could also be a proxy of the zeitgeist, given gen Z’s thirst for morning matcha coffees and fluorescent boba teas.
While some could consider the topic a bit of a turn-off, Donna Macnab, Uniliver’s director of laundry research and development, said the world of stains offered an “interesting reflection on our lifestyles and routines”.
“The first thing you notice about stains like matcha and Aperol is they’re very highly coloured. These bright colour pigments [there’s a chlorophyll in matcha] penetrate the fibres, making the drinks difficult to remove,” she said.
Washing powder adverts used to be preoccupied with wholesome outdoor stains such as mud and grass stains and Macnab said these stains had not gone away, but added: “As we see new pigments and residues emerge, we test new formulas and adapt our products.”
To compile the index, Unilever polled 2,000 UK adults on their most frequent and biggest stains “concerns”, looking at “traditional” marks such as blood, mud and grass, alongside “modern” stains, including Aperol, glitter and matcha.
Perhaps due to their social media-friendly food choices, the research found young Britons were tackling a notably higher volume of dirty marks, with 70% of generation Z staining their clothes every week compared with 16% of boomers.
Matcha topped the list of stains gen Z experienced more of in the past 12 months, with 39% reporting stubborn green marks, followed closely by Aperol (38%). Another food trend leaving its mark was “hot sauces” notably sriracha (34%).
While red wine (47%) and curry sauce (47%) were still Britain’s top stain headaches when putting a wash on, for gen Z it fast food grease (40%) and coffee and tea (29%). The poll also revealed that 91% of gen Z had thrown away clothing because it was spoiled by a mark.
“We are picking up that younger people don’t know tips for getting stains out,” said Macnab, who added that the advice had not changed much over the years: scrape off the excess and soak in soapy cold water before sticking it in the wash.
But it is not just what gen Z are eating and drinking that is leaving its mark, it is their beauty regimes, too, with makeup and fake tan among the top “lifestyle” stains.
In response to the research, scientists based at Unilever’s Port Sunlight laboratories in Wirral have tweaked the formulas of its Persil and Surf brands to ensure they are a match for matcha.
It was not the first time that changing lifestyles sent the company’s experts back to the drawing board. Last year, Unilever launched the Persil spinoff Wonder Wash to tackle the musty smell of gym gear.
The shift to remote working meant “athleisure” clothing such as T-shirts, joggers and leggings were being worn every day. The company identified that this had made smells rather than stains a problem, with invisible sweat and smell-causing body oils, clinging to athleisure wear.
The index will be updated annually to monitor new stains and inform the development of Unilever’s new laundry products.
