The recent fabric care products such as softener and detergent have many fragrance variants. Those variants increase consumer’s eagerness to buy. The fragrance of fabric care products plays an important part. The role of the fragrance is to communicate the image and concepts of the product, to be comfortable to use in various situations in life and to respond to the report of preference of the fragrance for target consumers. So, the fragrance of fabric care products have evolved as a tool adding value. In this paper, I will explain the trend of the fragrance for fabric care products such as softener and detergent and the change in consumers’ awareness.

About 60 years has passed since air freshener started being used in Japan but currently it is being acknowledged by many people and widely used as a simple counter measure against malodors in houses and as a product, which allows people to actively enjoy fragrances. The fragrances used in air fresheners have greatly changed with the times. Up until around 1980’s, the functional value of deodorization was desired in fragrances. After 1990’s, in addition to desiring functional value, people started to want the emotional value of enjoying the fragrance as well. The types of fragrances that are being used have also greatly changed with the times. From comparatively simple previous fragrances, recently fragrances intended to be high quality and high grade are becoming widely used.

It is about overview of the history of Bath additives scents. Bath additives are unique Japanese products. The beginning of bath additives is “YOKUZAI CHUJOTO”. First bath additives, “YOKUZAI CHUJOTO”, put it on the market in 1898. It passed more than 110 years. In 1935, the first scented Bath additives, “Bathclin” put it on the market. The importance of the bath additives shifts to scents from effects. Fragrance has an important role to play in bath additives products.

Consider about creativity and the technical challenges of fragrancing Bath additives products.

Japanese have been said to be ignorant of fragrance. However, in the Japanese daily life where there is a distinct change of the four seasons, the country is blessed with natural fragrance and there are many traditional customs according to each season. Fragrance had been always close to Japanese in their lives without recognition. Therefore, it is natural for herb and aromatherapy to become popular in Japan. Introduction and development of the herb and aromatherapy market, is due to Japanese mentality to adopt with the era and maturity of mind. There is increasing interest toward fragrance. I would like to look back on the past half century to see the development of herbs and aromatherapy market in Japan.

In this study, searching behavior in odor localization in human was investigated. In order to search the source of the odor, we turn our heads or approach the direction of the presumed source in everyday life. However, there are few reports that have systematically examined the behavioral processes of localization of odor source. In this experiment, participants identified the positions of odor sources placed on the table (two-dimensional plane), and their respiratory cycle and movement of the upper part of the body during searching behavior were recorded. As results, a series of behavioral process was commonly observed among all participants; first, participants began smelling from the particular place, then started to search around and focused on the limited area where the odor source is presumed to be, and finally decided on the direction of the odor source. The strategies of the participants when they were focused on searching for the odor differed with each other. Although a successful strategy was not found, moving the upper part of the body at the beginning of sniffing was not effective because this action caused a change of airflow surrounding participants and diffused the trails of odor.