Over the last few years, there have been a fair number of companies offering stain blocking / resisting technology for or on clothing.

Most folks will already be familiar with Scotchguard — a spray on stain repellent solution that’s been around for some time, designed for upholstery (and now apparel).

Though somewhat effective, Scotchgard wasn’t permanent, nor did it repel all liquid types.

Nano-Tex seemed to be one of the earlier technology companies who designed a more permanent liquid/stain repelling application for fabrics.

We then saw NeverWet hit the market with liquid-proofing solutions for non-clothing items, and shortly thereafter, they began creating technologies for fabrics.

In 2013, there were two Universities (Michigan 1/2013 & UC Davis 10/2013) that announced liquid repelling technologies that could be applied to fabrics.

In early 2014 a Harvard research team announced their SLIPS nano-technology had been successfully applied to fabrics, making them liquid-proof and Liquipel also announced their WaterSafe technology at CES.

Around the same time, we started seeing folks creating clothing lines infused with this stain-blocking capability.

Silic raised nearly $300,000 on Kickstarter on their stain proof t-shirt in December of 2013 and Joe’s Jeans got their SPOTLESS white jeans, skirts, and shorts for women featured on the TODAY show.

There’s even a company called SOFTEC Apparel that is touting they’ve perfected a proprietary process to stain & liquid-proof clothing, though it would appear they’ve only been around since early 2014.

While not exactly the same, SmartWeave came out with a fabric weaving process that allows them to create shirts resistant to sweat marks.

Up until now, no one offered at at-home stain blocking solution for clothing. Enter Sofft.

Created by an ex-Clorox engineer, Sofft is a stain-blocking, liquid-repelling fabric softener you can use at home:

Sofft™ is a new stain-blocking fabric softener that simplifies your laundry and helps the environment at the same time. Ordinary fabric softeners merely soften clothes and make them smell nice. But Sofft™ repels stains and decreases detergent usage. And, you’ll no longer have to wash clothes in warm water (cold water will do), saving you money on your energy bill. Plus, save hundreds of dollars on clothes lost due to stains! Sofft™ brings high technology to laundry. The cleaning products industry is still at Laundry 1.0, but with Sofft™ we expect to make prevention based laundry a reality and change the perception that stains are inevitable. Together with our backers we will make Laundry 2.0 a reality by starting a “Say No to Stains” campaign, or as we like to say, lead a Sofft™ Revolution!

With just 5 days left to go, the Sofft Kickstarter campaign has exceeded it’s $25k goal by $16,000.

Sofft Kickstarter Video