Pine-Sol’s altered scent prompts flood of social media rage
The brand’s parent company, Clorox, had to change the cleaning fluid’s smell because of a pine oil shortage. They’re promising to bring the old scent back in the spring, but people are still hopping (and mopping) mad.
To all of you who have asked us to bring back the original Pine-Sol scent, we want you to know we are listening. The reason we switched from the original scent was because of reduced supplies of pine oil. But our teams are working to find out if it’s possible to bring back the scent you love, at least in limited distribution. We will have more information soon. Thanks for speaking up.
About 200 people commented on that post, many of them still quite angry. One commenter asked why Clorox didn’t buy some land and start growing pine trees itself. In the following weeks, Pine-Sol posted a video and a photo announcing that the original scent would be coming back in the spring of 2014, but only through an online store. The company’s Facebook page even has a dedicated tab about the old scent’s return, which includes a section for frequently asked questions.
Many commenters (quite forcefully) asked why the old scent wouldn’t be available in stores, so Pine-Sol offered this explanation in the FAQ:
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