Keynote Address

摘要

Not only is Montreux a great place for a conference, it also has a very important connectionwith the detergent industry-a connection going back well before the first World Conference on Detergents was held here. About a hundred years ago, a landmark event in our then-fledgling industry took place on the lake, just a short distance from here. A Swiss gentleman-effectively the first "overseas" representative of Lever Brothers-organized a special competition on the shores of the lake. It was called the "Fete des Blanchisseuses"0a competition for washerwomen! It apparently drew huge crowds and inspired press coverage around the world. It was, if you like, the first pan-European-even global-marketing promotion for laundry products in the world!