Rational Design of Sustainable Multifunctional Textile Care Formulations Using Virgin and Waste Vegetable Oils

Sustainable textile care formulations based on renewable and waste vegetable oils represent environmentally responsible alternatives to conventional laundry products while supporting circular bioeconomy strategies. However, the influence of formulation composition on EO transfer, textile persistence and multifunctional performance remains poorly understood. This study investigated the influence of formulation design on the physicochemical properties, encapsulation efficiency, EO transfer, textile persistence, washing performance and antibacterial activity of sustainable textile care formulations prepared from virgin and waste vegetable oils. All formulations exhibited appropriate physicochemical characteristics, including alkaline pH values (9.84–10.64), good foaming capacity and encapsulation efficiencies of 95.6–98.2%. Although encapsulation efficiency remained consistently high, formulation composition influenced EO transfer and persistence on textile substrates. Formulation V1-D exhibited the most balanced overall performance. Waste vegetable oil formulations achieved washing efficiencies of 86–92%, comparable to those of virgin oil formulations, while maintaining EO persistence on textile substrates. The developed soap formulations also exhibited pronounced antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. These findings indicate that rational formulation design, rather than encapsulation efficiency alone, primarily determines the overall performance of sustainable multifunctional textile care formulations by balancing washing efficiency, EO transfer, textile persistence, and the antibacterial activity of the developed soap formulations.