Who makes Kirkland Signature Ultra Soft Premium Liquid Fabric Softener, Refreshing Scent?
As of July 5, 2026, evidence points to First Quality Enterprises (Home Care Products division) as the manufacturer of Kirkland Signature Ultra Soft Premium Liquid Fabric Softener, Refreshing Scent, but no tier 1–3 source names the link directly.
The common claim
What most answers say — and what the evidence supports
Top-ranking answers fold Kirkland fabric softener into the same Huish/Sun Products/Henkel private-label lineage told about Kirkland laundry products. The Henkel connection is documented: Costco's posted SDS for the flagship Ultra Soft liquid fabric softener carries Henkel Corporation's own emergency-contact fingerprint (a 'General' line at 1-800-776-6702 and Propharma at 1-800-565-5597), the same pairing on the Kirkland laundry- and dishwasher-pacs SDSs. What the top answers miss is that Henkel exited: it sold its entire North American retailer-brands business - detergents, fabric finishers and dishwash - to First Quality Enterprises, closing April 1, 2025, so evidence points to First Quality's Home Care Products division as the current maker. One complication keeps this at probable: a 2023 SDS for a different Kirkland fabric-conditioner scent carries a different emergency-contact block, so Costco multi-sources this category.
Evidence & sources
Every source is graded on the six-tier rubric and archived, so the citation holds even if the original moves or paywalls. The tier badge grades the source; the status grades our confidence in the maker.
Tier 4
Costco's currently posted SDS (revision 24-Mar-2021, version 3) for 'Kirkland Signature Ultra Soft Premium Fabric Softener Refreshing Scent' (Product Generic Name: Liquid Fabric Softener) names only 'Costco Wholesale Corporation' as distributor - no manufacturer - but its emergency-telephone block reads 'Chemtrec (US/CA) 1-800-424-9300 (24 hour) ... General 1-800-776-6702 (Monday-Friday, 8:30AM to 6:00PM EST) ... Propharma: 1-800-565-5597 (24 hours)', the identical General/Propharma pairing printed on Henkel Corporation's own SDS documents (next source) and on the Kirkland laundry-pacs and dishwasher-pacs SDSs. Indirect: the tie rests on the shared emergency-contact fingerprint, not an explicit naming.
Tier 4
Henkel Corporation's own safety data sheet (Section 1: 'Henkel Corporation, One Henkel Way, Rocky Hill, CT 06067') carries the same emergency-contact pairing - 'General 1-800-776-6702 (Monday-Friday)' and 'Propharma 1-800-565-5597 (24 hours)' alongside Chemtrec - establishing the fingerprint that ties the Kirkland fabric-softener SDS to Henkel's detergent/fabric-finisher unit. This is the same Henkel reference SDS used for the Kirkland dishwasher-pacs attribution.
Tier 4
'The Retailer Brands business comprises products in the detergents, fabric finishers and dishwash categories serving several retail customers in North America' - the fabric-finishers category (which includes liquid fabric softeners) is named explicitly - sold to 'an affiliate of First Quality Enterprises, LLC' and closed April 1, 2025. Does not name Costco or Kirkland, which is why this stays probable, not confirmed.
Tier 4
'the successful closing of its ... acquisition of Henkel's Retailer Brands detergents, fabric finishers and dishwash business in North America. These product categories will be manufactured within the newly formed First Quality Home Care Products division.' Places the ex-Henkel fabric-finisher manufacturing in First Quality's Home Care Products division - the same company that took over Kirkland diapers and laundry detergents.
Tier 4
Counter-signal that keeps this record honest: Costco's SDS (revision 12-Jan-2023) for a different liquid fabric-softener SKU - 'Kirkland Signature Ultra Fresh Fabric Conditioner Soothing Lavender & Vanilla Scent 149 fl oz' (item 1674552, recommended use 'Laundry fabric-softener') - lists only Costco as supplier and carries a DIFFERENT emergency-contact block ('Chemtrec (Transportation) 1-800-424-9300, 703-527-3887 ... Poison Control Center (Medical): (877) 800-5553'), with none of Henkel's General/Propharma lines. Documents that Costco sources fabric-softener SKUs from more than one supplier, so the First Quality attribution cannot be treated as exclusive or certain.
Frequently asked
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