From laundry soap to paper to socks, it seems that manufacturers everywhere are trying to achieve the brightest whites, and consumers are certainly buying in. These companies use chemical dyes called OBAs to make their whites “whiter” and stay ahead of the competition. OBA stands for optical brightening agent. You may also have heard it called FWA (Fluorescent Whitening Agent), optical brightener, fluorescent dye, or even just whitener. An optical brightening agent is a special type of dye that ...