Detergent compositions comprising soil release agents

A laundry detergent composition comprising at least about 0.1% by weight of a water-soluble or water-dispersible oligomeric soil release agent comprising at least 10% of a substantially linear end-capped ester having molecular weight ranging from about 500 to about 8,000;

• said ester consisting essentially of, on a molar basis:
• i) from about 1 to about 2 moles of end-capping units of the formula (MO.sub.3 S)(CH.sub.2).sub.m (CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 O)(RO).sub.n --, wherein M is a salt-forming cation, R is ethylene, propylene or a mixture thereof, m is 0 or 1, and n is from 0 to 4;
• ii) from about 0.5 to about 66 moles of units selected from the group consisting of:
• a) oxyethyleneoxy units;
• b) oxy-1,2-propyleneoxy units;
• and
• c) mixtures of a) and b);
• iii) from 0 to about 50 moles of di(oxyethylene)oxy units;
• iv) from 0 to about 50 moles of poly(oxyethylene)oxy units with a degree of polymerization of at least 3;
• v) from about 1.5 to about 40 moles of terephthaloyl units;
• and
• vi) from 0.05 to about 26 moles of 5-sulfoisophthaloyl units of the formula --(O)C(C.sub.6 H.sub.3)(SO.sub.3 M)C(O)--, wherein M is a salt forming cation;
• provided that the total of units ii), iii), and iv) ranges from about 0.5 to about 66 moles and provided that the total of units iii) and iv) is no more than 75% of the total of units ii), iii), and iv) and provided that the weight percent of iii) and iv) is no more than 50% of the total weight of the oligomeric ester.