Abstract: Improved soil release agents for granular laundry detergents, typically used at levels as low as about 1% of a fully-formulated anionic surfactant-containing granular detergent, are reaction products of transesterifying and oligomerizing mixtures of monomers having the functions MO.sub.3 SC.sub.6 H.sub.4 C(O)--, M'O.sub.3 SC.sub.6 H.sub.3 {C(O)O--}.sub.2, --(O)CC.sub.6 H.sub.4 C(O)-- and --OCH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 O-- wherein M and M' are independently selected from lithium, potassium and sodium, more preferably sodium; said mixtures having mole ratio of MO.sub.3 SC.sub.6 H.sub.4 C(O)-- to --(O)CC.sub.6 H.sub.4 C(O)-- of from about 0.2:1 to about 1.4:1, mole ratio of MO.sub.3 SC.sub.6 H.sub.4 C(O)-- to M'O.sub.3 SC.sub.6 H.sub.3 {C(O)O--}.sub.2 of from about 0.67:1 to about 20:1 and mole ratio of MO.sub.3 SC.sub.6 H.sub.4 C(O)-- to --OCH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 O-- of from about 0.007:1 to about 0.51:1 and being substantially free from monomers of formula HOROH wherein R is propylene or higher alkyl.