A series of novel surfactants containing multianionic and nonionic hydrophilic moieties were prepared by reacting fumaric acid with polyoxyethylenated stearyl ether in the presence of a peroxy-type free radical initiator to form a carboxylic-acid-group-containing addition product. The structure of these surfactants was confirmed by infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance, and elemental analysis. These surfactants exhibit excellent functional properties of self-sequestering. This means that besides good surfactant properties, including surface tension, foaming, and wetting, they possess autonomous sequestering ability without any help of additional sequestering agent. When used in cotton bleaching procedures, these surfactants increase the penetration of the fibers of gray fabrics and increase the whiteness of bleached cotton. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.