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Consumers lack awareness of environmental packaging: education becomes needed resource in cleaners
SOURCE: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n5_v35/ai_16621045
Concentrated formulas, or "ultra" detergents as they've been dubbed, were developed over the past few years to help reduce packaging costs and materials while still providing consumers with top quality cleaning agents. However, these concentrates have been a source of confusion for consumers who don't understand how they work and equate small package size with less product. Many retailers feel it is the suppliers' role to educate consumers about these newfangled products, and manufacturers have responded through advertising and comprehensive product labeling. Once consumers understand the products, they can actually benefit since the ultra formulations provide more washes per dollar, and sometimes per bottle, than with the standard, larger sizes, according to The ULS (Use Less Stuff) Report, a newsletter that addresses conservation and waste reduction. Wal-Mart has taken a leadership role in its stores by providing point-of-sale information about these concentrates. So far, other discounters have not followed suit. At its Rome, N.Y., supercenter, a sign in the detergents aisle read: "Refill Tide 152 oz. uses 80% less packaging than cartons, refill packaging is made from a minimum of 25% post consumer recycled plastic." "Retailers have a wonderful opportunity to educate consumers about concentrates, refill packs and other advancements like flexible packaging," said Bob Lilienfeld, editor of The ULS Report. Flexible packaging is a pouch product that uses 85% less source material than rigid containers. These have been very well received in Canada and Europe (countries which are traditionally more proactive), but not in the United States. DowBrands, for example, developed pouch packaging for a few of its products, including Fantastik All-Purpose Cleaner for the Canadian market. The product did well there and in Europe, especially Germany, but not so in the United States, according to Lauren Cislak, manager of corporate communications for Indianapolis-based DowBrands. Overall, American consumers are very concerned about the environment, but their commitment pales in comparison to other countries, which are more aggressive. As a result, DowBrands has adopted a "wait-and-see" approach to pouch packaging, figuring that it will eventually catch on with American consumers. "At the present time, consumers don't understand what these pouches are," Lilienfeld explained. "They have to come to realize that cheap and flimsy are good attributes in packaging instead of the rich containers they are used to." Less is definitely more for discounters. Flexible packaging weighs less, reducing the cost of transportation and shipping. The environment gains too because lighter cargo creates less pollution and utilizes less gasoline. Smaller packages also mean better utilization of space at retail. The freed-up space allows the retailer either to extend the line or to introduce another product in the same amount of space. Household cleaners and laundry detergents generate a sizable business for discounters. Overall, laundry detergents rang up $961 million in sales in 1994 and ranked third among the 170 categories surveyed recently by Information Resources, a Chicago-based research firm. Household cleaners also performed well, with sales of $533 million in 1994 at mass merchandisers, and ranked 15th overall. The entire category of household cleaners and laundry detergents is growing rapidly. Over the past year, 426 new products were introduced, down slightly from 467 in '93, according to Chicago-based New Product News. This decrease was due in part to the plateauing of the "ultra" craze when the market was flooded with new products. Technology has also been used as a point of differentiation, with manufacturers developing innovative ways to decrease the impact of plastics and other materials on the waste stream. Lever Bros., for instance, uses a three-dimensional computer-aided design to determine how to reduce the amount of plastic without compromising the strength of the package. This source reduction effort, known as "lightweighting," reduces the amount of raw materials consumed. Similarly, companies like DowBrands draws on its relationship with Dow Chemicals to create product lines with less plastic and more recyclable cardboard. The Clorox Cos. produces product in packages containing 27% recycled materials, which represents more than 100 million lbs. for the whole product line, according to Sandy Sullivan, manager of marketing and environmental communications. COPYRIGHT 1995 Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
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