Laundry Detergent....

Laundry Detergent....

by Liv | Published on November 18th, 2008, 8:32 pm | Life

So I'm at Wal-Mart yesterday and I decided to buy this new "Gain" laundry detergent which has this great looking box with fruit on it and several statements which suggested my clothes would smell like wonderful fruit flavors.

I thought.... Sweater + Fruit Loops = Kewl!!!

I figured it was a market ploy, but still it's a great idea... Yes, I want my clothes to smell incredibly good!!!! Well sadly, they didn't smell any different then normal cheap detergent. I'm disappointed. Technically I still think there's a niche market here. That said, I truly wonder the difference between the "cheap-o" laundry detergent, and the Tide stuff. I mean, Tide is super expensive, and I do love the smell.... but It's hard for me to believe it's so much better it's worth paying 12 times the price of the off-brand. Yet some people must.... because Tide is still in business.

Oh and what's with the newer "high concentrate" versions.... if they could have concentrated it all along, then why didn't they?

Was there some giant leap in laundry detergent technology in the last year, and I just didn't hear about it?

Jan 29, 2008:

Liv wrote:So I'm at Wal-Mart yesterday and I decided to buy this new "Gain" laundry detergent which has this great looking box with fruit on it and several statements which suggested my clothes would smell like wonderful fruit flavors.

I thought.... Sweater + Fruit Loops = Kewl!!!

I figured it was a market ploy, but still it's a great idea... Yes, I want my clothes to smell incredibly good!!!! Well sadly, they didn't smell any different then normal cheap detergent. I'm disappointed. Technically I still think there's a niche market here. That said, I truly wonder the difference between the "cheap-o" laundry detergent, and the Tide stuff. I mean, Tide is super expensive, and I do love the smell.... but It's hard for me to believe it's so much better it's worth paying 12 times the price of the off-brand. Yet some people must.... because Tide is still in business.

If you have money to freely spend on laundry detergent, why not? Especially if it smells of fruits.

Oh and what's with the newer "high concentrate" versions.... if they could have concentrated it all along, then why didn't they?

How do you achieve maximum profit if you put more than normal into your product? They make more money for less. Its simply business.

Was there some giant leap in laundry detergent technology in the last year, and I just didn't hear about it?

Proof they're in a rut? They obviously can afford to concentrate it, and doing so must be a desperate marketing ploy.

Or maybe they're feeling generous, which I highly doubt.

I'd gamble to say all of the dtergents you saw on the shelf (including the store brands) are owned and produced by likely no more than a couple of companies. Sorta like cereal.

For me there is a difference. I break out, and have gotten blisters from using the wrong stuff.

I don't think the concentrated stuff is any stronger than the normal detergent. They just sell you a smaller bottle of the same stuff and reap the profits.

Wal-Mart made the "green" inititive to only sell concentrate detergent in all of its stores.
http://www.groovygreen.com/groove/?p=1912

This forced suppliers to either stop selling to walmart, make 2 versions, or sell the concentrate to everyone at a higher cost.

I imagine the only real benefit to the enviroment is that It creates less plastic waste. And I guess less water or something menial :p

Maybe, maybe not. It will have an positive impact, which is a good thing. I am not so sure that it is just for "green" reasons.

True. Everyone has alterior motives. Hell even the idea of selling things as green is often to persuade to consumer to purchase thier product over another.

This article talks about how walmart just wanted the saved space on thier shelfs, rather than enviromental impact :p

http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/05/2 ... s-get-all/

I agree with you on that point. Plus they can ship more, spending less on transportation, which means more in their pockets. The employees wouldn't see a dime of it.

AceoStar wrote:Hell even the idea of selling things as green is often to persuade to consumer to purchase thier product over another

And your point is...

If consumers demand 'green' products then sellers will either produce them or pretend to - that's the free market. Hopefully the not really-green products can be weeded out through better labelling - that's a regulated market.

Concentrated detergents ARE concentrated and ought to reduce waste because you are shipping less water around (saving fuel costs) and producing less packaging - provided you can train the end users to use a smaller amount of the detergent. I found that I had a tendency to use the same amount so I diluted the concentrate to slightly over normal levels.

As already stated, my point in saying that the reason for going green with the concentrate was not to go green alone. Agreeing with the person above me.

Makes one wonder, could one concentrate.... the concentrate?

Not if you want to be able to pour it out of the bottle.

Aunt Jemimah found a new product line, eh?

Mmmm Maple syrup clothing....