| WHICH LAUNDRY DETERGENT SHOULD YOU USE? A newly released study on packaging for concentrated liquid laundry detergents estimates the environmental and consumer savings from a nationwide switch from ½-cup (64 oz.) to ¼-cup (32 oz.) concentrated liquid laundry detergents. These savings would include enough plastic litter to cover 2,000 football fields (55 million pounds), enough energy to run more than 1 million light bulbs for one year (2.2 trillion BTUs), and enough water to fill 13,000 backyard swimming pools (130 million gallons). The study was conducted by Henry S. Cole and Associates, Inc., an environmental consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. Yet, the standard "unit label" (cost-per-ounce) for laundry detergents- as mandated by many state and local governments-is confusing, and tends to mislead customers into thinking bigger containers with more liquid are the better buy. Concentrates, on the other hand, come in smaller containers but last longer. A much fairer and more useful basis for laundry detergents therefore would be the cost-per-wash load, the study concludes. -Consumer Research Magazine, January 1995 |
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