Wal-Mart to Sell Only Concentrated Liquid Laundry Detergent
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to sell only concentrated products in the liquid laundry detergent category in its U.S. Wal-Mart Stores and Sam's Clubs by early May 2008. The commitment was made at the Clinton Global Initiative by Lee Scott, president and CEO of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The company's goal is to be a catalyst for the transformation of the entire liquid laundry detergent category across the retail industry and save vast amounts of natural resources. "People expect businesses to step up and work together to help solve the big challenges facing the world," says Scott. "What we have done is work with suppliers to take water -- one of our most precious natural resources -- out of the liquid laundry detergent on our shelves. We simply don't want our customers to have to choose between a product they can afford and an environmentally friendly product." In 2005, Wal-Mart initiated a partnership with Unilever to dramatically reduce the packaging of its "all" detergent. In February 2006, Unilever unveiled "all small-and-mighty," which is three-times concentrated, and contains enough detergent to wash the same 32 loads as a 100-oz. bottle. The success of this partnership led Wal-Mart to work with suppliers throughout the laundry detergent industry, including P&G, Unilever, Dial, Huish and Church & Dwight, to offer their own concentrated laundry detergents.