Thanks to the eagle eyes of regular Mouse Print* reader Richard G., we have another round of products that manufacturers have taken the shrink ray to.
*MOUSE PRINT:
Toilet paper is one of the categories of items that has been downsized for decades. Cottonelle continues to shrink in size, this time going from 418 sheets on a mega roll to 380 sheets. Double rolls have also downsized from 209 sheets per roll to 190.
Deceptively, in the upper right corner of the new smaller package, the company claims that you are getting 20% more sheets.
Huh? Only in marketing can getting less per roll mean you’re getting more. The *MOUSE PRINT finishes the claim: “compared to Charmin Ultra Strong mega rolls.”
Incidentally, it was just about a year ago that this same brand sliced off fractions of a inch from both the length of width of each sheet, as we reported.
*MOUSE PRINT:
Colgate is just in the process now of reducing the size of its largest tube of regular toothpaste from 8.2 ounces to 8.0 ounces. And just like the makers of Cottonelle, they are trying to create a false impression that the new box is giving you more. How in the world are you getting 33% more?
*MOUSE PRINT:
Thanks for the mathematics lesson tucked on the back of the box, Colgate.
Lastly, Scott K.’s co-workers in Canada couldn’t understand why their instant coffee was running out much faster than usual.
*MOUSE PRINT:
The reason: there is 15% less coffee in each jar of Nescafe now.
Perhaps these manufacturers facetiously think our butts are getting smaller, our teeth are falling out or they’re trying to save us from the evils of too much caffeine. There has to be time in the future when the downsizing train will need to come to a stop. How much further can it go?
Downsizing…. Coke has me baffled on this for some time 591ml to 500ml. Coca-Cola Canada says the 500 ml serving will have 8 per cent fewer calories than the older version. So why were the diet drinks reduced to 500ml too????? If the diet drinks have 0, zip, zilch, nadda calorie then what is 8% less from 0.
http://globalnews.ca/news/1796646/coca-cola-is-changing-canadian-recipe-to-save-calories/
My butt is not getting smaller and cannot take less swipes since not just the roll getting but smaller but the dimensions too.
Guess I could just brush my teeth once a day…. ick or maybe just maybe they would of made a 12oz tube, charged a little more and advertised 1005 more than the 6oz tube.
The size of toilet paper sheets was optimized over many years of market testing and product development. I don’t like downsizing, but from the looks of it, consumers may have to purchase new toilet paper every other day just to keep up the illusion that prices haven’t increased.
I noticed toothpaste tube sizes decreasing as well. I am more comfortable paying more for an efficiently sized tube than I am purchasing smaller tubes. It’s a waste of time and material.
Isn’t it illegal to advertise something that’s false = false advertisement???
The only way to get 33% more at 8oz is to cut the 6.4 oz package down to 6oz.
And pepsodent toothpaste to stay at a buck had to move 6oz packages down to 5.5oz.
Also not listed here is Family sized bags of Lays potato chips. They lost a 1/4 of an oz like last month. The 10.5 oz bags dropped down to 10.25 oz.
Lays have changed bag sizes in 2013, 2015, and 2016. They are too much of a repeat offender.
And these are just examples of grocery type products. Try going into Home Depot or Lowes some time. Plywood that used to be 1/4″, 3/8″, 1/2″, 5/8″, and 3/4″ is now 7/32″, 11/32″, 15/32″, 19/32″, and 23/32″. And don’t get me started on paint can sizes, tubes of caulking, packages of screws, etc., etc.. It drives me crazy but what can you do except grin and bear it!
No one cares about the downsizing anymore – just a few irritants like myself and the posters here. Manufacturers are simply lying and there is no other way to frame it. Ethics? That never existed to the bottom line folks.
I Care Rick. More people need to post on it though to get the word out.
And yet again Social Security recipients did not receive a COLA (Cost Of Living Adjustment) because “There was little or no inflation.” Are they just looking at the total price of things rather than the cost per unit? If the price for a tube of toothpaste was $3.49 in 2015 and is still $3.49 in 2016 but for a smaller tube size, it’s still inflation!!
I missed this last week – I agree with Wayne and I disagree with those who say people don’t care or don’t notice or only a few “cranks” notice it or complain about it. Anyone with half a brain notices and talks about it. People talk about it at work, on Facebook, at home, my friends and everyone I know talks about it, but what can we DO about it? Nothing except complain. And people DO complain but they ignore us or send us “canned” responses that insult our intelligence. Try to complain to our “elected officials” and no one is willing to take up the cause even though the downsizing increases waste and pollution in the long run. Just try to take up a campaign about this today, forget it. Even our politicians are unwilling and/or unable to do anything about it, so what can we do? Who has the time and money to get up a grass roots campaign about this? The rich don’t care, they have the money to spend. Those of us “working stiffs” don’t have the luxury of time on our hands to take up the fight. So the “silent majority” doesn’t ever get publicized and no one gets a true picture of how many people are upset about this. Companies know they dismiss us and get away with it.
Ugggh!! So slimy! Especially toothpaste packaging. The variety of “different” toothpaste (or at least toothpaste packaging) is overwhelming. In addition to the claims of “larger” sizes, proclamations are made to differentiate Colgate from Crest. There are so many choices from “Optic White”, to “Enamel Health”, “Whitening + Deep Clean Multi-Benefit”, “3D White”, “Cavity Protection”, “Maximum Strength”…etc. The packaging is always beautifully designed, sparkly and will include one or two-word claims (like those aforementioned). But, when you look at the “active ingredients” they are all nearly identical!