Food/Groceries

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Clorox Splashless Is Also “Disinfectless”

A Missouri consumer is fed up with Clorox brand bleach. She has been waging a three-year long campaign against one of the company’s most popular products that she thinks is being packaged and marketed in a deceptive way. We think she has a point.

There are two primary types of Clorox bleach:

Clorox bleaches

The one on the left is regular Clorox and the one on the right is their “splashless” version. Note how similar the labels are.

According to the company, they came out with a thicker splashless variety because customers complained about the regular type which could inadvertently splatter where it was not intended.

As it turns, that is not the only difference between the two products. Only on the back of the label does the company disclose the following about the splashless product:

*MOUSE PRINT:

Clorox Splashless disclaimer

That’s right, surprise, the splashless version does not disinfect or sanitize. And while certainly many use bleach merely to whiten their laundry others do expect it to sanitize also.

A check of the ingredients statements also reveals a surprise.

*MOUSE PRINT:

ingredients

While the exact amount of the disinfectant, sodium hypochlorite, is stated on the regular product, it is conspicuously missing on the splashless variety. One might reasonably conclude that there is not enough of the active ingredient in the splashless product to sanitize or disinfect properly.

We asked The Clorox Company why they don’t more conspicuously disclose that the splashless variety does not sanitize or disinfect and why the amount of the primary active ingredient is not disclosed. The company did not respond to our questions by publication time.

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Slick Olive Oil Label Designed to Deceive

Most shoppers don’t spend a lot of time scrutinizing product labels in the supermarket. And that might be what one manufacturer is counting on.

In what appears to be one of the most deceptive labels ever, this extra virgin olive oil brand seems to be deliberately trying to put one over on consumers.

Iberia full bottle

Only on closer inspection does the true nature of this product reveal itself:

*MOUSE PRINT:

Iberia oil closeup

You will have to look closely at this picture taken from the Target website. It reveals in thin black type on a dark green background that the content of the bottle is really “sunflower oil and extra virgin olive oil.” How diluted with sunflower oil is this product?

*MOUSE PRINT:

Iberia ingredients

Look carefully. This product is really only 20% extra virgin olive oil and the rest is sunflower oil.

Now, the front of the product does say “premium blend” but that does not clearly convey the true nature of this product in MrConsumer’s view. One might believe this means, for example, that it is a blend of various extra virgin oils from several regions.

So how does this company get away with a label so seemingly deceptive? No one had gone after them — until last month. A New York law firm just filed a class action lawsuit against the company alleging that its label is violating the deceptive practice consumer protection laws of all 50 states. Among the claims being made is that the product is not delivering the expected health benefits that purchasers expect because it is not 100% olive oil.

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Thanks for Nothing, Sears and Kmart

It is with a tinge of sadness that we lament the passing of hundreds more Sears and Kmart stores following their filing for bankruptcy last week. However, some of the dumb things that they have done can turn off consumers. For example, when retailers advertise a sale or reduced prices, shoppers expect to save money and be offered a good price. Sometimes, however, that wasn’t always the case at Sears and Kmart.

Example 1:

Just when Sears announced they were filing for bankruptcy last week, the local Sears in Cambridge, MA which had just started its own store closing sale, was adding an extra incentive — an extra 10% off your total purchase.

Sears 10% off

Great, except for one thing — the fine print on the coupon.

*MOUSE PRINT:

not at the register

What, you can’t use the coupon in the store and this is a store only coupon?

As it turns out, who knows what that really means because the Sears in Cambridge was automatically giving folks the extra 10% at the register, even without the coupon.

Example 2:

A couple of months ago, Sears MasterCard offered an unbelievable “month long” deal — get 20% back in points if you use the card at gas stations.

*MOUSE PRINT:

month long promotion

Apparently February has been displaced by August as the shortest month of the year.

Example 3:

People think that shopping online will generally save you money. These items at Kmart.com from marketplace sellers, however, challenge that assumption big time.

bread

.

matzo

.

Tide

Thanks for nothing, Sears and Kmart, for all these “deals.”

If you spot an outrageous or funny offer, please submit it to edgar (at symbol) mouseprint.org .