Sept. 28, 2007 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has pledged to sell only concentrated liquid laundry detergent at its U.S. Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores, saying it aims to act as a "catalyst for the transformation of the entire liquid laundry detergent category across the retail industry and save vast amounts of natural resources."

Wal-Mart, which sells about a quarter of the laundry detergent purchased in the U.S., estimates the shift will save more than 400 million gallons of water, 95 million pounds of plastic, and 125 million pounds of cardboard. The company expects to complete its phase-out of traditional laundry detergent by May 2008.

"People expect businesses to step up and work together to help solve the big challenges facing the world," Scott told the crowd of approximately one thousand people gathered in New York City. "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 partnered with Unilever to reduce the packaging of its "All" detergent. A year later, Unilever launched a concentrated, smaller-sized product that contains amount of detergent as a traditional 100-oz. bottle. Wal-Mart has since work with suppliers including P&G and Dial to offer their own concentrated laundry detergents. The company says it will work to ensure customer acceptance and promote the benefits of the concentrated product.

Wal-Mart's announcement may have far-reaching consequences for the way laundry detergent is manufactured and sold in the U.S. As more manufacturers transform their facilities to accommodate Wal-Mart's demand, other retailers may move toward selling only concentrated liquid detergents.