Oct. 1, 2007 Wal-Mart's heralded push toward concentrated laundry detergent, labeled a "win-win-win" for companies, the environment, and consumers, is shifting costs upstream, says an article in Advertising Age.

The retail giant's new initiative is costing supplier Proctor & Gamble an estimated $100 million in upfront investment costs, but the savings in shipping costs and packaging materials appear to be going toward giving better prices to Wal-Mart and its customers, according to the article.

The size of that investment and unpredictability of the results has been one factor that weighed down the company's stock in recent months, though the price recently has gone up, the article notes.