Fall is almost upon us and the joys of running around in a swimsuit all day for summer vacation will soon be just a memory for Moms everywhere that have had to do less laundry in the summer! Somehow the kids get away with those jeans being able to survive with an extra grass stain or two in the summer, but when Back to School hits everybody is back on their best laundry behavior! At least we would like to believe that!

My project for the summer was to find out why so many of you insist on telling me time after time that our Country Save powdered laundry detergent was more expensive than Tide, Cheer, All, Arm & Hammer and a host of other brands.

You know what I did that I bet you have NEVER done? I bought boxes of every major powder brand that many of you have mentioned as being a better value than Country Save. Are you ready for my Back To School Report on the topic of Truth In Labeling as it applies to the detergent manufacturers in this country? Here goes….and I'll try not to bore you! I have labeled my Report in short chapters for you to copy and look into personally!

The Myth of the 40, 42, 60 Wash Box of Tide

This chapter applies to virtually all mainstream manufacturers because they have all fallen into the web of deceit that has been self-perpetuating by competitive pressures. Here's where it starts: (1) The Wash Declaration: the wash declaration on the box is seen in two places - on the front of the box to get your attention to the great value being offered……and secondly, on the side or back of the box where the verbiage is almost always the same….."This box contains 60 (or whatever is on the front) medium washes as measured to the lowest line on the scoop"

So, you thought you were actually paying for 40, 60, 80 or 120 loads of laundry but what you didn't know is that the manufacturer NEVER INTENDED for you to actually get those loads out of their boxes! When was it you last did a MEDIUM load of laundry?

The Myth of the Scoop In the 40,42, 60 or whatever wash size box of Tide

This chapter applies more to Procter & Gamble products than anyone else but you can be sure that your tests will come out the same. Look at the size of the scoop. Have you ever seen anything as big proportionately as this scoop is to the box size and the declaration on the front?

Look at the Tide Free 60 wash box…..and remember, I'm talking about digital measuring, not politics, Satan-worship or any other baloney that has nothing to do with getting an HONEST load of laundry done!

The Tide Free 60 wash box is LABELED as 131 oz. Trust me when I tell you…there will ALWAYS be 131 or more ounces in this box. You will never be shorted in total weight, which is why they get away with this labeling travesty!

If there is 60 MEDIUM washes in a 131 oz box, then simple math tells us that each MEDIUM load will use 2.18 ounces of Tide.

Remember, Chapter 1 and the quoted sentence, "This box contains 60 medium washes as measured to the lowest line on the scoop"

NOW, let's take 2.18 ounces (as measured on my digital scale) of Tide and pour it into the Tide-provided scoop. You guessed it! The detergent doesn't even come up to the medium wash line…..so how can there be 60 washes in this box?

I continued to fill the scoop up to the line (not line1…..that is above the "lowest line on the scoop"). It turns out that the best number I can give you from my test is 51 medium washes in a 60 wash box. But let's take it further: How about if we "step up" to Line 1, the Large Load designation? Using the same process, you will get 39 large loads of laundry out of the Tide 60 wash box! Let's get wild and crazy and go for Line 2 which is the Extra Large designation. You may get as many as 27 extra large loads out of the 60 wash box of Tide.

And here is the Big Scoop on this story: If you are like most of the people who think more is better and, after all, why would the manufacturer put a large scoop in the box unless it was meant to be filled for a normal wash? For those of you who can't stand not to use a FULL SCOOP, you were possibly able to get as many as 23 loads out of that 60 wash box of Tide!

By the way, PLEASE don't let me stand on my laurels here. Do the test yourself! You aren't a dummy (as much as THEY would have you believe you are). This isn't nuclear science…..it's called, "Am I Getting The Value They Say I'm Getting?" You decide.

The Myth of the High Cost of Country Save and the low cost of most others!

Here is the fun part. Let's give Tide Free a break and say that the average consumer uses a 1/2 scoop (this is REALLY giving them the benefit of the doubt!) so a 60 wash box would yield 46 loads at best. Tide Free had a retail cost of $12.19 at our Fred Meyer/Kroger store the week of 8/20/01. That means the Cost Per Wash in this example, for Tide, would be $0.260 per load.

Country Save also sells an 80 wash box at the Puget Consumers Co-op for $12.39. In other words, if it says 80 washes, you GET 80 washes! In this example, the Country Save Cost Per Wash would be $0.155 cents. 40% LESS than Tide on a REALISTIC Cost per Wash comparison!

The Myth of the "Tide Gets My Clothes Whiter and Brighter" than Country Save

Here is the part of this discussion that can get subjective and one party will make claims that the other party disputes. So here is my thoughts on Tide: Tide works! It cleans and there is no other argument that can be brought to bear on this subject. BUT THAT is NOT our subject! Our subject is COUNTRY SAVE! YES, it gets clothes clean. Time after time after time it will get clothes clean!!!

If your t-shirts or underwear start to get a little dingy and gray, do what Tide users do, use bleach! Only don't use Clorox….you don't need to! Use our Country Save NON-CHLORINE BLEACH. It is cheaper per load than Clorox 2 and every bit as good! Whitens whites and brightens colors!

Do you know if your water is soft or hard? Find out! It will make a difference on how much detergent you use and how often you will need to add bleach. Mineral deposits in water always make the laundry effort more challenging.

Tide and most other detergents use something in the detergent called OPTICAL BRIGHTENERS. These are reflectors that are designed to stay in your clothes and reflect light. I don't know about you, but I don't want detergent deposits of any type left in my clothes! Check out our Lab results to see how Country Save did in an independent lab test last year comparing solubility and rinsing with other major brands! Nobody beat us, including Tide!

Well, thanks for looking into this Truth In Labeling "conspiracy" the Big Boys are foisting on us daily. If you want to see the whole spreadsheet I did on each major product, go to the Detergent Cost Comparison page. It is self-instructive. Please try your own test and let me know if your results were similar. And you P&G boys and girls that read this, don't be sending me any nasty notes. Just re-label your products so they are reflective of the truth and I will be happy. If 52% of the population of the USA (or more, possibly) buys P&G detergent products, that means over 100 million people are being scammed monthly each time they buy an orange, blue or green box of detergent from P&G.

As always, you can reach me directly with no buffer zone person in the middle at krisa@countrysave.com and I will answer you personally. Our company is growing and I have decided to hire more people to do other stuff but I will always be available to our customers.

Thanks For Your Time!       Kris