uCottonelle Shrink Rays Toilet Paper Squaresr

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• When you need to use some Cottonelle toilet paper, do you find that the sheets feel just a bit narrower in your hand? Probably not: that’s the sneaky nature of the Grocery Shrink Ray. Rolls of Cottonelle Ultra toilet paper lost just a fraction of an inch from each square, but that adds up to a big loss in square footage in a whole package.

  The first example comes from Chris, who happened to notice the change while at work. The change wasn’t much: just .2 inches in one direction and .14 in the other, but this results in 8 square feet less toilet paper per package.

  

  

  

  You’ll notice the “touch of cotton” on the label of this variety: we learned last year that Cottonelle toilet paper never contained any cotton until 2013.

  There’s some good news in all of this, though: Chris points out that at least the price came down slightly along with the quantity of TP. At his store, at least.

  

  

  Why does the old package declare that the sheets are “wider,” anyway? Wider than what? Did Sayori mix up the old and new packages, and this type of TP was widened?

  

  Oh. Wider than the unnamed leading brand. Well, then.

  

  

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uPetco Stops Use Of Kennel Dryers, Fires Groomers Caring For Dog Who Diedr

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• Last week, a woman in Virginia left her healthy 2-year-old golden retriever at a Petco store for a routine bath and grooming. The store called her and asked to meet at a nearby veterinary clinic, where she learned that her dog was dead. Petco has now taken full responsibility for this incident, and says that the grooming salon workers involved have been fired.

  What happened? Petco either still doesn’t know exactly, or they haven’t announced it yet. The animal’s death had something to do with the drying kennel that he was in, though, which the company claims no longer use heat to dry the animals, and automatically shut off after 15 minutes.

  What they have announced is that they will stop using the type of drying kennel that Colby was in when he died. “While we’ve confirmed that no heat was used, and is not used in any of our grooming salon dryers,” the company explained in a statement, “as an additional measure, the type of kennel dryer Colby was housed in has been removed from service in all Petco stores.”

  Whatever happened with the dryer, the company explained that the chain’s “animal care protocols were not followed when it came to Colby. As a result, the individuals directly involved are no longer part of our company.” They did not specify how many individuals were involved in Colby’s poor care, or what their jobs were within the salon.

  The company also says that it will conduct special training sessions for all grooming salon employees next week to go over those “animal care protocols” next week.

  After a thorough investigation, it’s clear our animal care protocols were not followed when it came to Colby. As a result, the individuals directly involved are no longer part of our company.

  The statement concludes:

  We take full responsibility for what happened in Midlothian, and remain heartbroken over Colby’s untimely passing. Pet parents place their trust in us, and we realize that trust is earned. We understand there is no way to make up for the loss of Colby, and our thoughts continue to be with his family during this difficult time.

  A veterinarian told the dog’s owner that he died of heatstroke, but Petco has not clarified what killed him.

  Petco admits fault, makes changes after dog’s death [WWBT]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uTakata Confirms It Will Replace About 400,000 Previously “Fixed” Airbagsr

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  (I Am Rob)

  Earlier this week Japanese auto part maker Takata announced it may have to call back some of the millions of airbags already replaced because they may still have a tendency to shoot shrapnel upon deployment. Today, the company released an estimated number of re-recalled airbags, to the tune of 400,000.

  Bloomberg reports that the airbags which were already replaced once represent about 10% of the nearly 4.1 million driver-side safety devices recalled worldwide.

  Takata executive vice president for North America Kevin Kennedy said that the airbags in need of a second replacement will be serviced after the 34 million vehicles still waiting for their first recall remedy.

  During a U.S. House committee hearing earlier this week, Kennedy blamed the need to circle back and fix the already replaced airbags on a certain type of inflator called a batwing.

  “The final stage of the recalls will include the replacement of batwing driver inflators that were previously installed as remedy parts in prior recalls,” Kennedy said. “Takata has also committed to cease producing these types of driver inflators.”

  The batwing inflator was used to hold Takata’s unusual chemical component, ammonium nitrate.

  The chemical has been a topic of discussion among regulators and investigators trying to determine why the Takata-produced airbags explode with such violent pressure.

  Chemicals have long been the powerful mechanism behind airbags. That’s why after some crashes, the driver or front-seat passenger in a vehicle may have chemical burns on their skin.

  Typically the inside of an airbag contains an igniter that heats an aspirin-sized tablet of compressed chemical. The ensuing reaction fills the airbag with gas, inflating it at speeds reaching a few hundred miles per hour.

  Takata began using ammonium nitrate in its airbags in the late 1990s, because of the chemical’s ability to make airbags inflate in a matter of milliseconds.

  Since the company began making replacement parts for the recalled vehicles, it claims to have added materials that gather and hold moisture to the chemical mix in an effort to make the device safer.

  Kennedy said the company will phase out the use of the propellant.

  Takata’s decision to call back airbags that have already been replaced gives credence to consumer advocates’ worries over the safety of Takata’s replacement airbags, given that the company – along with investigators for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and automakers – have yet to find a root cause for the airbag ruptures.

  Takata Said to Plan to Replace 400,000 Air Bags Previously Fixed [Bloomberg]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uBaseball-Loving Charter Subscribers in L.A. Can Finally Watch The Dodgers Next Weekr

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  (Atwater Village Newbie)

  The official paperwork for Charter’s bid to buy Time Warner Cable isn’t even in yet, let alone approved, but the two companies are already making good on one promise to play nice: as of Tuesday, Charter subscribers in Los Angeles who are also baseball fans will finally be able to watch their own home team on TV.

  Charter announced in May that they would “soon” begin carrying SportsNet LA, the channel owned by Time Warner Cable and the Dodgers franchise. And, as the Los Angeles Times reports, “soon” means Tuesday, June 9.

  The channel will be part of Charter’s Spectrum TV select package, which is Charter’s most widely available option. Charter will not charge subscribers extra for the channel.

  “The Dodgers are an iconic franchise and part of the fabric of the community,” Charter head Tom Rutledge said in a statement. “We are very excited to be bringing the Dodgers back to Charter customers in the L.A. area.”

  According to the Times, SportsNet LA will at that point be available in over 2 million metro area homes, of which about 300,000 are Charter subscribers.

  Approximately 13 million people live in the greater Los Angeles area.

  Charter to carry Dodgers channel, SportsNet LA, beginning Tuesday [Los Angeles Times]

  
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by Kate Cox via Consumerist

uPepsi Considering A Line Of “Craft” Fountain Sodas Made With Real Sugarr

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• 

  [ silent (e) ]

  In the race to create sweet, carbonated beverages people actually want to drink, PepsiCo is looking into peddling a line of “craft” fountain sodas made with sugar, instead of the high fructose corn syrup used to sweeten many other beverages you might find on tap.

  Pepsi says the Stubborn Soda line will come in flavors like black cherry with tarragon, orange hibiscus, pineapple cream and agave vanilla cream, reports the Associated Press, further separating the “craft” sodas from the traditional image of Pepsi products.

  Amid a growing trend that’s moving away from bubbly, sweetened drinks, big beverage companies have been scrambling to figure out how to sell drinks to shoppers who are now looking for more wholesome drinks like teas and waters.

  To meet the burgeoning demand for more products that give off that natural feel, Pepsi already has Caleb’s Kola and Mountain Dewshine, both marketed as craft sodas that come in glass bottles, as well as Pepsi True, which is sweetened with stevia and comes in a green can similar to Coca-Cola’s Coke Life, also sweetened with stevia.

  “It’s very new, they’re still learning from it and reaching out,” a Pepsi representative said about its craft sodas in bottles, adding that Stubborn Sodas is in an “incubation” phase ad there are no restaurants clients lined up yet to announce.

  PepsiCo looking to launch ‘craft’ fountain sodas [Associated Press]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uCostco Sold Nearly 400,000 Cars Last Year Just To Keep Members Happyr

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  (Mike Mozart)

  Toilet paper, giant jars of mayonnaise, enough shampoo to last a year: These are all items one might imagine being on a list for a quick trip to Costco. One thing we generally don’t expect: a new car. But that’s exactly what consumers are picking up at the warehouse store.

  Bloomberg reports that Costco has quietly climbed the list of top car retailers – selling nearly 400,000 vehicles of all makes and models at its stores across the country last year – putting it right behind the No. 1 car seller AutoNation.

  However, purchasing a car on your next trip to Costco won’t be the same as doing so at your local car dealership. In fact, a recent car buyer tells Bloomberg that the experience was void of the typical haggling and upselling one might expect.

  The other out-of-the-ordinary aspect: the big discount. The man says he spent $39,000 on a new Toyota Highlander, about $4,000 less than the recommended price.

  The relatively stress-free and discount-laden process is all because Costco’s foray into selling cars isn’t really about selling cars, Bloomberg notes.

  Instead, it’s all about the members. The company moves the vehicles through an auto-buying service called Affinity Auto Group. Costco uses its massive membership to leverage local dealers selling through Affinity into offering exclusive discounts.

  For example, Costco and General Motors offer buyers a store gift card of $500 and a non-negotiable price for most vehicles. The deal led to the sale of some 43,000 vehicles at the retailer in the last part of 2014.

  To ensure that dealers maintain the discounts they’ve promised the store, Costco sends in a team of mystery shoppers.

  Perhaps the most bizarre part of Costco’s sales strategy: Much like its unprofitable practice of selling rotisserie chickens to keep members loyal, the retailer doesn’t actually make money on the car sales it helps broker. Instead, Costco only offers the discounted vehicles to attract and keep members.

  While it was once difficult to get carmakers to sell through Costco, the company says it now has a waiting list of dealers.

  Costco Moves the Metal [Bloomberg]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uWhy Aren’t You Eating Lean Cuisines?r

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  (Matt Reeve Photography)

  You may remember the announcement last week that Nestle USA would be cutting back on artificial flavorings and salt in its frozen food products. That widely-publicized announcement isn’t about the company’s concern for its customers’ health: Nestle is concerned about the health of its frozen food business. Specifically the Lean Cuisine brand.

  Lean Cuisine was born 34 years ago, when Americans’ ideas about food and health were very different. It doesn’t help that younger adults see frozen meals as overly processed and unhealthy. These are the reasons for a recent revamping of the brand changes its emphasis with the times: instead of fat and calories, the marketing materials emphasize protein and ingredients that are organic and gluten-free.

  While competitor ConAgra is currently working hard to court senior citizens, the Lean Cuisine brand is working to attract younger and hipper customers. Their aim: attract people who are interested in hot “superfood” ingredients, but who also don’t turn up their noses at frozen dinners.

  Lean Cuisine sales have fallen 20% in the last two years. What are people eating for lunch at work instead? Nestle’s Lean Cuisine chef–yes, they’ve hired an actual French-trained chef to work on revamping the brand–and his team have tested thousands of recipes, reading up on food trends to figure out what a wide cross-section of Americans might be interested in.

  Of course, asking consumers what they want to eat doesn’t necessarily work: we might say that we want to eat braised kale, then slink through the grocery self-checkout with a pile of Hot Pockets.

  Lean Cuisine Chef’s Daunting Task: Clearing Out 13-Story Freezer [Bloomberg]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist