consumer products

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Butter Substitute Lacks Calories in Spray Form: Court

It's different when I Can't Believe It's Not Butter is bottled

(Newser) - The double negative aside, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray is not misleading consumers, a court has decided. The US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that because the product is classified as a spray, labels showing it contains zero calories or grams of fat aren't...

France to End 'Scandalous' Practice That 'Defies Reason'

Nation to end dumping of unsold consumer goods worth hundreds of millions yearly

(Newser) - France has a wasteful problem that "defies reason," says the country's prime minister, adding that companies will soon be forced to end the "scandalous' practice. Edouard Philippe's remarks Wednesday were regarding the country's disposal of brand-new consumer goods that don't sell, an unused...

4 Products Going the Way of the Dodo

Bar soap, antiperspirant spray wane in popularity

(Newser) - Another casualty of the recession could be your favorite deodorant: As consumers flock toward store brands and stores in turn look to downsize, the result is the death of some of America's best-known consumer products, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports. "As we shrink the size of stores, a number...

Tainted Chinese Milk Yanked From Shelves—Again

Company in last scandal linked to new contamination

(Newser) - In the latest consumer product scandal to hit China, authorities have ordered milk contaminated with toxic melamine yanked from market shelves. The recall occurs a year after hundreds of thousands of children were sickened by a similar contamination. Products in southern China from three companies were found to contain melamine....

Wal-Mart Plans Eco-Rating Labels

(Newser) - Wal-Mart plans to begin asking suppliers to provide info on the environmental impact of their operations so the store can put so-called green rating labels on its products, the Wall Street Journal reports.The first cards probably won't appear for a few years, but given Wal-Mart's clout as the world's...

Retailers Slash Selection in Response to Recession

(Newser) - A fundamental shift is going on in the consumer product world as retailers decide that less is more, the Wall Street Journal reports. Big national retailers are expected to slash selection by at least 15%, analysts say. Gone will be 30% of Kroger’s cereals, 20 of the 24 tape...

Obama Picks New Consumer Safety Chair

Wants SC education superintendent to head expanded agency

(Newser) - President Obama is turning to South Carolina's former education superintendent to head an expanded Consumer Product Safety Commission, an embattled agency that has been criticized by advocates for being too cozy with industry, the AP reports. The president was set today to propose two more seats on the panel and...

Requiem for the View-Master
 Requiem for the View-Master 
Mar 14, 2009 6:30 PM CDT

Requiem for the View-Master

(Newser) - Fisher-Price isn’t stopping production on its 3-D viewer, the View-Master, but it will no longer produce the huge catalog of picture-wheels that have delighted and enlightened generations of Americans, laments the Economist. The company will publish just a small number of children’s reels for the device that gave...

Amazon Leads Charge Against Clamshell Packaging

(Newser) - Stories of angry and even injured customers have inspired companies to ditch sealed clamshell packaging for easy-to-open alternatives, the New York Times reports. Amazon leads the pack, working with suppliers to ship products in plain cardboard boxes ahead of the holidays. Even some offline companies, which rely on clamshells to...

Shopping in US Looks Like the 1970s: Analyst

Automotive industry, discounters predict permanent shift

(Newser) - Retailers and marketers are closely watching American shopping trends, knowing that recession habits can linger for years, the AP reports. Studies show that 63% of Americans have cut down spending by coupon-cutting, biking to work, and buying store brands. They're also buying smaller cars and shopping at discounters. "We...

Most Returned Electronics Aren't Broken

Consumers often can't figure out how to use them

(Newser) - Just 5% of the electronics that consumers return to stores actually don’t work, though often the buyers believe they’re broken, a new study says. In 68% of cases, “they thought it was defective when it wasn't, or there was an expectation gap,” an executive of the...

Stocks Rise as Traders Find Signs for Optimism

Spending, productivity outpace estimates

(Newser) - US stocks rose today, Bloomberg reports, boosted by news that back-to-school and luxury shopping outpaced forecasts, along with a spike in worker productivity and a slowdown in labor costs. The Dow climbed 57.88 to 13,363.35. The Nasdaq gained 8.37 to finish at 2,614.32, and...

Companies Cash In on Food Scare
Companies Cash In on Food Scare
Jul 23, 2007 6:05 PM CDT

Companies Cash In on Food Scare

As fears about imports from China mount, premium products flourish

(Newser) - The contaminated-import crisis, set off when potentially dangerous products from China turned up on the shelves of pet stores, supermarkets, and drugstores, has meant bigger profits for clever companies. BusinessWeek looks at several strategies: using only fresh, local ingredients in premium products; finding ingredients from somewhere other than China; and...

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