P&G going green

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Procter & Gamble Co. announced plans to become more environmentally friendly by reducing the size of its packaging for its liquid detergent, a newspaper reported Wednesday.

The company, whose products range from Gillette razors to Pamper diapers, said it will use smaller bottles of double concentrate for its $4 billion North American liquid detergent output, according to the Financial Times.

P&G's (Charts, Fortune 500) liquid detergents dominate in the U.S. with a market share of more than 60 percent, led by its leading Tide brand, the paper said.

The move comes as P&G's largest customer Wal-Mart Inc. (Charts, Fortune 500) is pushing suppliers to cut packaging by at least 5 percent, the FT reported.

The Cincinnati-based company will carry out a nationwide roll out of its smaller packaging for Tide and other brands in September, P&G's Chief Financial Officer Clayt Daley told FT.

Daley said the company expects to face higher costs with the introduction of the new products, including converting its packaging molds, in-store materials and higher marketing costs, the paper reported.

According to the FT, manufacturers tend to spend more on persuading customers that they are not spending more for a smaller package with a higher concentrate.

In 2005, P&G's top competitor Unilever (Charts) launched its higher concentrated liquid detergent "Small and Mighty" in the U.S. Unilever estimates the product reduces packaging by more than 40 percent, water usage by about 60 percent, and shipping volumes by 60 percent, the paper said.

Other P&G competitors include Johnson & Johnson (Charts, Fortune 500) and Kimberly-Clark Corp (Charts, Fortune 500).