For years (20 or more) laundry detergent came in a big plastic container of more than 100 ounces and it weighed about five pounds. It took up a lot of space in a grocery cart, and was a pain to lug in from the car, despite the convenient handle. It was better than a big box of powder, though, like my grandparents had to use. Plus, if you carried it around the grocery store instead of using a cart, and alternated hands, you could get a decent arm workout.
Then came the 2x concentration innovation, which reduced the packaging and weight by more than half. In my estimation, this lasted about 6 months. Or perhaps I didn't do much laundry during this period.
In the last three months we've gotten 3x concentration, reducing the packaging further. Problem is, my detergent container now looks exactly like my fabric softener container. This isn't just the detergent's fault. The fabric softener now comes in a white package instead of blue. I just poured laundry liquid into my Downy Ball, and I can't figure out how to get it out of there, or how much I've used, since I can't measure it with the laundry cap.
C'mon people, I'm a guy. I can barely do laundry at all, and now you are giving me detergent and fabric softener in the same sized, shaped and colored containers?
I suggest a compromise between the environmental benefits of smaller packaging and the male confusion resulting from same. Go back to 2x concentrate on the detergent, and put the fabric softener in blue containers. It cuts the old packaging materials in half, but is big enough to avoid Downy Ball blunders.
