All content in this article is based on official and reliable sources
Preface
Early last month, Procter & Gamble again announced a recall of the problematic product.
Among them, the recall is their laundry pods, and the reason for the recall is because the packaging is defective, which is easy to cause harm to the human body.
Soon Procter & Gamble recalled and removed the related products from the United States and Canada, but many consumers found that they were not removed from the shelves in China.
It is important to know that when P&G recalls problematic goods, it is not the first time that it does not recall products sold in China.
So why does Procter & Gamble not recall China every time it recalls a problematic product?
Procter & Gamble recalls problematic laundry pods
Procter & Gamble is one of the world's largest consumer goods companies, and it is involved in a wide range of fields, whether it is toiletries, maternal and baby products, and skin care products.
Once upon a time, Procter & Gamble occupied the vast majority of the Chinese market, and no matter where they were, they could basically see their products.
Moreover, their products have once become the choice of thousands of Chinese families, such as Skincare, Crest, Hushubao, Pantene, Rejoice and other well-known brands belong to Procter & Gamble.
It can be seen that P&G is involved in many product fields.
However, in recent years, the reputation of Procter & Gamble products in China has been declining.
In addition to the rise of domestic products, Procter & Gamble is also very controversial in the handling of many issues.
In early April, Procter & Gamble announced that it would recall laundry pod products with packaging defects.
Source: Jinyang.com's report on April 9, 2024 on "Procter & Gamble recalls about 8.26 million bags of laundry pods and other washing products, which do not involve the Chinese market for the time being".
It is reported that the reason for the recall is that the packaging of these laundry pods has a relatively large safety hazard, because the zipper track of these outer packaging is easy to crack, thus exposing some chemicals of the product to the air.
If children are exposed to this chemical-laden environment for long periods of time, they can easily lead to seizures, coma, and eye damage or burns.
After all, the active agent in the laundry pod is very permeable to the skin, so if the laundry pod is not packaged properly, it will have a great impact on children.
Prior to Procter & Gamble's recall, there had been a number of incidents in the U.S. of children coming into contact with laundry pod products, including cases of accidental ingestion.
We all know that laundry pods are very good-looking, and they are very small for convenience, just like candy, and the packaging is unqualified and easy for children to mistake for candy, so they can eat it by mistake.
It is because of these various considerations that P&G finally announced a recall of products packaged with defective batches.
Soon after, 8.26 million bags of unsold laundry pods and other products were recalled in the United States and Canada, and consumers were also directed to check the official website to verify whether their products need to be recalled.
Once it is confirmed that the product needs to be recalled, the consumer can also get a refund, or replace it with a new qualified product, and can also receive a cabinet lock to store the laundry.
However, some Chinese consumers soon discovered that Procter & Gamble's approach was only aimed at the North American market, but it turned a deaf ear to the Chinese market.
This inevitably raises the question of why the Chinese market should be treated differently, and is it not enough for Chinese consumers to attract the attention of Procter & Gamble?
You must know that Procter & Gamble has a problematic recall, but this is not the first time that something has happened in the Chinese market.
Procter & Gamble's products were found to be carcinogens benzene
In 2021, Procter & Gamble announced that a number of spray care products of four brands including Pantene produced in the United States were detected with benzene, a carcinogen.
Procter & Gamble said that there should be no "benzene" in the product.
Source: CCTV on December 20, 2021 on "Procter & Gamble's Pantene and other products were exposed to the detection of first-class carcinogen benzene, and the response said that it did not involve the Chinese market and was questioned by consumers".
However, Procter & Gamble claimed that the amount of benzene exposed to these products was not expected to cause adverse health effects, but decided to recall them out of an abundance of caution.
It is important to know that the products mentioned by Procter & Gamble are also sold in large quantities in the Chinese market, but at the time of the recall, Procter & Gamble only recalled products from the North American market.
At that time, Procter & Gamble explained that it did not recall the Chinese products, saying that the products involved in the case were only related to some batches produced in North America, and China did not import products made in North America.
After all, Procter & Gamble has a subsidiary in Guangzhou, and this argument is indeed convincing logically speaking.
However, Procter & Gamble continues to say that the shampoo and hair care products produced and sold in the Chinese market meet the estimated national standards and can be used with confidence.
However, many consumers are still very skeptical of P&G's approach.
It may be that the products in the Chinese market are produced in China, as Procter & Gamble said, but consumers say that the carcinogens are only related to the place of production? Does it really have nothing to do with the formula and raw materials of the product?
And this is not the first time that Procter & Gamble has been found to contain carcinogens.
In 2017, the Hong Kong Consumer Council detected that Procter & Gamble's Sassoon, Pantene, Icalu, and Head & Shoulders shampoos contained dioxane.
The harm of this substance to the human body is very great, and it may cause great damage to the liver, kidneys and nerves of the human body, and may even cause acute poisoning and death.
This substance is used because it can be used as a solvent, emulsifier, detergent, etc.
But despite this, Procter & Gamble only downplayed the relevant products that are not recalled to the Chinese market, and the production batches are different, and the production sites are different.
This time, the quality problems of the packaging of laundry pods and other products, Procter & Gamble's reply is still not related to the Chinese market.
He also said that China's washing products are all locally produced in China and are in line with national standards.
It can only be said that Procter & Gamble's answer is too casual.
In the North American market, a recall of problematic products has been announced, but there is no movement in China, so can't you respect Chinese consumers?
Even if there is really no problem, a data statement should be issued to reassure Chinese consumers.
Every time there is a problem with a product, there is no problem if it is not produced in North America, and how many Chinese consumers can accept it.
And last year, when Procter & Gamble's Skincare soap was exposed to contain fluorescent agents, you must know that this ingredient is harmful to the human body.
But I never thought that the official said that the additives are compliant and legal, and normal use will not affect health.
Netizens are really speechless about this, but from the bottom of their hearts, they have greatly discounted the products of Shufujia.
Recently, two netizens exposed the existence of blades on the soap within a month.
Although Procter & Gamble is also actively responding to this matter, Procter & Gamble, which is caught in the public opinion, still loses its original advantage in the Chinese market.
You must know that with the continuous rise of domestic consumer daily necessities, P&G's market share has been gradually squeezed.
However, the successive handling of problems in the Chinese market is so negative, which naturally makes many Chinese consumers lose confidence in it.
Then Procter & Gamble's share of the Chinese market is definitely getting smaller and smaller.
epilogue
If P&G wants to restore the confidence of Chinese consumers, it should be more attentive in dealing with the negative events in the Chinese market, and it should also pay more attention to the safety and performance of products.
Otherwise, in today's era of the rise of domestic products, Procter & Gamble, an American company, is likely to lose the Chinese market.
It can be seen that if an enterprise wants to develop for a long time, in addition to the safety and reliability of product quality, it must also fully consider the problem from the perspective of consumers.