What Does “New and Improved” Actually Mean?

Monday, 03 May 2010 | by Pat's Picks

We read it all the time, plastered on the front of packages: Now, New and Improved! But what does “new and improved” really mean? The Boston Globe says one Massachusetts lab is dedicated to answering that question for the booming laundry detergent industry. The lab tests about 260 detergents a year to analyze what, if any, changes have been made to the formulas. It was set up more than 20 years ago “as a way to spread the cost of the expensive analysis among detergent makers.”