Three major laundry detergent manufacturers have concentrated their powdered detergents by reducing the proportion of inactive ingredients in the detergent formulas  The concentrated detergents will be sold in smaller packages  In explaining the change, the manufacturers cited the desire to reduce cardboard packaging and other production costs
Market analysts predict that the decision of these three manufacturers, who control 80 percent of the laundry detergent market, will eventually bring about the virtual disappearance of old-style bulky detergents
Some analysts believe that consumers will have to pay a greater cost per load of laundry to use the new concentrated detergent than they did to use the old-style detergent.