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Report on Current Affairs
See what you think guys! Needs a bit of reworking half-way through.
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Report on Current Affairs
In 2006, Michael Grail, respected scientist and head of the Domestic Cleaning Products and Chemicals Association, estimated that the 'washing out' of clothes [the premature loss of colour in garments] costs the average household up to £134.39 a year. This cost derives from a number of factors; the most widely recognized being clothes that are discarded earlier than they otherwise would be, owing to their having been 'washed out'. Professor Grail stipulates two causes for this. The first relates to the investment households may make in their choice of washing powder or relevant cleaning product. "Washing powder of a sub-standard quality", he writes, "is, from an objective viewpoint, the chief cause of garments losing their pigment prematurely." The second relates to the quality of the clothes being washed. "These garments" he states, "are most likely mass produced in factories or sweatshops, where the chief aim of the businesses operating them is to maximize industrial output in order to maintain or increase commercial productivity." As a result, "... The dying process [or processes] used may not necessarily be designed with the aim of prolonging or extending duration of pigment." Grail's report has shocked many of its readers, and there are rumors circulating Whitehall that it has been earmarked for a Commons debate. "I never knew that cheap washing powder cost us that much in the long run.", says Debbie Johnson of Sussex. "I've always invested in the less expensive brands because I don't really have the money to do otherwise. Now though, I guess I'll have to." Since the release of Grail's report, sales of branded washing powder judged to be of 'inferior quality' has decreased by 7%. This means big gains for those other household brands, granting them a wider platform of access to customers. Robert Singer, of QuikClean Industries, remarks: "We at QuikClean are happy that Professor Grail's report has been made public, and expect an increase of sales in areas of the market previously held by other, less prestigious brands, as ours." Professor Grail advises those less financially amenable members of the community wishing to change their brand of washing powder that it is not entirely necessary to do so. "I see no problem with these consumers continuing to use their current washing powder, but suggest buying a brand of higher quality, for want of a better word, to use for their best garments." Michael Grail is due to be awarded an OBE on the 15th of April, next month.
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