‘Back door price increase’: Consumer advocates push bill to regulate shrinkflation

Shoppers might soon need a magnifying glass at the grocery store to find products on the shelf.

That’s because items keep getting smaller and smaller.

Consumer advocates say “Shrinkflation”, the process of reducing a product’s size while keeping its price the same, is a sneaky way of making consumers pay more.

Edgar Dworsky, the founder and editor of www.consumerworld.org, is on a mission to make consumers aware of this practice.

He recently showed Boston 25 News several items that he found in local stores.

For example, Brawny paper towels went from having 120 sheets on a roll to 100 sheets.

He says producers “know most consumers are going to catch a price increase and they’re not going to like it. So maybe they can make the product a bit smaller, and that way, they’re in essence giving you a back door price increase.”

A federal bill is now under consideration to stop downsizing.

The Shrinkflation Prevention Act of 2024 says 10% of inflation in some product categories is driving by downsizing.

It also says shrinkflation “allows companies to profit of unaware consumers.”

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren is one of more than a dozen co-sponsors of the bill.

“There’s definitely a move afoot to get corporations to be more accountable for their labeling,” said Janet Domenitz, Executive Director of MassPirg. “We need much stronger regulations about marketing. We need transparency and they need to hear from us.”

Domenitz isn’t only worried about consumers being cheated by shrinkflation. She’s also concerned by the extra trash it creates.

“Most people have some sort of municipal garbage and recycling pickup and that’s not free. We pay for it as consumers, the cities and towns include it in their budgets. . .it costs us not just dollars and cents, but in the health of our environment.”

Dworsky showed Boston 25 News an old box of Kellogg’s Raisin Brand which contained 16.9 ounces of cereal and a new one that had 16.1 ounces.

He’s been making discoveries like this for 40 years so he’s keeping his optimism in check that regulatory changes will be made.

“I think the disclosure law is great, but I can’t even imagine a manufacturer putting on the package, ‘Look, New Smaller Size!’ That’s never going to happen.”

In a statement, the Senior Vice President of Product Policy and Head of Federal Affairs of the Consumer Brands Association Sarah Gallo said in part:

“The makers of America’s trusted household brands are closer to their customers and understand the pressures of inflation on American families better than any other industry. Our everyday products exist in highly competitive markets where consumers have many choices at many price points and we are always innovating to meet consumers’ evolving demands for various product sizes and sustainability. Further, the Federal Bank of San Francisco released an inflation report in May that found aggregate markups over the past three years are not unusual compared with previous economic recoveries, countering the misleading attacks on the industry. The industry remains focused on providing the best products at the most competitive price to consumers.”

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