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The article discusses missteps made by Cincinnati, Ohio, consumer products company Procter & Gamble (P&G) in marketing cheap diapers to China's middle class rather than marketing higher-end products. According to the article, P&G introduced a line of premium Pampers brand diapers in China with the claim that they were made in Japan, which the article states appeals to Chinese consumers. The article discusses P&G's competition with Japanese firm Kao Corp., the makers of Merries diapers. The article presents comments from P&G chief executive A.G. Lafley.

The article discusses a diaper controversy at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Consumers were angered when Wal-Mart stopped offering to match the price at which rival Dollar General Corp. was selling Pampers brand diapers from Procter & Gamble Co. Wal-Mart acted in part because its diaper packages were bigger than Dollar General's, resulting in large discounts for Wal-Mart customers. Wal-Mart has begun training staff on how so-called price-matching promotions are supposed to work.

The article discusses how the consumer goods company Procter & Gamble has increased its production of products for adults with incontinence such as adult diapers in part due to the declining birth rate in the U.S. Topics include how people spend more money over time on incontinence products than on baby diapers, how while births are flat the aging U.S. population is increasing, and how others such as toy maker Hasbro Inc. are catering to the elderly.

The article reports on the plan by e-commerce site Amazon.com Inc. to launch its Elements brand of diapers and wipes in 2014.

The article looks at consumer products company Kimberly-Clark Corp., reporting on trends affecting it in the disposable diaper market, noting its sales figures in various product categories, and discussing its strategic planning.