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Not surprisingly, Shiffert turns up his nose at Pampers. He points out that the plastic outer covers have to be removed before the paper filler is flushed down a toilet, and that it sometimes clogs up plumbing. P. & G. executives contend that clogging seldom if ever occurs. Some time ago, Shiffert's group hired a Manhattan market-research firm, Drake Sheehan/Stewart Dougall, which concluded that the No. 1 need of the diaper service is to develop an odor-free container. That task has been entrusted to the Arthur D. Little Inc., a management-consultant firm, and Shiffert claims that such a container is "about a year away." At the very least, the threat of disposables has inspired the diaper-service industry to seek improvement. As Shiffert says: "There is nothing like fear to motivate a businessman."