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Environmental sustainability and business don’t always go hand in hand, especially when it comes to product packaging. Retailers wrap up items that sometimes don’t need protection because of its natural coating.
Why would a retailer pack each banana in a separate plastic packaging, or sell halves of avocado in a plastic container? In terms of food packaging, everything seems to be clear, individually packaged ready-meals, or raw food is usually overpriced. So now I ask one question: who benefits from it? You’re right, the retailer, nor the customer or the environment. Society became lazy, we’re always in a rush…and the big companies are taking advantage of it! Unnecessary product packaging does nothing but only goes to the bin and pollutes the planet.
For sure, you can argue that we need packaging to preserve, deliver and maintain the necessary level of safety and hygiene of the product. But it's not always the case. Generally, marketers are trying to differentiate a product by packaging, adding needless details.
Packaging in e-commerce that delivers products through mail often over-packaged, putting a pre-boxed item in a second box, and sometimes even a third one, this practice is called the «Russian Doll». On top of that, they put a needless amount of translucent air pillows and similar cardboard protection. According to the survey by Clouder (UK), 40% of online deliveries are coming with packaging too big for the item ordered. Amazon, for instance, was being accused of a ridiculous amount of packaging, customers continue to share pictures of their online purchases.
Excessive packaging occurs everywhere in our life, from food, personal hygiene to take-away wrapping.
So what can we do as customers? These are 6 easy steps to follow:
Use reusable (e.g. cotton) bags instead of disposable plastic bags
Buy products with minimal packaging (e.g bar soap instead of liquid soap)
Buy fruit and vegetables loose instead of pre-packaged
Only buy what you really need, to avoid wastage
Purchase refills where they exist (e.g. detergents, cleaning products)
Buy products made from recycled materials
Cook your food at home, instead of getting ready meals at supermarkets
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Hope you enjoyed,
Maria
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