Environmentally friendly packaging overlooked?

Question

with more and more companies toting out products that are environmentally friendly or they claim that its so. consumers would buy organic and recycled products but even with that good will, most packaging that are used to package these products are either non-biodegradable/recyclable, overpackaged, or unneccesary. one example is i was at trader joes and one of the things i wanted to buy was some organic cantalopes, it was cool since its organic but what got me was that it was individually bagged in this nylon net which cant be recycled i was like wtf and decided not to get it in the end. so now im wondering when u go out and buy environmentally friendly products, do u look for the amount of packaging or what type of packaging is it to pass it as a sound product to buy?

Answer 1

I try to, but as you pointed out in the Trader Joe's example it isn't always easy.  What was with the net?   Cantaloupes come in their own package!!!

An article a few months back in The New York Times was about this very topic.  Coca-Cola recently redesigned it's 16 ounce bottle to use 15% less plastic and still managed to keep the traditional coke bottle shape.  Home Depot is working with its vendors and supplies to reduce all product packaging by 20% within the next two years.  Cell phone provider Alcatel made its packages three times small and has been working on reducing its carbon footprint to zero (this includes purchased offsets).

I think the worst offenders right now are the pharmaceutical companies.  I can't find allergy medicine that isn't in packed in a box and then holds the pills on a plastic and foil sheet.  Almost all pain relief pills are in a box, with an instruction sheet and then in a bottle with a cotton ball insert.  I've yet to find a maker of either of these products that is eco-friendly.

Things seem to be getting better, but we have a long way to go.

Answer 2

The main problem I have with this, is product tampering.  If I get a product in a non-recyclable container that has been damaged, I can take it for return because I can show it may have been tampered with.

If I buy something loose or non-packaged (lets say vegetables like carrots for example) and some sicko puts shards of razor blades or an organic poison into the carrot... how do I know?  And when I get sick, or injured, how do I make the company that supplied the product own up to not protecting the customer by checking their products thoroughly?

The world is sick, when things like this happen at all.  I hate to say it, but until you can show me a way to protect myself from people like this (and don't say it doesn't happen that often or it's only to someone else... that's what the Amish in Ohio were thinking this year, look what happened to them!) then I'm not going to buy products that I don't feel safe about.

My health comes first, then the environment around me...

Answer 3

The manufacturers are responding to the market ~ as long as we consumers are willing to buy products in non recyclable and plastic containers, they will keep producing it.

The way to stop this means we have to change our shopping habits. Buy produce "loose" or from farmers markets, using bags brought from home. Meat purchases should come from the butcher where they are wrapped in wax paper instead of foam trays. And, only buy products that are in containers that are fully recyclable ~ such as glass or paper. When given the option,always purchase foods out of bulk bins and avoid packaging altogether.

Steer clear from plastic as much as possible,~ regardless of how those plastics are numbered, they are not as recyclable as the industry would have us believe.

Here's a great link about the 7 misconceptions of recycling plastics.

Answer 4

when you need a box cutter to cut thru packaging that is really really really bad.

i bought all the florescent bulbs and had to cut them out of a package with a razor.

Answer 5

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