Excessive Shipping Packaging - Dell and Amazon

Chris J sent me the following link that showed the packaging that a USB key came in from Dell. I have also encountered the same problem from Amazon. A really large box for a small product - tons of paper inside to cushion the product.

My assumed rationale behind this amount of packaging: I believe that the companies are used to shipping larger items and don't have so many configurations of boxes. They do not want to ship a product that could be broken, so use lots of paper to cushion the product.

Alternative considerations: Offer smaller boxes! They could save on shipping costs. Try shipping things in kraft paper envelopes.

Contact Dell by email here or via phone at 1-800-624-9897.

Contact Amazon by filling out this email form.

Razor blade packaging

Although it doesn't seem like it, summer is coming up soon, and society kind of frowns upon women who have Sasquatch type legs. While I was in the razor section of the drugstore the other day, I couldn't help but realize how grossly overpackaged razors are. The above, Gillette Venus, is just an example - the package is about 4 times the size of its contents, and I did a bit more research and found out the plastic package is made out of PVC, the most toxic plastic you can find. Oy!

The Gillette Venus is not the only offender. Other examples include:

Gillette Fusion (5 blades!?)
Gillette M3Power
Gillette M3Power Nitro
Gillette Mach 3
Schick Quattro
Schick Quattro for Women
Schick Intuition


My assumed rationale behind this amount of packaging: A number of reasons - first is aesthetics and marketing - razors were a commodity item that used to be purchased in cardboard boxes. Now they seem to be accompanied by splashy advertising (and splashy packaging to boot) and need to have that presence on shelf. Second, is theft - I hear razors are a favourite to steal - not sure about the actual razor, but I heard that razor blades are definitely stolen often and it is the reason why when you purchase refill blades, they are behind a plastic case with an alarm system. The rigid plastic container likely makes it hard to remove the razor blades from the package.

Alternative considerations: First, replace the plastic with perhaps a #1 or #2 plastic that is less toxic. Reduce the package size a bit and double face them. There is so much that can be done that is much less harmful!

The two big offenders of these razors are Schick and Procter & Gamble:

Schick:
Schick Consumer Affairs
P.O. Box 537, Neenah, WI 54957
Phone: 1.800.SHAVERS (1.800.742.8377)
Web:
http://www.shaving.com/feedback.asp

Procter & Gamble:
1 800 879 8433
Web: http://pggillette.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/pggillette.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php

Maxalt Melt

The above product, Maxalt Melt, is a drug manufactured by Merck, to treat migraines and comes courtesy of Adrian Bailey. Now, I have to agree with him that the product is RIDICULOUSLY packaged. He says:

"Each tablet is individually foil wrapped, put in its own sachet, enclosed with another two sachets in a blue plastic box, and two boxes are put in a carton."

My assumed rationale behind this amount of packaging: I see all this packaging for the purpose of convenience and safety. Surely, an aluminum blister pack is sufficient to keep a product away from oxygen or away from water. But a sachet too? I would assume that the blue box is to keep the product protected in your purse - but if the product is already in a blister pack and a sachet, surely you don't need the blue box. At this point, I would think that it becomes a pain for the patient to get to the actual drug.

Alternative considerations: Get rid of the blue box and the sachet. Place all the tablets into a blister pack sheet of 6 or 12 with perforated edges and place into a box. Because this is a behind the counter item, how the box looks is not important.

The product is manufactured by Merck. To give them some feedback about this product, see below:

Headquarters:
Merck & Co., Inc.
One Merck Drive
P.O. Box 100
Whitehouse Station, NJ 08889-0100 USA
Phone: 908-423-1000
Monday-Friday 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM ET

Local contacts for your particular country can be found here.

Always Dri-Liners

Alert: Do not read on if you are faint of heart in regards to "that time of the month".

That time of the month is already bad enough as is. Everything is upsetting. You feel like everyone is out to get you. Nothing is going right. You're crampy. You have weird cravings for poutine (at least I do.) I never thought about it until after I started Packaging Probe, but did you ever notice how much garbage comes from that time of the month? Tons. Apparently, 12 BILLION pads and tampons are disposed of each year. In addition to that mental image being a little gross, can you imagine the impact all the plastic has on the environment? I shudder to think. Although I have been too wimpy as of yet to make the switch over to The Keeper, it would do some good for tampon, maxi pad and pantiliner companies to reduce their packaging even slightly - it would save them money and reduce waste overall waste. See below for the Always Dri-Liner:




My assumed rationale behind the amount of packaging: It's in a little pouch so you can sneak it into your purse somewhat subtly and conveniently. The plastic is there to protect it from the other things in your purse.

Alternative considerations: The wax paper backing is completely unnecessary - its use in the current configuration is so it doesn't stick to the plastic (!) and provides instructions on how to use the pantiliner (!). Similarly, the plastic is not really necessary. Say you spilled something in your bag - since the pantiliner is not hermetically sealed it would get wet anyway. Similarly, the plastic wrapper for the case of "sanitary disposal" does not really apply since you are throwing it in the garbage anyway. As a result, I would recommend that Always could try having a wax paper wrapper with the "instructions" on them. As a side note: the perforated sides of Always maxi pads and pantiliners are so noisy when you open the package that you might as well yell in the bathroom "EVERYONE! I AM ON MY PERIOD!!!!!!" P&G needs to get on that design flaw also. And finally, the box that it comes in has a plastic window - is it really necessary for us to see what pantiliners look like? Save the plastic and stick with the recyclable and quickly biodegradable boxboard.

Always, via Procter & Gamble
1 800 879 8433
Email them and use UPC number 03700031349 6