Ipod at Target

Tim Haley kindly sent in this picture of Ipod packaging at Target. Apple, with its wonderfully innovative design, has been a laggard in integrating sustainability into its products versus its other competitors (perhaps the start of this, however, may be the new MacBook). The amount of packaging for a tiny Ipod and a gift card is atrocious.

My assumed rationale behind this amount of packaging: Theft prevention, shelf presence.

Alternative considerations: Packaging shown above is not particularly functional to the end consumer. Why not put the product in a reusable, transparent security case that is either provided by Target, or designed in such a way that it is a protective case for the consumer? Either that, or partner with one of Apple's accessory companies, i.e. Belkin - and provide something of value to them?

To contact Apple, go here:

Apple Store (Consumer) (800) MY-APPLE (800-692-7753)
U.S. iPod and Mac technical support: 1-800-APL-CARE (1-800-275-2273)
Canada technical support: 1-800-263-3394

Logitech Mice

I started a new job on Monday and as part of this job I got a new computer with a new mouse. I was appalled at how much packaging came with this particular mouse, and I don't think that it's an isolated incident. Now, a mouse is about 2.5 inches by 6 inches by 2 inches, and this package was about 6-8 times the size of it. On the outside was a cardboard sleeve, then there was a moulded polystyrene tray, with a PET cover on top of it where the mouse was hidden along with a manual at the back.

My assumed rationale behind this amount of packaging: To prevent theft, protect the product inside, ease of use for merchandising, and to have a "window" for the product to be seen in the store.

Alternative considerations: Logitech could have just had a singular PET 1 box and perhaps a cardboard insert with instructions on how to use the mouse. There is no need for the polystyrene tray nor the cardboard box.

To let Logitech know, send them an email here.

Alternatively, they can be contacted here:


+1 866-934-5644
Monday - Friday: 6am - 6pm PST

Americas Headquarters
6505 Kaiser Dr.
Fremont, CA 94555 USA
+1 510-795-8500
Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 5:00pm PST

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.

Secret Clinical Strength

Today, I was at the pharmacy and I noticed this product on the shelf: Secret Clinical Strength. First of all, there were a couple elements about this product that I found strange.

a) First, it was $8!!!! That sounded like a trading up scheme to me.
b) Second, it was packaged in a box, while normal deodorant plastic containers are sufficient enough to protect the contents.
c) The claims on the point of purchase material did not seem to differ so much from conventional deodorant:

- Clinically proven, prescription-strength wetness protection
- Odor-fighting capsules that absorb odor (and release scent) all day to keep you smelling clean and fresh
- Skin-soothing conditioners

You're paying a 100% premium for "capsules"? After looking at it, I simply felt insulted that they would even put such a product on the market.

My assumed rationale behind this amount of packaging: I believe that the box is there to create a look of differentiation on the shelf from other deodorant products, which are typically just a stick in a plastic container. Similarly, I believe it is to create a premium "look" to the product.

Alternative considerations: Get rid of the box and save a couple trees. Change the label instead! A product that really is "clinical strength" or that works above and beyond that of its competition does not need a box to hide in.


Procter & Gamble:
1 800 879 8433
Web: http://pg.custhelp.com

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.

Packaging on CDs (and DVDs)

I have to admit, that I am a big purchaser of CDs. I love music. Thankfully, about 60% of my purchases have shifted over to ITunes, which is a bit more friendly of an option, but really, I am a sucker for liner notes.

There are two beefs I have with CD packaging. For as long as I have been purchasing CDs in Canada and sometimes in the US, the product is wrapped in a hard to open cellophane wrapper that requires the aid of a sharp object. Then on top of that, I found out that most CD jewel cases are made of polystyrene, which is hard to recycle.

My assumed rationale behind the amount of packaging: The cellophane wrapper, I believe, is to prevent the theft of the CD inside. It is also used as a way to protect the CD case? In terms of CD jewel cases being made of polystyrene, I believe this is used because it's a rigid plastic that is relatively inexpensive.

Alternative considerations: I have noticed that in the UK, CDs in stores only have a sticker at the top and bottom of the CD case to make it difficult to access by a thief, instead of being covered by a full sheath of plastic. This significantly reduces the amount of cellophane, which is not recyclable. Security cases also seem to be a feasible option instead of using the cellophane. In terms of the material that CD jewel cases are made of, companies can look into HDPE or PET plastic. Or, musicians can look into gatefold cardboard cases, which can used recycled paper.

Contact the Canadian Recording Industry of Canada:
85 Mowat Avenue
Toronto, Ontario
M6K 3E3
Phone: (416) 967-7272
Fax: (416) 967-9415
Email at info@cria.ca

Contact the Recording Industry Association of America:
1025 F ST N.W., 10th Floor
Washington, D.C.
20004
Phone: (202) 775-0101
website: http://www.riaa.com/

Nestle Turtles 317g

During the December holiday season, it is an insane time for candy and chocolate in terms of giving, receiving, and consuming. From working with candy, December was the time, even beyond Halloween, when sales of candy and chocolate would be off the charts. It could make or break you for the year. This year, one of the items I was lucky to receive was a box of Nestle Turtles 317g. Many of you have probably had these before - they are pecan clusters covered in caramel, then covered in milk chocolate. To put it succinctly, they're yummy. I can recall that my first interactions with Turtles for about 20 years were that the box was a plain rectangular one with plastic trays of the Turtles. Often times, the pecans would taste stale. About 2 years ago, a new box came on to the market - it is detailed here. However, when I opened the box, I was dismayed to find that it was only about half full. To add insult to injury, the first packaged Turtle that I picked up was not hermetically sealed, leaving me a bit skeptical as to its safety. I also had not realized that the box expanded to be more easily accessed, as there was no indication anywhere on the box - it was not until I had researched the packaging online that I realized that it had this benefit.

My assumed rationale behind the amount of packaging: Nestle decided to individually wrap the Turtles for freshness, which up front, seems wasteful but appears to be less packaging than the previous tray format. The box is configured such that it is like a "candy dish". Its square front makes it more easily merchandised in a store and easy to ship like its predecessor tray package, and the Turtles are less likely to "fall out of place", as they were in the Turtles tray that would have been placed on its side. It is great too that they have been able to use cardboard, which disintegrates quickly.

Alternative considerations: The box is overall, well designed for its user and is far superior to its predecessor. However, Nestle could do well with making the box a bit smaller. Opening a box of chocolates to find that it is half empty is disappointing. This could also help in reducing shipping costs for Nestle as well as its retailers. There is no indication whether or not the box is made of recycled cardboard.

Contact Nestle:
UPC: 059800250467
by phone: 1-800 387 4636
online: https://www.nestle.ca/en/contactus/index

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

Convenient tuna snacks

Convenience usually means delivering a product to a consumer in the least amount of time in the cleanest and freshest way possible. However, what this usually translates into is a whole lot of packaging waste. While in the past, so-called convenient food involved only "unhealthy" snacks like chips and milk chocolate, lately they've included a host of healthy options, such as these portable protein tuna snacks: Clover Leaf Tuna Salad (Canada), Oceans Snackits (Canada) and Starkist Lunch to Go (US). While it can be applauded that these products are offering a healthier option versus many of their convenience counterparts, most of these tuna snack products are entombed in plastic unnecessarily.

What is included in the tuna kit? On the outside is a clamshell type plastic container, a small tin can of tuna, crackers wrapped in cellophane, a spreading stick (wrapped in plastic), as well as an optional napkin.







My assumed rationale behind the amount of packaging: To keep all the components fresh - crackers should be crisp, tuna should be fresh. Crackers shouldn't be crushed. The front panel should also allow for merchandising. Everything inside should allow for convenience and should be low on cost.

Alternative considerations: Because of the small size of the serving, it is unlikely that tuna snacks would require a resealable package. (Where would one store the tuna and crackers, if they were not finished? You'd need separate containers) Therefore, the large plastic container that is resealable is unnecessary. I like the Clover Leaf package, that is a plastic tray with a cardboard top, which would biodegrade faster and creates much less plastic waste. The cardboard top also serves as the merchandising surface, while in the Oceans Snackit and Gold Seal Tuna Snacks there is a separate piece of cardboard inside the plastic container that acts as the merchandising surface. Keep in mind also, that in "convenience" situations, there aren't a lot of facilities for recycling products, so I believe the Clover Leaf package is superior. Lastly - is it necessary to cover the spreading stick in plastic?


What can you do? Leave some comments. Or, write to some of the manufacturers whose tuna kits are unnecessarily packaged:

Ocean Fisheries Ltd.
Sales and Marketing Division
13140 Rice Mill Road
Richmond BC, Canada
V6W 1A1
Phone: 604-272-2552
Fax 604-272-5933
Email: talktous@oceanfish.com


Gold Seal Head Office
Foot of Gore Avenue
Vancouver, BC
V6A 2Y7
Canada
Phone: 604.681.0211
Email: feedback@goldseal.ca

Starkist tuna in the US can be contacted here.