Green Packaging

By: Anikka Wattnem

I recently logged on to Amazon to check their price on an item and was suprized to find a message stating that they are working with manufacturers to reduce packaging. I was immediately elated! I forwarded the information to a friend who replied “That’s great but it won’t work everywhere”. His point was that most of the packaging is for display in the store. And it’s true innovative packinging does seem to draw my attention to a product. And any parent will tell you that toys are packaged so that the kids see and want everything on the shelf.

The EPA is having a conversation about the issue of overpackaging on its blog (http://blog.epa.gov/blog/2008/11/10/qotw-overpackaging/). The FTC apparently had a public workshop about claims of green packaging in April. There’s even a sustainasble packaging coalition. http://www.greenblue.org/activities_spc.html. A quick search on the Internet returned MILLIONS of pages about green packaging.

The issue seems to be clearly identified and hardly controversial. So how can we make it clear to manufacturers that less packaging is better? We can always put our money where our mouth is and buy products with less packaging. Or not use “optional” packaging such as plastic bags in the produce section. And there is certainly a movement towards using your own shopping bags in stores. You can write to manufacturers, but who knows if the right person will get the message.

My ideas to reduce your own packaging waste:

1. Reuse shipping materials such as boxes, “peanuts” and bubble wrap. You can even recycle buble envelopes if you open them carefully enough to be able seal them with tape.
2. Buy food in bulk and then repackage the items in reusualbe containers.
select packaging that is recycleable or ideally reusable by you
3. Buy from places that sell in flat packaging (these items often require assembaly)

Ultimately what most of us can really only control our own actions and influence those around us. Hopefully manufacturers will catch on!