* * * * *
Beating the Brand
A while ago (has it already been a month since I first saved the link?)
theferrett [1] ranted about packaging:
> And what do I get?
>
> A bag. Inside the bag is a big, heavy plastic container for each of my
> foodstuffs. And a cardboard box. When I get home after a five-minute walk,
> I unpack almost an armful of carrying cases for food that, once shucked
> away from the food itself, takes up a quarter of the trashcan. It's big,
> completely sealed material for a product that has no sauces or sloppy bits—
> an Iron Man armor for a dry chicken wrap.
>
> I didn't want that. I would have been just as happy with biodegradable
> cardboard or wax paper. Or even regular paper, for some of it. But no, the
> food I have is so heavily armored, as though it were going for a ride all
> the way to the fucking Andes, as opposed to sometimes a ten-foot walk to
> the other side of the room.
>
> I feel awful. It's gratuitous waste, designed for the convenience of
> American customers, and in this day and age of decreasing oil supplies, I'd
> be happy to have a slightly greasier carrying experience (so long as the
> bag didn't break) in exchange for not loading the landfills with an
> additional quarter-pound of garbage. And I think about the other thousands
> of meals being served in Rocky River alone, and I wonder how many of these
> take-out meals are going anywhere beyond, say, into the passenger seat of a
> car and onto a table. Do we need all this?
>
“theferrett: Wastelands [2]”
And I couldn't help but think about Mike Täht's [3] rant about branding [4]
and reaction to it [5].
I suspect most companies overpackage because of branding issues. Really, what
exactly is the difference between the dark sugar water known as Coke [6] and
the dark sugar water known as Pepsi [7]? [1] [8] One is just as good as the
other, right? [2] [9]
But perhaps a backlash is forming—an English documentary “Packaging is
Rubbish” (part 1 [10] part 2 [11] part 3 [12]) is a look at a movement
towards eliminating excess packaging (in fact, Lush [13], a cosmetics company
in England, has done away with packaging and is attempting to encourage other
companies to do the same).
[ 1] Well, for one thing, Coke has a more citrusy, less sweet flavor which I
find more refreshing than the cloyingly sweet Pepsi—and yes, I have
taken the Pepsi Challenge [14]. To me, Pepsi is eeeeeeeeeevil. But I
digress … [back] [15]
[ 2] Hell no! Coke is way better than that hellish swill known as Pepsi.
[back] [16]
[1]
http://theferrett.livejournal.com/
[2]
http://theferrett.livejournal.com/1103938.html
[3]
http://the-/
[4]
http://the-/
[5]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2003/06/10.1
[6]
http://www.coca-cola.com/
[7]
http://www.pepsi.com/
[8]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2008/06/28.1
[9]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2008/06/28.1
[10]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5LOHSTcuwI
[11]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6iUxD1SPUs
[12]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKxlsTUek1g
[13]
http://www.lush.co.uk/
[14]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepsi_Challenge
[15]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2008/06/28.1
[16]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2008/06/28.1
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