Sunday, January 17, 2010

No more unnecessary packaging !

We've all bought stuff that comes in multiple packaging, especially products that are a little bit more expensive.
Let's see, we have the product itself, the internal protective packaging, the cardboard box packaging, then in some malls/dept stores, the boxed product is then wrapped in a paper/plastic wrap to make it more exclusive and put into a paper/plastic bag.
So many layers.... so many unnecessary things that most people will just throw away.

Consumers (all of us) need to realize that :
- good quality products don't require extra packaging
- expensive products don't need unnecessary fancy packaging
we throw the packaging away once we get home anyway, so what's the point ?
- we need to search for a good quality product by the quality itself, not by how shiny and pretty the packaging is.

Yes.... they may need it because they stack up easily during storage
if they need to store them, store them in the box that it was shipped in, maybe an ordinary cardboard box with internal cardboard dividers.

or they may need the extra packaging to ensure the safety of the product during shipment.
But for some, the "safety measures" are only adding to the exclusivity of the product, meaning.... you don't really need the double box protection for something in a plastic container, you're only doing it to put a higher price tag and make the consumer feel like they've bought something expensive.

Some of the skincare products in the photo below come with extra paperbox packaging which I just throw away after I got home.


Extra packaging may be needed if the product is made out of glass....
Vitamins or Skin care products in glass containers, for example, they may need extra protection.
But more and more vitamin bottles and skin care products are using plastic containers instead of glass nowadays, rendering the protective packaging useless.
besides.... we can actually buy anything in glass bottles/glass containers without any protective packaging.
I've bought a supplement in glass bottles without one and I didn't break it on the way home.
Haven't we all bought wine , olive oil, tomato sauce, strawberry jam, honey ? They're all stored in a glass container, we don't break em that easily.


These are vitamins/supplement bottles and Some of these plastic bottles come with an extra cardboard/printed thick paper box, which are useless and again, are thrown away once I get home.

Conclusion :
Although some products do require extra packaging to keep the product safe.
But for a lot of the products :
Unnecessary Extra Cardboard Packaging over a Product is really NOT necessary !!

Advantages
For Companies :
- Yes Competition is tough out there, but instead of adding unnecessary packaging full of glitter, shine and color that's just going to go to waste, you need to really Focus on the quality of your product and consumers will find you.
- You get credit for caring more for the environment by giving out less waste
- More Profits because you don't spend extra for unnecessary packaging
- If you lower your product price because you don't have to pay for packaging and keep focusing on keeping the quality on your products, you might sell more products.

For Consumers :
- maybe.... companies will lower their price a bit because they don't need to spend money on extra packaging.... (maybe....)
- we know that we're not buying a product with unnecessary packaging, so we don't waste more garbage.

For Mother Earth :
- Less waste = less resources used = less trees being cut down to make paper = less deforestation = more natural habitat for animals = happier mother earth = less drastic climate change = happier us

It's a win win...
everybody happy.

2 comments:

Elaine Spitz said...

Great points. To consider: many towns and cities have recycling programs in place that include paper, cardboard, aluminum and plastic. You can refuse to purchase over-packaged products and then recycle or reuse the packaging that makes its way into your home by necessity.

blogger said...

Hi Elaine :)
I wish there's a recycling program here, but in most developing countries it is almost non existent.
I know a well designed packaging also helps to sell the product and I personally love a good design (product and graphic) but I feel that excessive packaging is a waste, it looks beautiful, but it's a waste.
I think designers and companies can create an equally beautiful packaging (and a good quality product)that use a minimum amount of material :)
Thanx for stopping by my blog :)