Jul 06 2009
Dumb Packaging Critics
There was a recent post on TreeHugger.com about the worst examples of packaging design. I take exception to several of the examples chosen and the reasons cited why. (All images shown are via Treehugger.com)
Its plain that the people sending in the over packaged examples didn’t have a clue as to why they were packaged that way. Packaging is complicated and what you see in the final product is nothing compared to what goes on behind the scenes. Just because you perceive it to be overpackaged doesn’t mean it actually is.
Ranting about single serve bananas.
Single serve packaging is driven by consumers and is a growing packaging trend as consumers buy less and smaller packages. What’s the waste factor of buying too many bananas that get over ripe then throwing them away?
Photo credit: scrapthispack @ Flickr
One big box one little product:
In this example on the surface it looks like excess packaging but what is not seen is how products are picked and packed in a large shipping and distribution complex.
For efficiency (and costs) there are a limited number of sizes of shipping containers at most facilities. The product is placed in the smallest size container available then dunnage material is used to fill the void. That’s why you see some large containers with a small product, especially if only one item is ordered. No one mentions that having a shipping container to fit every size product would dramatically increase the shipping costs or the cost of the actual product.
Make it easy on Mom:
I take issue with this package too but not because it’s wasteful but because its not very healthy. But in fact it has been redesigned to reduce the amount of packaging from the original product. It does satisfy the consumers need for convenience and ease of use which is a top priority for busy moms.
So many people are ripping convenience packaging but who is actually giving it up?
Let me buy you a dozen damaged roses:
Very fragile items sometimes require extra packaging especially of the come offshore. I don’t know where these roses come from but I do know the followers will be in pristine condition when the sleeve is taken off. I hate to buy roses that last only a day or two or the stems are crimped that you don’t find out till you get them home. I happened to know that some fine florists use this type packaging to protect the delicate flowers in an arrangement. Very fragile fruit also gets wrapped in this manner for air freight shipments.
Can you say Wrap-Rage?
Lastly the poor packaging clamshell. Yes, it is very hard and sometimes dangerous to open but it’s the consumer theft of the contents that cause part of the problem.
Packaging evolved in response to a consumer need. Clamshells do other things besides theft deterrent such as merchandise the product and allow people to see what is inside. The sonic welding part is the primary problem that keeps you from popping it open.
Every holiday clamshells get blasted by the media with horrors stories of hospital visits and so on. The point is they don’t really know why packages are made that way. It just makes better media coverage to talk about bad packaging than what a good job it does.
So before you rant and rave about bad, bad packaging why not ask an expert first if there is a better way to solve the problem. The packaging community is working very hard to satisfy the consumers request for less and better packaging.
18 responses so far
18 Responses to “Dumb Packaging Critics”
Posts
re. single serve bananas: I don’t think the rant is about offering a single banana for purchase; I think everyone has grabbed a single banana from a convenience store or coffee house.
The rant is about the cardboard tray and shrinkwrap that surrounds it. Bananas come PREpackaged . . . naturally.
I disagree on the 2nd example, I have been to many of these fulfillment centers, it comes down to poor planning and training, there is no way that was the smallest box available, if it was, then they need to restructure their stock boxes.
I agree with your comments about packaging, especially the clamshell packaging as the consumers don’t know the history behind how clamshells came to be. Where would the big box stores be today with drastically increased staff to explain each item, increased returns and elevated levels of damaged product?
Packaging is essential to the product, but sometimes the way it is done is just wasteful. It is not necessary for the banana and that is a huge box for one little flash drive! Much smaller packaging could be used, so there is not so much waste.
I love how this post makes me think. On one hand, putting a little tiny flash drive in a huge box seems wasteful. On the other, if I were a flash drive manufacturer or a bricks and mortar retailer that sells flash drives, I’d want to put them in a bigger box too to prevent theft. Sad but true.
As for bananas, protecting them during shipping is better than having a bunch of bananas that no one will buy.
As a nation, I think we have to take the good with the bad. If you can’t grow bananas in your back yard, but you want to eat them, you’ll have to buy them packaged in the way that works best for everyone who needs to be satisfied in the distribution chain.
The packaging on the bananas is wasteful no doubt. Small item in a little box, not as bad…it’s not really THAT big & dM’s point about theft is a good one. Or maybe they reused a box? I gave up Lunchables a long time ago…everybody else should too. As for the roses, buy local flowers in season, not ones that have to be shipped from afar. That actually holds true for so many items. And clamshells? Well, nobody likes clamshells. Truth is…we buy WAY too much stuff…so that’s the first and foremost problem! See http://www.thestoryofstuff.com
I think you are missing the point here. Regardless of the reasons for the excessive, or dangerous, packaging, the point is that it is wasteful and unecessary. As a packaging ‘professional’ I am surprised that you would not recognise the inefficiencies that are inherent in all these examples.
- A single-wrapped banana – how much energy was used to package and ship this product? And a wasted banana will biodegrade, whereas a styrofoam container will sit in landfill.
- Individually packaged roses? Yes, it protects the flower and prevents damage – but it is still wasteful, excessive, and environmentally toxic, which makes it BAD packaging.
- small product, big packaging: it may be cost effective short-term for a company to have one-size fits all packing boxes, but when you factor in storage, shipping, and filler (all the extra paper that is used to fill up the extra space), the cost becomes much higher.
The point is, the packaging examples shown are all excessive, wasteful and unecessary. There are other options, and as packaging experts we should be able to recognise inefficiencies and provide alternative solutions.
Like Donna Maria, I think this post is interesting for the two view it point.
1) Over-pack is “bad”
2) but it’s a result of needs from the consumer (who want to buy less maybe in the 1st exemple)
“Design is management of paradox” said Thierry Kazazian (a designer who point theses environmental problems since 30 years)
So we should be able to sell only one banana (if consumer want…) but the response we can see above for that is not “good”, and I’m convince we can respond to the demand with a smarter pack, with minimum waste etc.
(apologies if my sentences are not perfect)
I’m not a professional, just a French student in design product who want to make something for a better world (my last-year-diploma is justly focus on packaging).
And “bonne continuation”, your news are often interesting to follow.
Thought provoking article and good discussion. I keep coming back to the words of a poster on my wall: “Design. The problem comes first.”
I never want to make excuses for a package design, or any design actually. If we have to explain why, it’s not doing it’s job; we’ve only traded one problem for another. The beauty of design is finding perfect solutions. It’s hard to do but we all know it when we see it.
I stand by tree hugger 100%. I am a 12 year package/graphic designer who at times felt guiltover my work & my “conscious” solutions were put to the side over profit & increasing market share options. What will market shares gains matter when we are living in trash & planet combust???Change is painful but must start to happen.
1. travel to most 3rd world countries , bananas are still as they are on tree & customer pull them off. they do not have luxury of excess packaging
2. distribution systems are somewhat antiquated and all automated; not thinking about excess or the earth but of increased productivity.
3. products like lunchables should not even exist: unhealthy, expensive and not really considered a meal coming from a mom who’s son runs to them in super market because of marketing/package design created to attract children at the expense of their health and the planet.
The world must change: buy less, buy local, buy what is in season & stop buying everything online is a big start.
Thanks to all who weighed in on Dumb Packaging Critics. Lots of thought provoking commentary on packaging both good and bad. I love when people actually are interested in the role of product packaging in modern society.
Opinions are split on what is considered “excess” packaging. But there is a common thread that the packaging community can do better job in satisfying the consumer’s desires for less packaging.
However, its not really about less packaging as much as it is rethinking the packaging equation. Packaging needs to perform it’s job yet at the same time meets consumers expectations. They way to do that is through packaging innovation. That’s mainly what my blog is all about understanding consumer wants and desires and turning it into successful packaging and branding campaigns.
One of my previous posts was about repurposed packaging (http://packaginguniversity.com/blog/?p=763) with examples how designers can think of alternative ways to use packaging after the fact. That’s the hard part thinking about all the ramifications from raw materials though the ultimate disposal. If packaging professionals will think beyond the basics you will see a big change in the outcome.
Happy Packaging!
We’ve been buying bananas one or two at a time for years, simply by breaking them off of a bunch. Never been a problem for us, the store, or other shoppers – why do bananas need to be packaged at all? That said, I’m growing tired of people on all sides of this debate making pronouncements about what other people should or should not be doing. People do what they think is in their best interest. Some people want prepackaged individual servings, but then again, lots of folks buy in bulk where packaging is reduced to a bare practical minimum. Who’s to say who’s right and who’s wrong? Maybe we’re all right.
It would make far more sense if the packaging was returnable and re-usable. I know this is not possible in every case, but there are many closed loop supply chains that returns are possible.
For instance’s where the customer requires the packaging just look at germany and how they let customers take beer crates home and then return for money back, water has a reusable ring holder that gets reccyled at store
I happen to be a medium volume ebay seller and we sometimes have to go overkill on the packaging to make the proper postal classification otherwise our products will be sent back to us or delivered to customers postage due. Fortunately our ebay shipping center is next to a shipping supply manufacturer whereas their trash becomes our gold!
If the critics wants to make noise about our packaging, screw them.
[...] Packaging can be bad or packaging can be good depending upon a point of view. An educated consumer is the best defense . But people still criticize packaging they no nothing about. Good examples of this are in Dumb Packaging Critics [...]
I follow your argument that packaging a smaller portion can prevent the waste of having to throw out the uneaten part of a larger portion. I buy 6 packs of eggs instead of 12 packs for that reason.
But I think the issue with the bananas, which other people have pointed out, is that they don’t need to be packaged at all. So I am definitely siding with the tree huggers on this one.
As a marine biologist, I am also appalled at the incredible amount of plastic and styrofoam packaging that makes it way into the oceans, and I generally have a “less is more” attitude about packaging.
James,
You raise a good point however a lot of the packaging cited in this post is to extend the shelf life of bananas. The waste on fresh produce is already 20% and packaging helps keep that under control and minimized. There is no optimal solution but given the amount of food that’s thrown away packaging at present is the best solution.
The best thing about this ongoing discussion is that it’s an ongoing discussion – no single solution will ever work for everyone, however, the more educated we become about the big picture and new packaging technologies, the better able we are to reduce packaging and eliminate waste. Waste includes foods disposed because of spoilage, as well as reworks of electronics and machinery that fail because of corrosion, whisker growth, fungus. Better packaging can fix these issues.