Too Many Packages Or Too Much Packaging This Holiday Season?

As a parent there are few holiday moments more aggravating than the calm after the gift exchange storm when children clamour to get a hold of the bobbles and trinkets behind all the glossy packaging that, until recently, had been hidden under wraps.

With every twist-tie undone, every plastic clip snipped off and strip of tape sliced a body can begin to wonder if the toy industry's loss prevention strategies have evolved for the better.  After all, much like with home burglaries - no matter how good the security system may be, if a thief is truly intent on taking your valuables the security system is a mere inconvenience.

Let us not forget other industries that tend to provide exquisitely designed (yet readily thrown away) packing material for MP3 players, smart phones and other such items where the customer's only real concern is the 'cool' factor of the product within. Yes, I will readily admit I have been in awe of a certain fruit-inspired company's packaging, but you could still count on two hands the number of extra seconds I spent admiring it before focusing my attention on the piece of hardware inside.

After the flurry of activity this holiday season when one gazes upon the pile of plastic, cardboard and paper strewn across the floor - it becomes easy to quantify the immediate loss that all of the excess packaging creates.  For the business producing the consumable, the energy and time spent designing & producing the packaging is cost completely unrelated to the product and ultimately valued (or deplored) by the customer for mere moments.

For the retailer, every inch of extra space occupied by excess packaging is square footage that could be used to house more product, more efficiently - or space that could be reduced from their store front footprint. Odd sized or oversized packages can become the elephant in the room that no one wishes to address even though it's an obvious eyesore to all.

In shipping cost, every ounce of excess represents further waste of energy, fuel and labour - another area prime for reduction, whether in lighter packaging, less packaging - or reusable packaging.  Then comes the related environmental cost - one so easily forgotten after you have deposited the waste in a recycle bin or garbage can. Each one of those bins introduces another process that foists shipping, energy and labour costs onto municipalities that will be passed on to residential and commercial tax payers alike in the shape of tax hikes and user fees.

So with the rapid and dramatic swings of the global economy causing almost every industry (and government for that matter) to rethink and retool in almost every way - isn't it time we address the waste we all create, and the waste it all creates? By evolving the idea of packaging, industries will produce less waste, use fewer resources and consume less energy.  The net result is companies can save millions in lower costs attributed to bringing their product to market, while engaging consumers in marketing that drives the message - Buy from companies that are truly doing more with less.