When I go to a grocery store these days, I am more and more impressed with the number of people toting their reusable bags, which now includes my wife, Janis, and me -- although I admit I still forget them more often than I should.
Reusable bags are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to scorecarding how retailers and manufacturers are reducing packaging waste, and that scorecard is steadily improving. But it's clear to me that achieving true step-function improvements will require new technologies. Recent examples of progress in the retail and manufacturing space include:
Kroger -- Kroger's 2008 Sustainability Report, called "Doing our Part" is an impressive 36-page document listing their actions to improve environmental and social impacts, including a section on packaging waste that references recycling 1 billion pounds of corrugated cardboard, recycling 9 million pounds of plastic, and a goal to sell 10 million reusable bags and thus save 2 billion plastic bags per year.
Publix -- Publix's sustainability Web site features a broad range of corporate sustainability actions, including packaging:
- Our policy with private label providers is that all packaging be either recycled or recyclable unless there is a food safety reason that prevents it.
- Publix and our vendors are converting from waxed cardboard shipping boxes to wax alternative boxes that are more recyclable, eliminating the disposal of millions of waxed boxes.
Wal-Mart -- In September 2008, Wal-Mart committed to reduce its global plastic shopping bag waste by an average of 33 percent per store by 2013. This action is expected to eliminate more than 135 million pounds of plastic waste globally. In 2006, Wal-Mart unveiled its "Packaging Scorecard" with a commitment to reduce packaging across its global supply chain by 5 percent by 2013.
Kellogg's -- Kellogg's Web site discusses their social responsiblity actions, and recently Kellogg's announced that it is testing shorter cereal boxes that use 8% less materials.
Frito-Lay -- At Frito-Lay we've reduced the amount of packaging in the market by 10 percent over the last five years -- that's 60 million pounds of packaging -- by reducing the size and thickness of the film, without affecting our ability to keep chips fresh. Plus, we re-use cartons that transport bags of chips an average of five times before recycling them, saving more than 5 million trees each year.
This is good progress for Frito-Lay, but it's about to get a whole lot better. Our Research and Development department has been working on new technologies that promise to provide breakthroughs in reducing packaging waste that were thought impossible just a few years ago.
I'll be sharing the first of these breakthroughs with you in the near future, so stay tuned. In the meantime, what steps are you taking to reduce packaging waste?
Snack packaging is an interesting topic. When I was little I always wondered why potato chips manufacturers packed a "small portion" of chips in a "huge" package--were they trying to mislead consumers about the size they were providing? :>
I want to applaud Sunchips for its packaging. Today I saw the Garden Salsa taste in a vending machine; its "flame" color drew my attention immediately. Second thing I noticed was the green paper and tomato in the image--it was good, because I wanted something healthy, and these veggies gave me that association. Finally, after I turned the package, I found the back of the package very appealing. I was totally attracted by the "cute" handwritings, which was very personalized to me. Compared with normal rigid fonts, these cute fonts feels personal and warm. All in all, I think the packaging for Sunchips is a great success. Very creative and visual-attractive. I also like all other colors (orange for cheese, green for onions) except the blue for original. Psychologically speaking blue is not associated with any positive feelings about foods and thus cannot really trigger appetite. Plus I personally don't like any snack containing "original" flavor (for me it is a synonym for "plain").
On top of that, I do like the Garden Salsa flavor. It is tasty but not overly salty, nor is it plain. Thank you for producing this great snack. Now I have some fun at midnight when struggling with assignments in my MBA program...
Posted by: Irene | February 24, 2009 at 08:10 PM
When will the bags your chips are packaged in - made of plastic, I assume - be made recyclable? The beer people have it down, now we're waiting for their partners, the snack food industry! Seems like an easy win for Frito-Lay and its fellow chipsters.
Posted by: john | April 08, 2009 at 01:59 PM
It's a brilliant idea,an eco-bag has a big role to less the garbage of plastic in the dump side.This bag can also use each time they will buy again.
-Stephanie
Posted by: separate box to the philippines | May 14, 2009 at 05:59 PM