Packaging Ideas: Less

The NY Times publishes a lengthy article on the moves by brands and retailers to produce less packaging for their products. Companies like CocaCola and P&G are making small changes that help battle environmental concerns plus reduce costs.

Wal-Mart has promised to become “packaging neutral” by 2025. That means that, through recycling, reusing or perhaps even composting, it will try to recover as much material as was used in the packaging that flows through its stores.

To reach that goal, it is enlisting the help of vendors to cut back on their packaging — for the products themselves and by using less shrink wrap or cardboard for shipping.

Wal-Mart introduced a “packaging scorecard” in February that lets vendors rate themselves on criteria like the ratio of package size to product and whether the package uses recycled material. The company may even pay more for products with better packaging, as long as it can recoup the money through recycling revenue or lowered disposal costs.

“The consumer will see the same price, we’ll just be getting some of our money at the back end,” said Matt Kistler, a senior vice president for Sam’s Club, a unit of Wal-Mart.

In fact, many companies began tinkering with their packaging long before Wal-Mart entered the fray. They do not expect consumers to buy their products purely for the package — but they are hoping that “greener” packages will give them a competitive edge over similar products, even as they hold down costs.

And many companies that do not even distribute through Wal-Mart are also pushing to streamline packaging.

Estée Lauder, for one, spent more than a year working with aluminum smelters to design tubes and caps made from 80 percent recycled aluminum. Much of the packaging of its holiday gift boxes is now made from recycled paper. And its Origins line is expected to soon ship only in folding cartons made with solar, wind or other clean energies.

Environmental groups are playing their part, too. Four years ago, Environmental Defense, which was instrumental in getting McDonald’s to give up plastic foam clamshell packages in 1991, devised a calculator that enables package designers to compare the weight, recycled content and performance traits of about 20 materials.

Incredible Shrinking Packages - New York Times