Packaging Dilemma #1 Part 1

What do you do when it is your job to present the most attractive or innovative packaging for a product when it is a less environmentally friendly packaging than other alternatives?

For those who design, manufacture, distribute or decorate packaging the motives are simple: the more complex or expensive the packaging and decoration, the more profitable the package can be for the salesperson and the company presenting the package.

For those companies who purchase the packaging materials, the more unique, innovative and attractive the package is, if positioned properly, the more units that can be sold verses the competition with a similar product in a less attractive and innovative package. Of course cost of the packaging factors into this equation as well.

We think most consumers’ motives are even simpler, they want for the lowest price the best performing, safest, and easiest to use product. The Natural Marketing Institute conducted a recent survey of 2,000 adults and found that 88 percent think that it is important for companies to not just be profitable, but to be mindful of their impact on the environment and society. What I also found surprising is that more than 70 percent of those consumers who were surveyed claimed they were more likely to buy products or services from a company, which is mindful of its impact on both the environment and society.

This packaging dilemma lies in the fact that “over packaging” a product might give it better shelf appeal, but at what cost to the environment and loss of sales from your more conscientious and environmentally aware customers? While we know that many respondents who answered the survey that they make their purchasing decisions based upon the ethics and environmental record of a company, there is often a gap between what someone says to others and what they actually do on their own. Even if 1 out of 3 customers actually change their purchasing decisions based upon this criteria, can you afford such as significant loss of customers?

Consumers are becoming more educated in environmental issues. Urvashi Rangan who is an environmental scientist at Consumers Union which publishes Consumer Reports magazine, said" We are not only interested in helping consumers understand how to buy more environmentally sustainable products, but also how to use them in the most sustainable way, which can save them money and save their health in the long run". They have now put together a fascinating website comparing products for their environmental impact at GreenerChoices.org.

Sometimes what seems like an environmentally good idea can go horribly wrong. When SC Johnson and Son decided to remove chlorine as an ingredient from its plastic wrap last July, they never expected that their new packaging that came with the new “slide 'n cut bar” that was needed to cut the new less flexible wrap would be such a disaster. An amusing yet informative story about this packaging failure by Caroline Baum can be found on Bloomberg.com.

So what can you and your company do to protect the environment, increase sales and maybe even save a few bucks on your packaging purchases?

It is not just as easy as switching from using aerosol propellant using CFCs to a fingertip sprayer pump to save the ozone layer as now even the exemption on albuterol inhalers has been dropped by the FDA as there will be sufficient supplies of using new environmentally friendly propellants by the time the BAN on them kicks in (see FDA to Ban CFC Inhalers article on packaging blog).

I can say from personal experience that using a foaming pump rather than a dispensing pumps or dispensing caps when I am washing my hands does save water and soap. Since a foaming pump produces foam faster and with less soap, you are saving water, which is becoming a more precious commodity and reducing the amount of chemicals in the soap going down the drain and to the local wastewater facility or septic tank. Now here is a case where you an offer the consumer much better packaging that is in fact more environmentally sound.

There has been an explosion of new packaging of premositened wipes on the retail shelves. Products from cleaners, waxes, and car care products can now be found in these handy dispensers. Since these dispensers are all plastic, the whole package can be tossed into the recycling bin. If these keep growing in popularity, they could effect the sales of packaging such as trigger pumps and other sprayer pumps. The huge success of this packaging shows that customers are willing to pay much more for a product the sake of convenience.

In part 2 I will touch on packaging containers.