In my green, liberal circle of friends, Wal-Mart bashing is a popular sport. As a marketer with many trips to Bentonville AK, Wal-Mart headquarters, under her belt, I often choose to listen in silence. I know they are accused of many things but, I also understand some of the realities of running the largest retailer in the world.
Now, as Wal-Mart starts to respond to the many criticisms it has garnered over the years, I feel a little better actively participating in these discussions as critics begrudgingly accord Wal-Mart some kudos. While I’m sure there is a profit motive behind their drive toward reduced packaging , i.e. reducing packaging reduces total product cost, that doesn’t make it any less good for the environment.
Sustainable packaging, which includes fewer packaging elements, as well as biodegradable and recyclable packaging is a hot trend in packaging circles these days. Now that Wal-Mart is taking the lead with its drive to reduce packaging on its private label, Kid’s Connection line, I imagine it will get even hotter.
Besides bemoaning eco-disaster, Styrofoam “peanutsâ€, I admit I don’t often consider the amount of packaging that encases my toy purchases. Logically, I know that if one plans to ship a flimsy, plastic toy halfway across the world and low labor costs make it more cost-effective to over package than design and use efficient packaging, then big manufacturers will do it. I know, when I attempt to pack something to ship overseas, I too over-package… since it’s cheaper for me to use mountains of newspaper than to pay for professional packaging at Mail Boxes, Etc.
Now that the toy industry is on the green bandwagon, I’m sure I’ll hear a lot more about it and be more aware of toys with earth friendly packaging. In this very competitive industry, toy manufacturers will make sure I do!
[tags]kids, parents, a little greener, packaging, containers, shipping, newspaper, peanuts, environmental[/tags]
Photo graciously provided by scmtngirl, through a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved
2 responses so far ↓
Nan // Jul 16, 2007 at 12:14 pm
How about buying (shock, horror!) less stuff? I realise that I am at an advantage here- my kids have a massive backyard. But we know kids who have every imaginable toy, and it is too much for them to handle. It ends up broken, under the bed, in a heap somewhere. Kids don’t need more stuff, and neither do we. It just all ends up as “stuff”.
All the same, glad to hear of a reduction in packaging. Well done wal mart! I’ll shop there!
MeMoBaby // Jul 17, 2007 at 5:52 am
I agree with Nan! We have not bought one single toy for our daughter - we accept every hand-me-down and then pass them on when she is through. When I shop for other kids, I often choose the toys with the least amount of packaging. As the owner of MeMoBaby.com, I have cut down on disposable packaging by wrapping our onesies in a reusable burp cloth. It all adds up.
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