In one day this past week, several different articles on packaging came across my computer that were educational and challenging.

Unboxing Desire spoke to why consumers want packaging (product purity and safety), their emotional response to packaging (anticipation and wonderment) and their frustration with challenging packaging (heat sealed plastic shell) that defies opening.

Tis the Season to Wrestle with Wasteful, Frustrating Packaging explains the psychology of why item are packaged the way they are while explaining what packaging contributes to landfills. (The EPA says it is one third of landfill content.) The different requirements of packaging by the type of product are explained. While it is easy to discuss over-packaging, the reality is that unlike 100 years ago, often the things we consume come from other continents. Packaging makes it possible to safely transport items long distances and therefore allows for efficiencies of production, while minimizing the waste (due to damage in shipment) of the product itself.

Lastly  I saw a tweet from Whole Foods in praise of eliminating packaging by buying and reusing some of their bags for your holiday present giving. Clearly, some sellers can profit from reduction in single use packaging.

It is clear that people want packaging, not simply for product preservation, but to enhance the experience of opening a package. Yet we need to address the issue of appropriate packaging, so that products are preserved and consumer educated on the one hand, and wasteful packaging is minimized on the other.

As always, I am pleased that the machinery Package Machinery provides minimizes the material used to wrap and permits reduction in other primary packaging (trays rather than boxes or cardboard elimination in some cases).

To learn more abut our efforts to help customers reduce their primary packaging, look here.