Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Packaging touches everyone every day.
This is the Everything Packaging podcast with David Holliday.
What's up with packaging? Indeed. What is up with packaging? And today, I thought it would be fun to make this video outside, and you can see a little bit of our neighborhood. My name is David, and here are my thoughts on some of the packaging stories that I've seen in the news in the last week or so.
David:The first story concerns consumer products giant, Unilever. Unilever had made a number of pledges in recent years to radically reduce the amount of plastics they use in their packaging and also to ensure that all the suppliers in their supply chain are actually paying their employees a decent wage. It seems, however, that Unilever have rolled back some of these and is going to result in a lot more plastic going into the environment. And only about 50% rather than a 100% of their suppliers are going to have to actually pay their people properly. What are the reasons for this?
David:Well, the one I've read the most is that a lot of the big Unilever shareholders are not impressed with what they think of as woke policies. And in addition, profits are down as well. So all in all, not looking good for sustainability and supply chain employees in Unilever's organization. But we'll see what happens with this story. And, yeah, I have my little friend, Molly, the Boston terrier here out on this little walk with me today.
David:The next story is actually a more positive one than the Unilever. For the very first time, birth control pills are available over the counter here in the United States without the need to see a doctor or for a prescription. This is quite a big step forward, and the company, Perrigo, the pharmaceutical company, has called the product. Kind of kind of like that. But on the packaging side, the packaging is really bright in color, sort of stand out and in your face.
David:I think it's really cool, and it's going to stand out on the retail shelves quite well, I think. What's also cool is that the product is available in all 50 states regardless of what women's reproductive health care rules a particular state may have. This product is available for everyone that needs it. Big step forward. Thank you, Perrigo.
David:Cool packaging as well. On LinkedIn recently, I came across a post from a lady called Julia Vol, and she wrote about a food company in Denmark, I think one of the largest food companies in Denmark, who were touting their new green credentials by switching to Tetra Pak for their packaging. Basically, the company was saying, hey. We've solved our recycling problem. Is that the case?
David:Well, to some extent, perhaps. Tetra Pak material is claimed to be a 100% recyclable, and, technically, I think it is. But in actuality, because of the multilayer and the multimaterial nature of these products, it's not that easy to recycle unless you have specialized, processes, none of which actually exist in Denmark. So although the company is correct in saying, hey. It's a more recyclable product.
David:They can't recycle it at all in their home country. And looking at the statistics, something like 70% of, the material produced by Tetra Pak ends up in landfills even though technically it can be recycled. I know the company is working on this, so I don't wanna give them a hard time over this, but, it just shows how a lot of companies are sort of jumping on the sustainability bandwagon when really they still have a lot more to do. I noticed that supermarket chain Audi have announced they are switching their toothbrush packaging from plastic to paper, and that is going to save something in the region of 17 tons of plastics going into the environment every year. Obviously, a very small amount compared to what Unilever should have been taking out, but I guess every little helps, and at least it's a success story albeit a somewhat small one.
David:So that's it for what's up with packaging for this week. Check back for another one coming up in the next 7 days or thereabouts. And in the meantime, thank you so much and take care.