FRUSTRATION FRIDAY
Every Friday I will have special posts that point out products or situations that frustrate me in my quest to go plastic-free. Many of these posts will be about products that use greenwashing–trying to look like sustainable, plastic-saving products but actually still using plastic, or trying to frame their plastic use in a misleading way.
Up and down the aisles, in the freezer case, and in the dairy section, many food items now come packaged in plastic bags. The packaging innovation of the ’90’s of the “stand-up” plastic bag was the beginning of the transition for many food categories. Before this innovation, products in plastic would lay flacid on the shelf in a messy pile–think dried beans. Bleh! But then, when packaging engineers discovered they could make the plastic stiffer, put pleats on the bottom of the bag to make it flare out to support a taller consumer-facing front panel, everything changed. I feel like Craisins was the first product to take advantage of this stand-up pouch. But it doesn’t really matter who was first, because now everything seems to be packaged in these plastic bags.
What Was Wrong With Boxes?
So many products seemed just fine in a cardboard box or a bag made of paper. Take sugar, for example. For years, and years, and years sugar was sold in paper bags. Was there something about the paper bag that did not work? Occasionally a little sugar would leak out of a seam. Maybe you would put the bag down on a wet counter. But overall, paper was a great package for decades. Now several brands come packaged in plastic.
Whole Foods seems to be one of the worst offenders. On their website they claim:
“Our purpose is to nourish people and the planet.” And they claim “commitment to reducing single use plastic.” And yet in category after category, they have transitioned from paper or cardboard to plastic bags. The sugar in the picture on the right is just one example. Others include 365 brand pasta, nuts, raisins and cereal.
And while Whole Foods is so misleading because the plastic bags contradict their mission, there are many food companies who have also switched to plastic.
Here are a few examples of categories that have switched to stand-up plastic bags:
Product
- Rice
- Candy
- Oatmeal
- Nuts
- Raisins
- Pancake Mix
- Cake Mix
- Sugar
- Flour
- Crakcers
- Pasta
Previous Package
- Cardboard Box
- Paper Pouch
- Cardboard Canister
- Can
- Cardboard Box
- Cardboard Box
- Cardboard Box
- Paper Bag
- Paper Bag
- Cardboard Box
- Cardboard Box
What can we do?
Support Businesses That Have Not Switched To Plastic
Where possible, support businesses that have not switched to plastic. For example, Near East rice mixes are still available in cardboard boxes. While they have a foil composite pouch inside for their spice mixes, the outer box is still cardboard. Other rice brands have switched to plastic bags. This is just one example. Look for others and support brands that choose recyclable packages.
This can be hard. For example, the Quaker Oats Old Fashioned Oats canister looks similar to the cardboard canister from the old days. But in fact it now has a plastic lid, and the canister is not recyclable.
Buy Bulk Product
There are some categories where I cannot find products that are not in plastic packaging. Nuts for cooking are one example of this. For these products, I try to buy from stores that have a bulk section. Whole Foods has a bulk section that offers some basics. It is really slimmed down from the bulk offerings from the pre-COVID days, but they do offer nuts, dried fruit and grains. Bring your own container because Whole Foods only offers plastic containers for their bulk section instead of plastic bags (sigh).
Leave a comment below if you have other ways to avoid products in plastic bags!
Very challenging to find any product now that is non-plastic packaging. Shelf life and shipping is extended and improved and cheaper! Buying bulk is the best way around this although it has slimmed down from Pre-Covid days. Support bulk foods; Whole Foods, Smart&Final. Ask Kroger’s and Safeway to provide bulk.
Heard that candy companies are working on recyclable, non-plastic packaging. Hold companies accountable on social media, reject plastic packaged products and bags.