| For centuries, humanity mostly relied on glass, metal, wood and ceramics to ship things around. Shipping small, individually sized foods and liquids was often expensive. So lotions, conditioners and creams were once sold as powders, tablets and concentrates. But as plastics became more popular, adding water and repackaging personal care products in bigger containers became far cheaper and more convenient for manufacturers, creating a lot more waste. After growing explosively during World War II, the plastics industry repurposed itself to serve the booming consumer economy. Extraordinarily cheap and convenient plastic packaging including cellophane and bubble wrap quickly became the preferred way to ship goods. Today, global production of plastic exceeds 450 million metric tons, roughly 122 pounds for every person on the planet every year, and growing. What can be done? As customer demand shifts, and single-use plastic bans loom, manufacturers are now racing to reformulate their products. In the process, customers are rediscovering the appeal of earlier formulations for home and personal care products. Once limited to co-ops or health food stores, these products are now appearing in the aisles at Target and Walmart. Because removing water from the products eliminates the need for big containers, many come in minimal paper packaging. Many states are now forcing the issues by making manufacturers find alternatives to plastic — or pay for programs to collect, recycle and manage their packaging. What did I do? In my home, I went product by product: toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner and even liquid hand soap. For each one, I found dozens of mostly plastic- and water-free alternatives. Many were better than the original. For others, I had questions. Read my column to find out how they fared. | 
No comments:
Post a Comment