There are 4 packaging boxes for a lo-meal takeaway. The packaging box of a lipstick is big enough to fit a pair of shoes. The number of packaging bags for a bag of snacks is more than that for snacks...
Why is it difficult to "slim down" over packaging
Our reporter Wang Weiyan
A verdict recently published by Judgment.com puts "excessive packaging" on the hot search.
This document shows that the employees of an Internet celebrity snack company have taken the 684,000 yuan obtained from the sale of the company's waste cartons as their own.
Some netizens calculated an account. If calculated at a price of 2,000 yuan/ton, about 342 tons of waste paper boxes were sold in 18 months, about 19 tons per month.
The discussion about over-packaging of goods gets heated up every once in a while.
The Shanghai Municipal Market Supervision and Administration Bureau conducted a random inspection on the packaging of e-commerce platforms in 2020 and found that 12 of the 50 batches of products were suspected of excessive packaging, especially cosmetics, with a packaging failure rate of as high as 70%.
Under the anti-waste atmosphere in the whole society, why is it difficult to "slim down" with excessive packaging?
A reporter from the Workers’ Daily conducted an investigation.
Some merchants’ packaging is "excessively hard"
Not long ago, Zhang Xiaoli, a white-collar worker in Beijing, grabbed a sample of cosmetics in the live studio.
When receiving the courier, she couldn’t help sighing that the merchant’s packaging was "excessively hard": unpacking the express carton, inside was a ribbon gift box wrapped in foam paper, opening the gift box, uncovering the wrapping paper, and a fist-sized package box "laying down" On a pile of shredded paper, and then unpack the two layers of plastic and paper, it is a 30 ml glass bottle.
During the interview, the reporter found that the phenomenon of excessive packaging of goods is very common: there are 4 packaging boxes for a noodle takeaway, a lipstick box is large enough to hold a pair of shoes, and the number of packaging bags for a bag of snacks is more than that for snacks. Many, the fruit basket is full of waste paper, and only the top layer is fruit... Some consumers say that the smaller the product, the more exaggerated the packaging can be felt.
"The products and channels of e-commerce companies are highly homogenized, in order to grab the attention of consumers, and prompt businesses to make a fuss about packaging and appearance." said Lai Yang, executive vice president of the Beijing Business Economics Association.
Consumer product marketing expert Xiao Zhuqing believes that the emergence of gift boxes is to satisfy consumers' social attributes and gift consumption attributes.
Taking wine as an example, the reporter found that the price of wine packaging boxes ranged from a few yuan to a few hundred yuan. The high-priced gift boxes often come with wine glasses and wine utensils. "High-end" and "high-end" are the choices of merchants. Slogan...
"Several Sins" of Overpacking
There is a clear "hard leverage" on how to determine whether a product is over-packaged.
The national compulsory standard "Restriction of excessive packaging requirements for food and cosmetics", which was implemented in April 2010, clarified that the number of packaging layers for food and cosmetics must not exceed 3 layers, the packaging void ratio must not exceed 60%, and everything except the initial packaging The total packaging cost shall not exceed 20% of the sales price of the goods.
“In all aspects of warehousing, transportation, and sales, it is necessary for merchants to provide protective packaging to deal with bumps and bad weather in the logistics and transportation process.” Lai Yang said that excessive packaging usually means that merchants intend to use exquisite packaging to display their products. value.
However, some consumers find it difficult to make professional judgments on product quality and grade, and often judge brand value through the "gold content" of packaging. In this way, merchants will obtain premium pricing opportunities through packaging.
A tea distributor revealed to reporters that the price of 1 catty of Mao Feng in bulk was around 400 yuan before the next day.
For the same weight, a gift box of 4 cans can be sold for more than 600 yuan.
In addition to raising the price of goods, paying less attention to quality and value, excessive packaging is most criticized for causing waste of raw materials and environmental pollution.
Lai Yang said that the current product packaging materials only have a small amount of corrugated cardboard, cans, glass bottles, etc. that can be recycled, and a large amount of packaging waste needs to be landfilled and incinerated.
Take packaging plastic bags as an example. They are mostly made of high-pressure polyethylene materials. The toxic gas generated during incineration can cause air pollution and affect human health.
Advocating a new style of simplicity
Lai Yang believes that the difference between product packaging design and experience lies in the aesthetic design, not the complexity of the packaging.
He suggested that when choosing packaging materials, businesses should practice the concept of green and environmental protection, and try to use recyclable and degradable materials; product packaging can be analyzed through big data, and the minimum packaging materials can be used to achieve effective mechanical support for the product. So as to reduce the amount of packaging used; research and develop new packaging materials, use new technologies to further reduce logistics packaging costs, and form a simple new fashion.
The reporter found that in recent years, the National Standards Committee has successively formulated more than 10 national standards such as the "General Rules for Restricting Excessive Packaging of Products" and "Green Packaging Evaluation Methods and Guidelines". However, due to the lack of specific legal provisions, there is no clear penalty. The standards have not really been implemented.
Therefore, it has become a consensus in the industry to speed up the improvement of relevant legislation, establish a penalty mechanism, strengthen supervision and protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.
Under the social ethos of "practical economy and opposing waste", consumers have become more and more aware that after the layers of packaging are torn off, the quality and content of a product is ultimately what is consumed. Xiao Zhuqing said that taking baijiu as an example, some baijiu brands have launched high-quality "light bottle wine", removing the exaggerated packaging and focusing on improving the quality of the wine, which has been welcomed by consumers.