A large package of gift box is opened and there are only three small bags of granules
Reporter investigates overpackaging problem
□ Our reporter Zhao Li
"It's cool when I place an order, but after a bunch of goods are delivered to my home, there is trouble - it can't be dismantled." Zhao Pingping, a Beijing citizen, complained to a reporter from the "Rules of Law Daily". , you can only use scissors and take the method of "cutting the mess with a quick knife". Finally, it is also a headache to deal with this pile of packaging garbage.
After one operation, I was really tired.
In the interview, many "hand-pickers" expressed similar distress to Zhao Pingping: after receiving the online shopping, when opening it, the product only occupies half of the express box or even a smaller space, and the other half is filled with foam and other fillers. It became a hassle to deal with.
The reporter's recent visit and survey found that such a situation is not uncommon, especially during the just-concluded Spring Festival, when the phenomenon of excessive packaging of goods is common.
In some of the best-selling gift boxes, the products have not changed much, but the outer packaging has become larger and more luxurious.
The problem of excessive packaging of commodities has a long history, and relevant departments have conducted supervision and spot checks many times, but the results are not very satisfactory.
So, what is the difficulty of packaging "slim down"?
Hardcover gift box is flashy
Layers of packaging have become a gimmick
"After unpacking the four gift boxes yesterday, I had to make two trips before throwing all the packaging waste into the trash can downstairs." Zhao Pingping said.
Uncle Zhao, a cleaning staff in Qinan Community, Xicheng District, Beijing, also has a deep understanding of the proliferation of packaging waste.
He told reporters that especially during festivals, the number of packaging boxes has surged. "On the afternoon of New Year's Eve this year, I organized the packaging boxes for nearly two hours. If I did not arrange them as soon as possible, it would easily hit people if they were stacked too high. Some packaging is too thick and too large. The trash can doesn't fit at all."
During the interview, the reporter met Ms. Yang, a Beijing citizen who was throwing garbage. She was holding a courier box and a certain brand of "soybean + walnut + black sesame" combination gift box packaging, and three glass jars.
Talking about the packaging issue, she angrily told reporters: "Just looking at the outer packaging of the product, I feel that there are 3 large cans of mixing powder in it, but after unpacking the layers, I found that the gift box contains 3 glass jars, each glass jar. There is a small bag of mixing powder in each can, and it is really speechless to look at."
Xiao Wang, who lives in Beijing, is a college student.
She told reporters that for the New Year this year, she received a strawberry gift box from a friend. "First there is a box outside, and then a gift box inside, and then it is opened again. It's still a gift box... It's just like this, layer by layer, and finally strawberries. You know that. How many strawberries are there in a big box that sells for a few hundred yuan? Just 25."
Such packaging is not the most exaggerated.
Earlier, a self-media with tens of millions of fans released an unboxing video of a certain strawberry "black gold gift box".
Of the 42-second video, the unboxing process took up 37 seconds.
Aluminum film insulation bag, foam box, plastic seal, hardcover carton, vacuum lock fresh bag, sponge perforated pad, plastic tray... The hardcover gift box is wrapped in 7 layers from the inside to the outside.
A hardcover gift box of 24 strawberries, the layers of packaging have become its biggest gimmick.
In this regard, some netizens in the comment area commented that "price" and "intention" are all spent on packaging.
Hu Mengya, a college student from Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, told reporters that she once bought a box of snake fruit, "The net weight is 10 kilograms, but the actual weight is only 78 kilograms. The net weight on the package includes the weight after packaging, and I feel cheated. ".
In addition to food, major brands of cosmetics have also prepared various gift boxes at nodes such as Double Eleven and New Year's Day.
Li Yan, a Beijing resident, bought a set of cosmetic gift boxes worth 1,000 yuan at a brand's flagship store before the new year. There are 3 cosmetic products in it. However, in addition to the packaging boxes that come with the cosmetic products, the merchant also used 3 large boxes to pack each cosmetic product into a gift box. Cosmetics are packaged separately.
"I bought a limited-edition lipstick gift box for the Spring Festival. The packaging is really gorgeous. From the express box to the lipstick package, it is very large. The lipstick package inside is a cube with a length, width and height of 15cm." said Wu Fei, a graduate student in Beijing, but after opening it. , First of all, it is covered with two layers of paper. After taking out the paper, there is only one lipstick and two or three cosmetic samples in the middle of the box. The remaining two-thirds of the box is filled with raffia.
"In order to make consumers feel that the products are worthy of this price, some merchants make the packaging larger, add plastic wrap, add greeting cards and a series of product introductions. In addition, some will also add brand logos. Souvenirs, package the goods individually, and add a layer of bubble wrap to each." Wu Fei said.
Overpackaging on the rise
Online shopping has become the hardest hit area
Many interviewees complained to reporters that online shopping is the hardest hit by excessive packaging.
It is understood that the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Market Supervision has conducted packaging and measurement supervision and spot checks on biscuits, cosmetics, tea and other commodities sold on e-commerce platforms.
The results showed that among the 50 batches of commodities randomly checked, 12 batches had excessive packaging problems.
Among them, the unqualified rate of tea and coffee packaging is 20%, and the cosmetic product is as high as 70%.
Ms. Wang, who sells in a high-end buyer's store in Beijing, told reporters that to a certain extent, exquisite and meticulous packaging can enhance consumers' shopping experience, and can also bring some consumers a sense of ritual for self-use or gift giving. Packaging has become a major strategy for many businesses to attract attention.
In addition to attracting customers, businesses also have their own difficulties.
Chen Xiao (pseudonym), a store owner who has opened an online store for nearly 6 years, told reporters that the problem of violent sorting has forced merchants to increase the protection of goods.
The sorting staff is understaffed, and under high-intensity work, the pursuit of efficiency has become the primary task, and it is easy to cause damage to the express delivery.
In order to ensure that the goods are not returned, merchants have to strengthen the packaging to avoid damage.
Regarding the definition of excessive packaging, the China Consumers Association has clearly pointed out that if the packaging volume is significantly more than 10% of the product itself, and the packaging cost is significantly more than 30% of the product price, it can be judged as "commercial fraud" that infringes on consumer rights.
"Excessive packaging of commodities looks gorgeous, but in fact it is flashy, which not only increases the burden on consumers, but also easily leads to the pursuit of luxury and luxury in society, which is contrary to the concept of green and low-carbon life." China University of Political Science and Law Cao Mingde, director of the Natural Resources and Climate Change Law Research Center, believes that excessive packaging wastes both resources and energy. The production and processing of these redundant packaging parts require a lot of raw materials and electricity.
According to Hu Jing, a professor at the Institute of Environmental Resource Law, China University of Political Science and Law, some products during the Spring Festival are mainly used for gifts.
This involves the issue of changing customs and habits. It is not an overnight thing. I hope that in addition to meeting the basic needs of packaging, the packaging can be simplified as much as possible.
Strengthen governance at the source of supervision
"Slimming" for overpackaging
In order to solve the problem of excessive packaging of food and cosmetics, in September 2021, the newly revised mandatory national standard "Restriction of Excessive Packaging Requirements for Food and Cosmetics" was released, which will be officially implemented on September 1, 2023.
The new standard strictly limits the number of packaging layers, revises the requirements and calculation method for the limit of packaging porosity, and increases the outer packaging volume detection and determination rules and the necessary space factor for different commodities, so as to “slim down” for excessive packaging.
In Cao Mingde's view, a series of national standards such as "Restriction of Excessive Packaging of Commodities and Requirements for Food and Cosmetics" can effectively curb the problem of excessive packaging, but there are also problems of inadequate supervision and implementation by law enforcement agencies.
The newly revised national standard "Restriction of Excessive Packaging Requirements for Food and Cosmetics" re-emphasizes the requirements for commodity packaging, which is to reduce resource consumption and packaging waste from the source, and reduce the burden on consumers.
Cao Mingde believes that production, circulation, consumption and other links are mutually causal, and the administrative department needs to strengthen supervision, so that enterprises can strictly implement relevant laws and regulations in the production process and avoid excessive packaging.
Consumers need to cultivate the concept of green, low-carbon, conservation and environmental protection.
When merchants take into account the consumer psychology of consumers, they will naturally reduce excessive packaging.
"In terms of over-packaging, we also need to truly form a social consensus and allow the public and some social organizations to participate in supervision."
In Hu Jing's view, it is very important for producers and operators to produce green packaging that meets the standards. If all green packaging is circulating on the market, even if some consumers want to pursue luxurious packaging, they will not be able to buy it, and there will be no excessive packaging waste. The problem.
Hu Jing believes that with the introduction and implementation of mandatory standards for restricting packaging, producers and operators must consider some basic functions of packaging on the one hand, such as safety and hygiene and the problem of preventing damage during transportation; .
How to balance the relationship between packaging and the environment may require the country to further formulate corresponding policies.