enough with the excessive packaging already

OK, this is going to be a bit of a rant. I know it’s only Monday, but I’ll get it out of the way and the rest of the week will be all Care Bears and unicorns. I promise.

On Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey released a report that said that the death rate of trees in the Western U.S. forests has doubled over the past two to three decades. “The phenomenon is caused by warmer temperatures and water scarcity, which are both linked to climate change.” 

Cut to me, standing in front of the Olay section of my local drugstore. There on the shelves are the Regenerist and Definity lines of products. Each of which is packaged in, what can only be considered, the proper amount of packaging for the shipping of a human heart.

 

Come on Olay. I haven’t seen this much protective, plastic encasing since the Pope Mobile. 

You’d think your bottles were made of Fine China. They’re plastic for God’s sake. They don’t need to be surrounded by, yet more plastic to prevent them from breaking.

You're a great company. I love your products. You’re always on the cutting edge - airless packaging that requires fewer preservatives, brilliant. You provide us with top quality products at affordable prices. You’re a smart bunch. What gives?
 
The fine people at packagingprobe.com were also offended by Olay’s gratuitous packaging. They wrote, “I could not find a resin identification code on the package and it looked to be made of two different kinds of plastic - very hard to recycle”.

I concur. I know NYC doesn’t recycle this kind of plastic. 

Plastic is made from petroleum. Petroleum is one of the most in-demand commodities in the world, and also in very short reserve.  Plus the plastic that continues to be placed in landfills is toxic and hazardous and can leach into our soil and water supply- poisoning our bodies and planet. 

We have to take care of each other. If we think big corporations, who base their success on dollar signs, are going to do it, we’ve got another thing coming. 

We are their customers. Their profits come out of our paychecks. They'll listen to us.  So please, please take the 5 seconds it takes to cut and paste the following letter and send it to the email address provided. Re-post this on your blog, or favorite forum. Forward it to all your friends and family. 

Do it for our planet and the polar bears and the trees in the Western Forests and the fight against cancer. 

If you’re like me, and have the time to look at the tiger with the baby piglets email, that’s been forwarded to you, for the 57th time, then you have the time to cut and paste this.  I promise.  It’s that quick and easy.

Here’s the letter:

Dear Olay,

I am writing to you today, because I'm very concerned about the state of our environment. 

The amount of excessive, plastic packaging that you use in your Regenerist and Definity product lines is not only unnecessary, but it’s also detrimental to the health of our planet and every living being on it. 

This is an issue that's very important to me and greatly effects my purchasing decisions. Therefore, I am urging you to please minimize the amount of packaging that's used in these product lines. Thank you, in advance, for your consideration with regard to this matter.

Sincerely,

Just cut and paste the above letter. (Don’t forget to type your name after the “sincerely”.) You can  email it at the following link.

http://olay.custhelp.com

Thank you everyone!!  I just didn’t know what else to do about it, other than mumble angrily at the store shelves, which I will probably do as well.

Comments

[Shana]

I agree and thank you for pointing it out. Going to send my email now!

[jennyj]

Thanks Shana!

[jenny]

Pik, if you're reading, you'll be happy to know I just realized I spelled my own name wrong on the last comment:)

[wendy]

Sent my letter. It's okay to rant especially when you provide something to do about it. I love Care bears and unicorns but I also enjoy the rants!

Wendy

[Alexandria]

Jenny! I'm glad you touched on this. I JUST sent Dove a letter last week about their deodorant. After trying to get information about recycling the little containers and getting the run around, I finally found out that there are too many different plastic parts to the container, and it can't be recycled.

Now I'm not some crazy environmentalist, but just think about the 4-6 deodorant containers we use over the year, and then multiply that by the number of Dove/Unilever consumers. OUTRAGEOUS. I love Dove's deodorant, but I'm seriously considering a switch. Shame on them.

I'm glad you took the time to tell Oil of Olay how important this matter is to you! Maybe if we all make a stink, these companies will do a better job in being more responsible.

[jenny]

Thanks Wendy for sending the letter. I appreciate it. And thanks for appreciating a good rant every once in a while:)

[jenny]

Hey Alexandria, Good for you for sending Dove a letter. Like you said, I think if we all make a big enough stink about this, maybe they'll get the hint and do something about it. In this day and age, with all that's going on with the environment, for them not to be doing this on their own, is appalling.
jenny

[ellen]

thank you for this! my email on the way.
I got this stuff free, part of a PR event I went to, and I was APPALLED at the amount of plastic used.
I realize that it used to be that the more expensive small items were, the bigger the packages had to be to prevent shoplifting. (Remember when CDs first came out?!)
But that can't be a big factor anymore, in this age of ubiquitous surveillance cameras, can it?
Anyway, I did not buy this and won't buy this stuff. But I'll email 'em!
thanks.

[jenny]

Thanks Ellen. I got an email from Olay saying a representative will respond shortly so I'll let you know what they say. Although, you'll get your one letter from them since you're writing to them too. Thanks again!
jenny

[Rae]

Sent!

Thanks for posting about this, hon - I bought a new bottle of Total Effects last week and the packaging's just been sitting on my desk, making me feel guilty every time I look at it (yes, I could just throw it into the recycle and NOT feel guilty every ten minutes, but I'm wonderfully masochistic like that.) But I hadn't even thought about sending them an email, so thank you for that!!

[jenny]

Thanks Rae! I did the same thing. I bought the Regenerist, not even realizing how much packaging was involved, and then I went to throw out the plastic and it was an insane amount that took out way too much room in a garbage bag. I felt so guilty. I'll never do that again. Thanks for sending that email!
jenny

[kerry]

the amount of excess and non-recyclable packaging on beauty products is ABSURD. beauty blogs should start a campaign against excess and waste and for the environment...companies should look to cargo's plant love line for inspiration!

[jenny]

Hey Kerry, I don't even get it. Shampoo and conditioners in plastic bottles don't have to be packaged in protective packaging and it doesn't look beaten up or like it was dragged by a bus or anything when it's sitting on the shelves. These beauty product bottles should be just sold as is, without the extra cardboard and plastic. Hopefully some day (soon).
jenny

[Inky]

I completely agree and sent my letter! Thanks for encouraging me to do so.

[Kat]

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I sent my letter off :)

[Jennifer Sandbank]

Thanks, Inky!

[Jennifer Sandbank]

Thanks, Kat!

[Kerry]

oh and while people are reading this post and thinking about the environment... i wanted to really urge people to check on the bottoms of their shampoos, conditioners, body wash, mouthwash, facial cleanser and lotion bottles to see if they are recyclable. Every bottle recycled is one less in a landfill!!!!!

[Amy]

Thanks for posting about this. I really love the definity and regenerist lines and wrote them about this issue a few months back. They then mailed me a $25 coupon. Unfortunately an empty pocketbook prevailed and I did use the coupon. I won't be purchasing again until they reduce the packaging.

[BeautyTalk]

I do agree packaging is excessive these days. To what lengths they won't go to attract ther buyer and sell the product... And it is not just plastic and carton boxes... some create all these intricate bottles like works of art. I try to avoid such packaging and not only because it's excessive, damagin to environment but also because I just imagine how much of the product price covers such packaging.

[Sarah]

Sending my letter. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I love Olay products and use them frequently, but I agree there is no need for all the excess plastic. This is a problem with many other companies packaging too, and consumers can make them change their ways.

[Margo]

Thanks for this. I just sent the email, along with additions about how I have used Olay products for over 10 years but will be turning to their competitors until changes are made.
Along those lines, I've recently started using a lot of LUSH products, many of which (solid shampoos and lotion bars) have NO packaging, which is really nice.

[jenny]

Hey Margo,
Thanks. Yeah, I love Lush products for that too. I will only use bar soap now. There's no reason to buy it in plastic when it's available in bar form. I wish there shampoo worked well on my hair cause I would buy that too.
Thanks!
jenny

[Jen]

Olay (well, Proctor & Gamble), still does animal testing as well. So boooo to Olay in many forms.

[jenny]

Hey Jen,
I didn't realize that but I just looked it up. According to this list http://www.caringconsumer.com/pdfs/companiesDoTest.pdf Olay does and a lot of other P&G owned-companies do. Iams pet food, Tide detergent. I'm going to go thru the list more carefully and stop buying those products. Makes me so sad.
thanks
jenny