Sunday, July 22, 2007

Resources, Sales. Resources, Overpackaging, and Resources

I went to the store to buy laundry detergent and ended up being pissed off. I went to get the brand I normally buy and instead of finding the normal package I saw clear plastic bags containing the detergent I wanted plus a small container of "free" fabric softener for "jeans". I do not own any jeans and therefore do not want jeans' softener, and I absolutely hate being forced to get something for "free", which I am not going to use and end up throwing away.

This is simply a waste of resources. Not only people will buy something which they do not want and which gets thrown out, but it is also overpackaging, because the company decided to use an extra outside container that would not otherwise be used. And why did the company do it? Of course, to sell more detergent!

What to be really makes this relevant today is that much of what I have been hearing late (for example, during the Live Earth concerts) is how individuals can do to prevent global warming. That is fine, but the majority of carbon emissions is industrial and commercial, not residential.

When industry decides it wants to increase its sales without any other considerations such as overpackaging, waste production, resources used, etc. then nothing will ever happen on global warming even if every person changes his light bulbs. We must make industry as responsible, if not more so, then the average citizen.

Remember, nothing is really ever free.



P.S. I ended up buy a different brand of detergent.

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