In celebrating Earth Day the first thing that comes to mind is the needless excessive packaging of consumer goods.  I am appalled when I buy an item and the packaging is 10 times larger than necessary for the item.  That unfortunately is the norm at such as Costco and Sam's and such stores.

When it comes to product packaging, many U.S. consumers seem very serious in their environmentally-minded convictions and, depending on the considerations, seem more concerned about 'green' packaging than their counterparts around the world.

Many stores now have reuseable totes (Costco, Trader Joe's, etc) for sale in place of using paper bags, boxes, or plastic bags.  Of course one must remember to bring the tote when shopping!

San Francisco recently passed a ban on plastic bags and many other cities in California are following suit to this example.

In a recent Nielsen study, consumers were asked if they would be willing to forgo certain packaging conveniences if it meant that it would benefit the environment:

• 58 percent said they would give up packaging designed for easy stacking/storing at home;
• 55 percent said they would do without packaging that can be used for cooking, or can double as a re-sealable container;
• 53 percent could live without packaging designed for easy transport.

In each case, by as many as 9 percentage points, their counterparts around the world (Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East) were not quite as willing.  I hope the stadards being set in California will echo around the globe!

In their response to other survey questions, it becomes clear where consumers draw the line on what they'll sacrifice, and that seems to be, generally, at health and safety.

Two-thirds of consumers around the world indicated that manufacturers should not reduce packaging to the extent that it curtail information, such as food preparation instructions. And respondents were even more adamant about the need to maintain product freshness and standards of hygiene.

How can you help?  If each and everyone reduced the use or eliminated the use of plastic bags and used reuseable totes that would make an amazing difference.  Just that little step being done by everyone could change the tide of needless waste.

What is your carbon footprint?

Graph and some info from www.retailwire.com