JKR

Sainsbury’s are stripping away their over packaging, part of which involves a plan to move from cereals in cardboard boxes to recyclable plastic bags, beginning with their value Rice Krispies. Sorry, Rice Pops: easy mistake to make. Kellogg’s are reported to be considering the idea, while Nestle say they have no such plans. The reason it’s far from a no brainer is obvious: substrates aside the whole point of packaging is to protect the contents. Fail on this and you are just shipping and selling rubbish – not particularly sustainable.

Hats off to Sainsbury’s for trying but one possibly cynical suspicion arises: if this is the future, and Sainsbury’s are so gung ho about their initiative, why aren’t they piloting it on say “Taste the difference” rather than an economy line? Might it be that this experiment could fail, but if so they are only risking the goodwill of their customers with the lowest purchasing power, while still getting kudos for trying? Corporate social responsibility is best served by solutions which feel generous in spirit as well as good in intention. And if my carping isn’t enough, many are concerned at a switch from good old cardboard to petrol based materials. Poor Sainsbury’s, the path to consumer feedback hell is paved with good intentions.