| Waste in the Packaging and Labeling Industry |
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There has been an immense amount of waste unnecessarily being created in the labeling and packaging industry. Labels are usually colorful and consist of graphics in order to manipulate the consumer into buying the product. This has a huge environmental and man hour consequence, increasing waste and workload by many times. Labels should always be black and white and consist of no graphics or fancy lettering. The purpose of labels should be that of a practical nature to inform the consumer of product details, anything else is deceitful and wasteful. The only time graphics and colored labeling should be applied is for safety notifications, such as hazardous materials. Besides a monstrous reduction of workload and waste, this method will put more emphasis on product quality rather than the manipulative ability of the product’s marketers. This will make consumers much smarter when shopping, and force companies to be more honest. The packaging element of products has similar faults. Packaging needs to be more standardized by law, and the only time standardization should not apply is in situations of special products. This will also greatly reduce waste and workload by law of mass production. As it stands right now, companies go so far as to conduct scientific research in how to manipulate consumers senses with different colors and shapes of packaging, this is absolutely unethical. The amount of resources wasted and pollution caused by these unsavory methods thus far is completely disgusting. In the age of craft economy such techniques could be accepted and even reasonably admired because of the absence of technology for mass production, but now it is just shameful that we have not yet advanced as a human race in this manner.
Negative Consequences of Consumerism in the Industry
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