Getting Giant (and other corporations) to use less packaging for organic products

[Sharon]

The huge tea box with hardly any tea bothered me every time I opened the box, which was every day, so I finally wrote a letter to Giant Customer Affairs: https://www.giantfood.com/customer_s....htm?opco=GNTL

I've pasted in the letter below, and perhaps other people could send it too. It's a small thing, but probably one that's easier to change...

I am writing regarding your Nature's Promise brand of teas.

I prefer to purchase as much organic and locally-grown food as I possibly can, out of a concern both for my health and for the environment and the sustainability of agriculture in this country and the world. This concern also leads me to seek out products that are sold in as little packaging as possible, especially if the packaging is not biodegradable.

Recently, I purchased two boxes of Nature's Promise tea. Upon opening them, I was very disappointed to find that the 20 tea bags come in a single, sealed (but not re-usable) plastic bag that takes up less than half of the volume of the actual cardboard tea box. I do understand that you have likely made your Nature's Promise tea boxes the same size as the other brands' tea boxes so that your product appears comparable. I also understand that using a smaller box or no box at all (just a label on a sturdy plastic bag, for example) might make it appear that you are selling fewer tea bags as similar brands, though many brands sell 20 bags per package or box, and you are similar in that respect.

However, despite my understanding the likely reasons you have used wasteful packaging, I feel it is especially inappropriate in a brand that is organic and that people purchase with the same "respect for the environment" with which the tea is grown. People who purchase your product are doing so precisely because they do not want a similar product to other teas: we want something better for the environment, and this includes a concern for the way goods are packaged.

I urge you to consider very seriously choosing smaller packaging that better fits the size of the 20 tea bags that are available in Nature's Promise tea packages. In this regard, the differences would set your brand apart from other brands in a positive way that I believe would increase your sales and the attention your Nature's Promise tea garners from customers.

Sincerely,
Sharon E. Rogers

[OHeather]

Nice letter.

I also think that most consumers of organic don't care about the larger size of packaging to make it appear as if they're purchasing more. I know it is all a marketing technique, and it happens with a majority of conventional products too. I'm glad you're putting your thoughts into action!