Doing Things Differently: Multi-Purpose Packaging

Spotlight on Thoughtful, Useful Packaging

CBS Chicago stopped into The Plant this month, and they highlighted the story of the Dough Snatchers' packaging as they checked out the Friends & Well Wishers kitchen. Full video of the visit is here; the Dough Snatchers feature starts at 10:40.

To recap: Friends & Well Wishers brings you three delectable flavors of frozen cookie dough in adorable little packages with a tiny environmental footprint. Just remove the labels, then bake them using the parchment paper that they're wrapped in!  Then, compost the packaging. Kudos to Joaquin and David for prioritizing sustainable packaging for their top-notch product; another great example of how small businesses lead the way.

What Can You Do?
Well first off, you might need to do some heavy-duty research by investigating the Dough Snatchers' packaging -- and their contents -- up close. (You're welcome.)

From there, consider your own purchasing patterns, and whether you can prioritize products that aren't wrapped in single-use plastics. Sorry to say that Costco and Trader Joe's are not our friends in this department. We definitely appreciate that plastic wrapping extends the shelf life of certain fragile and perishable products (cheese for example), but does your TP really need all that wasteful TLC? Extend the concept to your food wrappings at home: choose reusable containers and compostable materials rather than plastic wrappings.

True that one lil person's choices doesn't make much of a difference, but the benefit compounds when we act collectively. If you're involved with running a business, purchasing for an organization, or throwing a party -- that's where we start to move the needle. We're all in this together!