{"id":3505,"date":"2023-03-22T15:09:06","date_gmt":"2023-03-22T20:09:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.pirg-test.com\/missouri\/?post_type=article&p=3505"},"modified":"2023-03-22T15:09:06","modified_gmt":"2023-03-22T20:09:06","slug":"why-does-costco-use-so-much-packaging","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/dev.pirg-test.com\/missouri\/articles\/why-does-costco-use-so-much-packaging\/","title":{"rendered":"Why does Costco use so much packaging?"},"featured_media":46973,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":false,"_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":""},"campaign_tax":[],"display_option":[],"issue_tax":[],"person_tax":[],"region_tax":[],"state":[28,2],"topic_tax":[145],"class_list":["post-3505","article","type-article","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"details":{"helper_taxonomies":{"topics":[145,215],"collection":false,"press_type":false,"person_type":false,"resource_type":false,"event_type":false,"campaigns":false,"department":false,"level":false,"states":[2,28],"act_option":false,"display_option":false,"primary":{"topic":145}},"featured_image":46973,"caption_override":"","excerpt":"The popular retailer is using excessive packaging throughout its stores, neglecting to address the waste it creates","updated_on":null,"sidebar_action":"","hide_hero_image":false,"sidebar_action_query_string":""},"helper_people_group":{"title":"Authors","entities":[{"type":"dynamic","dynamic_person":{"site":4,"people":"203"},"information":{"name":"","image":null,"role":"","biography":"","contact":{"twitter":"","facebook":"","email":"","phone":""}}}]},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"If you\u2019ve been to Costco recently, you might have noticed some suspiciously large packaging, even on small items \u2013 <\/span>such as a 2 inch tub of eye cream in an 8 x 11 plastic shell. That might seem like a mistake, and a particularly wasteful one at that. But if you looked closer, you might have realized that this is common through the store. <\/span>You may also have seen a lot of other small items like gift cards, cosmetics, and more packaged in large clear plastic shells or brightly colored cardboard.\u00a0<\/span>","":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_large_image","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_large_image":{"width":"wide","image":46974,"caption_override":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"According to Costco\u2019s \u201cpackaging consultant,\u201d<\/span><\/a> despite the unnecessary waste this creates, it\u2019s all by design.<\/span>\r\n\r\nCostco\u2019s oversized and excessive packaging might be an extreme example, but the retailer isn\u2019t alone in its contributions to the plastic waste problems we\u2019re facing. At many major American retailers, it can be hard to find product options that don\u2019t come coated in plastic packaging.<\/span>\r\n\r\nCostco is one of America\u2019s most popular places to shop, which means that it could have a profound impact if it took single-use plastic packaging off its shelves \u2013 especially given how unnecessarily oversized its packaging often is.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nBut instead, the retailer is doubling down on its use of excessive packaging.\u00a0<\/b>\r\n\r\nIn a recent <\/span>article<\/span><\/a>, Costco\u2019s packaging consultant explained how this excessive packaging is a \u201ckey piece of Costco\u2019s overall strategy to cut steps and waste from its supply chain and lower costs for shoppers.\u201d Costco has minimum size packaging requirements for items, not based on how much packaging an item actually needs, but how the retailer wants it to fit and look on the shelves.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe consultant justified Costco\u2019s system by arguing that:<\/span>\r\n