Boxes of Chocolate
I was browsing in a small store recently, waiting to pick something up, when my eyes fell on some familiar boxes of chocolates.
They’re made in my area and are quite well-known and beloved locally.
But over the past few years, inflation has hit their prices hard and they went from “pick up a box at any time” to “these are the perfect gift to give to someone when you don’t know what else to get them”.
They are thoughtful, overpriced, and extremely delicious.
As I stood there, I noticed the same assortment that I had been gifted at Christmas time. Right next to it sat a much smaller box that was nearly the same price.
My mind flashed to the thought: I’m glad I got the bigger one. It seems to be better value.
But then I checked the quantity in each and the smaller one had significantly more grams of chocolate inside. The pieces were just tossed in, instead of being individually separated by plastic, like in the box I had received.
The presentation on mine was nice, but how often do we pay for this presentation when we would rather just pay for the contents?
The Fault of Companies & Consumers
I am usually pretty quick to blame companies for making poor environmental choices, because they have more power and control over end-products than an individual.
But this situation challenged that a bit.
Of course, I didn’t choose which box I received as a gift, but perhaps when I make a future purchase for someone else, I can put my money where my mouth is and buy the simplified package.
My buying choices have power.
As I mulled this issue over, my mind wandered to all the other products that I’ve bought recently that have excessive packaging- there are a lot.
Necessary vs. Decorative Packaging
I am currently working on an art project made of trash, so I have been collecting it recently. (It’s less gross than it sounds.) Sorting through it is revealing.
Some packaging was excessive.
Some of it was necessary to either protect or preserve the product (although hopefully we can find sustainable options to even necessary packaging).
And some of it felt like it was a substitute to the product itself, because packaging is typically an inexpensive way to increase the sense of a thing’s value.
But going through that collected trash showed me that not all packaging is valuable or necessary. Sometimes, it may even be intentionally or unintentionally deceiving or distracting- making us believe that we are getting more than we actually are.
Does Good Presentation Have Value?
Yet, I am not naive enough to ignore that there is sometimes value in visually appealing packaging. Much of this is due to social context.
When I previously gave one of these chocolates- an individually wrapped piece- to my significant other, it was only in a foil wrapper. But this felt okay, because it was just a casual gift.
If I were to give these chocolates to his mother- a woman I have never met before- then yeah, I would probably choose the most beautiful option. I’d want to make a good impression of myself and my area, because she doesn’t know me and has never been there.
It’s the chocolate equivalent of me wearing joggers and a messy bun around him, and a respectable, stylish dress and understated makeup in front of her.
So yeah, presentation does matter to me in that instance, more so than the quantity of chocolate itself. There is sometimes value in a good presentation.
Choosing What Matters
Still, in this economy- and in our current environmental state- I think there are many, many more times when I would choose greater quantity over appealing packaging.
This might seem like a small example, but I think small choices add up- in our lives individually and in the products that companies choose to create.
When do you find packaging excessive or useful?
Messy Bun Book Lover
You might also like: Book #39- Reflections on “How to Give Up Plastic”