That’s Exactly What the Plastics Industry Wants You to Believe

You know in the movies where Tom Cruise, or Hanks, or Selleck talks about sticking it to the man? It sounds cool because you picture one honest guy facing down the machine. For a while that monster was Wall Street, then it was Oil… well, now it's Plastics. Right this moment, in an office somewhere, people in expensive suits are thinking up ways for you to consume more plastic.

Pay attention to any marketing campaign, or watch a commercial with an analytical eye. Companies spend billions of dollars a year studying what you search for and what, when, how and why you buy. Before you get paranoid, take a breath. Relax. They're not tracking you specifically. They're trying to figure out consumer patterns so they can create packaging and products that make your life presumably easier, simpler and better.

Right now, it's all about convenience

We use an obscene amount of plastic packaging. It's been the butt of many a joke: the toothbrush with more security than a military base, or the Russian doll of a small purchase packed in a box, in another box, in another box, and finally a bigger, brighter box. Giant companies spare no expense on packaging. If it sells, it doesn't matter.

Take soda. If it's in high demand, wouldn't it make sense to package it in large quantities? But how often do you see people buying a 2-liter bottle, compared with a 12-pack of cans? Cans are more convenient. And while cans are made mostly of aluminum, most have a thin plastic lining inside. Now, to add insult to injury, mini cans are available for your purchasing pleasure. Less liquid, more packaging per sip.

Why does this matter?

Because the plastic adds up. Of all the plastic waste ever generated through 2015, only about 9% was recycled. About 79% ended up in landfills or the natural environment.¹ And in 2010 alone, an estimated 4.8 to 12.7 million metric tons of plastic made its way from land into the ocean.²

And what does this have to do with fitppl? As free-thinking consumers, we need to start thinking for ourselves. We need to see past clever marketing and eye-catching packaging, the tricks that keep us from thinking about how much damage single-use plastic is doing to our planet.

Our mission

fitppl is built on a platform of reform. We want to minimize our plastic footprint, and that starts with thinking for ourselves, not letting Plastics do it for us. Our mission is to use little to no plastic. Instead of a plastic scoop, we use a scoop made from bagasse, the fiber left over after sugarcane is processed. We package our products in kraft paper materials (which do use a small amount of plastic in the lining) but our aim is to eliminate plastic completely. It might seem odd to admit to some plastic use when we'd rather be 100%… but we're about transparency. We have nothing to hide.

Our mission isn't to villainize plastic. It's to wake us up! Let's start noticing how much excess is used in the name of packaging, and make choices based on our beliefs, not our need for convenience. This is a movement, not a marketing technique. This is a lifestyle, not a fad.

Eliminate plastic from your life where you can, and you reduce the power of the industry. Learn about the damage it's doing to our environment, and start making changes. It's our Earth. It's our home. And if we're not kind to it, it won't be kind to us. Which is a shame, because it's the only home we've got.