30 Examples Of Packaging So Misleading, It’s Basically A Scam, As Shared On This Online Community

We got in touch with one of the moderators of the subreddit and, judging from the chat we had, the community is pretty civil and inclusive too.

"Most of the work I do is [just] removing things that aren't actually nonfunctional slack fill, like packaging for medical products," they told Bored Panda.

"A wide variety of products are posted here, but I see candy and beauty/hygiene products posted most often," the moderator added.

According to Nina van Toulon, the initiator of the Indonesian Platform for Prevention and Management of Waste, some slack-fill is needed.

"One valid reason for functional slack-fill is product protection," she explained. "Good examples are packages filled with chips or cookies. The extra space prevents damage to the product by outside pressure. Without this empty space, your product would crumble."

"Another valid reason is avoiding product loss due to spilling when opening the package," she added.

Another reason is called settling. "Some products fill up a package at production time and the product 'settles' to a lower level inside the packaging over time, for example, flour."

"[One more] technical reason is the closing process of the packaging after it is filled in a production line," van Toulon continued. "There needs to be an allowance of extra material to seal the packaging properly, which in some cases (and depending on the type of packaging) results in some empty space."

However, as we can see, sometimes there's simply too much slack-fill. "Non-functional slack-fill is a neglected topic. Publications on regulating slack-fill [are] scarce and U.S. lawsuits are mostly related to misleading consumers and not to the unnecessary use of materials, of which the majority of certain packaging materials is not effectively being recycled," van Toulon said.

One reason why we see so much of it, according to the expert, boils down to the producers trying to create a feeling of "more value for your money."

"Consumers need to rely on the amount of grams or pieces printed on the packaging when the product is ... in non-transparent packaging," van Toulon highlighted. "When the number of pieces is mentioned, it is clear what you get for your money."

Another reason why companies do this is trying to stand taller than their competitors' products on the store shelves.

From what they've seen managing the subreddit, the moderator of r/NonFunctionSlackFillI thinks it's usually a mix of these things.

"I believe that companies see it as a way to cut costs by not producing as much product, but also as a way to do so without losing out on the share of consumers who walk down the aisle," they said.

"The average consumer is not reading the small weight or volume label on each product, and companies know that. The additional advertising space is certainly a bonus they get for doing that as well."

The packages we see in the pictures should be downsized not only because it misleads the buyers. "The unnecessary and excessive use of packaging aggravates the climate, waste, and plastic pollution crises, at all stages from resource extraction, production, distribution, transport in collection systems, landfilling, incineration, and recycling," van Toulon said.

"Mismanaged waste which has no or low recycling properties creates additional burdens such as open burning of flexible packaging, a practice which is widespread in most parts of Asia and Africa. This causes CO2, black carbon, and toxic emissions. Aggravating those burdens by using unnecessary packaging is unethical."

The activist calls consumers to be proactive and voice their disappointment to either the authorities, manufacturers, or distributors whenever they feel like they get too much slack fill. She also encourages letting each other know about these products so that we can simply choose not to buy them and hurt the demand. Something tells me van Toulon might be one of r/NonFunctionSlackFill's members!