30 Examples Of Packaging So Misleading, It’s Basically A Scam, As Shared On This Online Community
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defines slack-fill as the difference between the size of a container and the volume of product contained therein. And while the agency does try to hunt down the misleading ones that do not allow the consumer to fully view its contents, every potato chips lover would tell you that they still hit the shelves.
Luckily, there's the r/NonFunctionSlackFill subreddit that works hard to expose them — its 49.1K members regularly share pictures of packages looking like they were intentionally designed to lure away our money. Continue scrolling to check out the most infuriating examples.
This post may include affiliate links.
Buoyancy
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.
Biggest Letdown I’ve Had In A While
Only Function Here Is To Trick You Into Thinking It's A Bottle
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.
Does This Count?
This Bamboozling Package
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."
Not Buying This Kind Of Box From Michaels Again
Why Do You Have To Play Me Like That?
Bath Bombs
I Know Popcorn Is Mostly Air, But
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.
Why Is This Not Illegal
This "Box" Of Beef Jerky
The Solar Panel Of My Flashlight Came Off And Reveals A Block Of Concrete To Make It Feel More Well-Built And Heavy
They do something similar with Beats by Dre. The technology is very lightweight, but people want heft.
A Yard Of Snickers. Sorry, But I Tore Out The Cardboard Flaps That Kept Them Centered
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.
Sales Genius
An Airport Sandwich At Its Finest!
These Were £5...guess I Should Have Checked The Weight. 330ml Coke For Scale
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."
This Jumbo Tube Is Only Filled To The Letter E
I promise I'm not trying to be rude! But people actually enjoy these? When I eat them I'm having the worst time of my life until they turn sweet!
Xtreme Asshole I'd Say
I Get That Samples Are Samples, But What A Waste Of Plastic
Once You Turn This Jar Of Sprinkles Upside Down, You See The Real Quantity
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.
Coloring Book For My Son
You Can Probably Imagine My Daughter's Disappointment When We Opened Up This Crayola "Super Art Tub"
TBH this one says what's included and doesn't lie about the sizes. It's packaged so you can see all of the contents easily and the plastic bin is to store the supplies. If everything was packaged tightly, you'd be less drawn to it to purchase it. Also, this way you get a nicer sized storage container.
An Entire Box Of Ice Creams Like This
"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!
2/5 Away
There’s Just Enough To Fit In The Window
$20 For 11 Chocolates. Happy Valentines
Right?! I only indulge in chocolate once a month and decided to get myself some fancy assorted chocolates... well, there were like 8 little pieces for a box costing $12. I felt every emotion that day....
Just Enough To Make It To The Line
"Fruit Bread"
An Entire Tin Containing 8 Mini Snickers
This Vegan Ground Meat
My “Ham” Sandwich From My Old School
Why So Much Space Between Cookies?
What A Waste Of Plastic!
What A Great Chocolate Bar... Oh Wait
Buying A Solid Milk Chocolate Stanley Cup? Surely You Only Expected Half Of One
Why Have Empty Blister Packages At All??
Target Was Having A Toothpaste ‘Sale’ And This Is What I Got
Thanks Jetstar For My Large Box Of Pencils
This Cereal Box
$11 Meal Artificially Inflated By A Small Box Under The Food
What A Nice Bucket Full Of... Nevermind
Ah Gee, Thanks
I Should Have Just Hung A Real Play-Doh Container. Penny For Scale
Disney Leaves The Inside Of Their $6 Icecream Hollow
Okay, but I kinda expect this kind of cràp from Disney. EDIT: Oh for goddess sake, BP! CRÀP is NOT a curse word!
Went To Poundland And Had The Choice Between These And After Eights, Got These Cause They We're Bigger, I Paid For Air
I've Got A Beef With The Size Of This Brisket vs. The Box It Came In
Pack Of Three Could Have Easily Been Six, Or Half As Big
This Giant Smarties Egg Has A Total Of 30 Smarties
When You Tilt It To The Left
This Thing Of Beads
This Was At The Bottom Of The Dried Fruit Pot To Take Up More Space
A Solid Half Cup Missing
Srhiiiiink....you know what, I'm not even gonna say it again, lol.
Bigger Portions!
This Was $70. F**k Me For Buying It Without Reading The Quantity I Guess
I Texted This To My Partner And He Texted Back A Link To You Guys
This Is Toothpaste! Why Pretend It’s Bigger Than It Is?!
These Rolo Chocolates From The UK
I definitely won't be giving anyone my last Rolo if that's all you get in the tube.
It Was A Sample. There Was No Need For Misleading Packaging
Baklava Bought At The Airport, Packaging Designed To Use Waste Space
It's Healthy Because There's Half The Food
Some Leftover Chocolate From Christmas
Empty Spots Hidden By Packaging On Razors
Crappy Houdini Corkscrew Seems Weighty And High-Quality Due To Hidden Hunk Of Cement In The Package. Magic!
I Paid Way Too Much To Be Bamboozled Like This
Do Lesser Versions Of A Product Being Hidden By A Label Count?
It's odd to see strawberries packaged like eggs or chocolates.
Tub Of Fridge Magnets
This Box Of Nail Repair
Not So Much Moleskin
Some Of The Fine Folk Over At R/A*sholedesign Have Yet To Fully Grasp The Truly Deceitful Nature Of Our Nemesis
Giant Box Of Crayons
When It Takes A Large Box To Fit Two Tiny Pills
Hey Trader Joe’s, This Is Some Bullsh*t!
Brought Some From Nz Since It's Not Widely Available In My Country. Apparently Only Half The Box Contains Chocolates
Afternoon Project With Daughter
The New Paper Cups From Dunkin Donuts Are Already Smaller But They Had To Add This
The Actual Gummies Start Where My Thumb Is
This Kit Must Be Huge
Gotta Let These Breathe Apparently
This Giant Hershey Kiss That’s Hollow Inside
Notice All The Strong Indicators That It Would Be A Meter Of Chocolate Without Actually Saying So
This Little Flap Covering What Could’ve Been Another 140 Balloons
Bowl Of Candy
Grampa Bought Some Paper Clips. To Their Credit, It Does Say "Contains 50 Paperclips" On The Back Of The Box, But
Brand New Pack Of Razors
What I Thought I Was Getting vs. What I Actually Got
As Usual Its A Kids Toy, The Centre Of The Tub Has A Foam Insert Taking About A Third Of The Total Volume
This Box Of Chocolates
I’d Say The Contents Were About As Much As Those Little Bags Of Pretzels From The Airline
This Packaging
Have Protein Containers Been Posted Before? This Is Brand New And It’s Maybe 45% Full
Kim I unfortunately can only up vote one time but I can at least for now still see your comment
Some Pricy Oil To Be Pulling This Stunt
This one I get it's kinda like the divot in a lot of wine bottles it actually makes the glass sturdier
Been Sitting On This One That I Got For Christmas
I Know It Shown On The Packaging The Shape Of The Bottle, But This Is Just Annoying
And It’s Not Like The Bag Was Mostly Filled With Air... But It Sure Was Close. Box It Came In For Comparison
It Would Be Cruel To Keep Them Confined In A Tiny Box
They could have easily separated that with something besides plastic to keep it from becoming a solid clump
Gingerbread Dough
Maya, apparently people don't want to put in the effort so bad that they even got offended with you pointing it out 🙄
Who Wants Marshmallows?
Andes Mints Are On The Naughty List
It's Not Even Tasty
I think that's to keep the bottom protected in case the box gets dropped.
Mackerel
New Oreos Come With Gaps In Packaging
Was Wondering Why A Big Bag Was Less Than $2. At Least It Was Cheap
it was really "TWISTED" (quaote from packaging) that they did that.
Made It Look Like There Were Six But
At Least On The Corner Could Be Played Off As A Grip Tab, But This Is Just Blatant Theft
Nerds Rope
Totally Thought It Was A Three Pack
Packaging like this should be illegal, total waste of resources and energy during production, conning the public in to thinking they are getting a good deal. You just know that if those behind the ideas were treated the same over a holiday,car etc they would scream blue murder.
Absolutely. And the conning bit - are these all companies aimed at fooling every person exactly once? Is repeat business not a fairly crucial element for most businesses?
Load More Replies...A lot of the products do say the actual quantities, BUT the waste of packaging is a joke. If toothpaste is that size, use a smaller box and the makeup and pills is disgraceful.
Why does toothpaste even need a box packaging?
Load More Replies...What pisses me off is how deliberate it is. Someone had to design those oddly shaped packages and the labels that cover things just right. What do they tell themselves in order to sleep at night?
"Maybe I'll get that big marketing promotion position with that package design I did last week"?
Load More Replies...Packaging like this should be illegal, total waste of resources and energy during production, conning the public in to thinking they are getting a good deal. You just know that if those behind the ideas were treated the same over a holiday,car etc they would scream blue murder.
Absolutely. And the conning bit - are these all companies aimed at fooling every person exactly once? Is repeat business not a fairly crucial element for most businesses?
Load More Replies...A lot of the products do say the actual quantities, BUT the waste of packaging is a joke. If toothpaste is that size, use a smaller box and the makeup and pills is disgraceful.
Why does toothpaste even need a box packaging?
Load More Replies...What pisses me off is how deliberate it is. Someone had to design those oddly shaped packages and the labels that cover things just right. What do they tell themselves in order to sleep at night?
"Maybe I'll get that big marketing promotion position with that package design I did last week"?
Load More Replies...