KitKat Japan Is Ditching Plastic Packaging For Paper Which You Can Fold Into Origami
Greenwashing. Have you ever heard of it? It is essentially the false impression that a company or its products are more environmentally sound than they really are. For a company like Nestlé, one of the world’s biggest producers of plastic trash, it has become an essential marketing tool.
The company has been at the center of so many scandals over the years and have repeatedly shown that they have incredibly low ethical standards and little interest in social responsibility. For these reasons, marketing stunts like these, designed to go ‘viral’ and get people talking about them in a positive light, must be taken with a pinch of salt.
Image credits: Nestlé Japan
Nestlé Japan has gotten all the buzz recently by replacing its glossy plastic wrappers with more environmentally- friendly paper ones. Added to this are bonus origami instructions, so you can create an iconic paper crane design instead of throwing your waste away.
Image credits: Nestle
The world’s biggest food company has vowed to make 100% of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025, after facing increasing pressure from environmental groups.
Greenpeace Plastics Campaigner Kate Melges says that “Nestlé has created a monster by producing endless quantities of throwaway plastics that persist in our environment for lifetimes.”
Image credits: Nestlé Japan
The NGO is running a campaign called #PlasticMonster, which aims to stop the production of single-use plastics. “Over 90% of the plastic ever produced has not been recycled, yet companies are set to dramatically increase the production of plastic packaging over the next decade,” they write.
“People living along rivers and coastlines in Southeast Asia and in other communities around the world are among the most impacted by plastic pollution. Even though excessive production of single-use plastic for packaging is the real cause, these communities are often blamed for this crisis.”
“Companies like Nestlé are the ones actually responsible for the plastic monster that is destroying our planet. But they also have the power to slay this monster by reducing the amount of single-use plastic produced.”
Image credits: Nestlé Japan
Nestlé has estimated that the new initiative will help to reduce the brand’s plastic waste by approximately 380 tonnes per year. However, some people believe that this is just nowhere near enough.
Image credits: Nestlé Japan
“Nestlé’s statement on plastic packaging includes more of the same greenwashing baby steps to tackle a crisis it helped to create,” Greenpeace Oceans Campaigner Graham Forbes says. “It will not actually move the needle toward the reduction of single-use plastics in a meaningful way, and sets an incredibly low standard as the largest food and beverage company in the world. The statement is full of ambiguous or nonexistent targets, relies on ‘ambitions’ to do better, and puts the responsibility on consumers rather than the company to clean up its own plastic pollution.”
“Identified as one of the worst plastic polluters in cleanups and brand audits around the world, Nestle is accountable to do more to address the problem. It is in the position and has the power and resources to phase out single-use plastics towards zero-waste in its packaging.”
So although this is a good first step by KitKat Japan, something that is both positive in reducing single-use plastics and fun for the consumer, we need more from the likes of Nestlé.
Image credits: Nestlé Japan
I guess we can only hope that Nestlé makes good on its pledge and continues to reduce its plastic waste impact. Unfortunately, their track record of following through on sustainability promises doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.
Mega-companies like Nestlé need to be coerced into change by consumer behaviour, so shop ethically! Hitting offending companies where it hurts – in their pockets – is where a real difference can be made!
Here’s what people had to say about the KitKat wrappers
57Kviews
Share on FacebookYeah, I still hate Nestle as a company. I hate the fact that they make a lot of the chocolate bars I love the most, but I refuse to buy their products. Haven't had one of their candy bars in years. I despise their business practices and they're going to have to do a whole lot more than make 'origami paper' packaging for me to say 'good job'. If they would stop stealing drinking water / ground water, and would instead filter ocean water... and if they used responsibly sourced oils / chocolate, and used bio-plastics instead of oil plastics... THEN maybe they could actually be responsible as a company. I think they've made this move because they sell a lot of their KitKats in Japan, where there are hundreds of different flavours available.
Me too. I can’t bear to buy anything from Nestlé. It’s their marketing of powdered baby formula to impoverished people that bothers me most. They act with impunity. It’s wrong
Load More Replies...Not too long ago, Kit Kats (at least in Canada) used to be wrapped in aluminum foil (which is recyclable if cleaned) and paper. I wonder if they will go back.
Same here in the U.K., it's only recently that kit-kats have been wrapped in plastic. They were never stale, not as I remember anyway.
Load More Replies...I didn’t know Nestlé made Kit Kats. I can’t enjoy Nestlé products because of the things that company does and has done.
Nestlé bought a TON of other companies over the years. There has been constant consolidation in the food production business for decades and no one in government seems to have the will to do anything about it.
Load More Replies...Greenwashing is what screaming about plastic straws is all about....and Greenpeace are the biggest screamers of them all. If you REALLY want to make an impact on plastic waste, ban single use plastic bottles and tetrabricks (those square boxy packages in grocery store that store liquids like soup or milk without refrigeration. ...///... I hope I don't have to explain what plastic bottles do....but tetrabrics are just as bad, a combination of foil, cardboard, and plastic that can NEVER be recycled and NEVER decompose.
"Tetra Pak Recycling" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vvfJwtJ5Eg and "Tetra Pak and Veolia sign a game-changing partnership agreement to recycle all the components of used beverage cartons collected within the EU by 2025." https://www.veolia.com/en/newsroom/news/tetra-pak-recycling-beverage-carton-packaging
Load More Replies...This sort of thing is EXACTLY why we need some sort of government-backed Green rating system. It's easy enough to claim you're going "green" because it's a marketing zeitgeist. The reality is often way off the mark. It shouldn't (and it obviously can't) be the burden of individual consumers to ascertain whether a mega corporation is really doing the right thing or just wording some advertising in a way that makes them sound like they're doing the right thing. Why can't governments mandate companies have a regular green audit- with the resulting 0-5 star rating across a few key metrics printed on EVERY product they sell. It's not like in the UK we don't already have something like this- the government here requires tobacco companies to print the harm their products cause to human health right on the packaging. Why not require every company to do the same thing, but for how much damage they do to the environment?
It's smart for them to start off in Japan, Japan is famous of knowing the recycling, Japanese do not like to eat when they walk.They prefer to sit down and enjoy a meal. Therefore they don’t need the trashcan. One of the first things that children at school learn about and strictly to laws. If you don’t get their recycling correctly. then you will get the red sticker of shame. If you put the wrong thing in the wrong ‘clear’ bag, you may find your trash left on the side walks with the red sticker. This will have an explanation as to why you have ‘failed’, and this is for all to see. The Japanese do not like to be shamed at all.
Too bad the store you buy it in will put your Kit-Kat in one bag and your drink in another bag then put those bags into another bag. They over-package things so much in Japan.
Certainly companies like Nestle have a certain responsibility, but a huge party of the problem is people still just throw their trash on the ground or in the nearest waterway. Half of the people reading this article do it on a daily basis.
Where do you live? People around here (NorCal) don’t do that.
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Isn’t biodegradable plastic-type (plant based) material now an option? We need to put more money towards making those types of materials more affordable for companies to use.
Wow. You know, I think companies are like people in the sense that you should give them praise and encouragement when they do things that are moving in the right direction. Otherwise, they get confused. And they are not sure what the negative feedback is about. . . . Personally, I think making all their packaging on all their products into paper within 6 years is pretty major. And I think it is the best thing I have heard from any company. Anywhere.
According to the Department of Environment's assessment in 2017, around 7,000 brick kilns in the country produce 2,300 crore pieces of burnt clay bricks from around 300 crore cubic feet of topsoil annually. To reduce PM2.5 and other emissions from brick kilns in a meaningful way, environmentalists say the Bangladesh government must enforce laws more stringently, recognize brickmaking as a formal industry, and promote financial policies to support kiln conversions. We are not against protecting the environment,” said Abu Bakr, secretary general of the Bangladesh Brick Manufacturing Owners Association, but if this act is implemented it won't be possible to have brick kilns anywhere in the country and millions of people working in this industry will become jobless.” Auto Bricks Plant in Bangladesh
Is not that everyone will keep it, the paper is the perfect size for origami giving the wrapping a double purpose. It’s better than plastic that cannot be recycled.
Load More Replies...Thanks for the downvotes lol paper is made of trees, which take a very long time to grow and we literally can't afford cutting more trees down, since our rainforests are essential for the global climate. You can downvote me again if you like, but disliking it won't change the fact that it's true.
Load More Replies...Yeah, I still hate Nestle as a company. I hate the fact that they make a lot of the chocolate bars I love the most, but I refuse to buy their products. Haven't had one of their candy bars in years. I despise their business practices and they're going to have to do a whole lot more than make 'origami paper' packaging for me to say 'good job'. If they would stop stealing drinking water / ground water, and would instead filter ocean water... and if they used responsibly sourced oils / chocolate, and used bio-plastics instead of oil plastics... THEN maybe they could actually be responsible as a company. I think they've made this move because they sell a lot of their KitKats in Japan, where there are hundreds of different flavours available.
Me too. I can’t bear to buy anything from Nestlé. It’s their marketing of powdered baby formula to impoverished people that bothers me most. They act with impunity. It’s wrong
Load More Replies...Not too long ago, Kit Kats (at least in Canada) used to be wrapped in aluminum foil (which is recyclable if cleaned) and paper. I wonder if they will go back.
Same here in the U.K., it's only recently that kit-kats have been wrapped in plastic. They were never stale, not as I remember anyway.
Load More Replies...I didn’t know Nestlé made Kit Kats. I can’t enjoy Nestlé products because of the things that company does and has done.
Nestlé bought a TON of other companies over the years. There has been constant consolidation in the food production business for decades and no one in government seems to have the will to do anything about it.
Load More Replies...Greenwashing is what screaming about plastic straws is all about....and Greenpeace are the biggest screamers of them all. If you REALLY want to make an impact on plastic waste, ban single use plastic bottles and tetrabricks (those square boxy packages in grocery store that store liquids like soup or milk without refrigeration. ...///... I hope I don't have to explain what plastic bottles do....but tetrabrics are just as bad, a combination of foil, cardboard, and plastic that can NEVER be recycled and NEVER decompose.
"Tetra Pak Recycling" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vvfJwtJ5Eg and "Tetra Pak and Veolia sign a game-changing partnership agreement to recycle all the components of used beverage cartons collected within the EU by 2025." https://www.veolia.com/en/newsroom/news/tetra-pak-recycling-beverage-carton-packaging
Load More Replies...This sort of thing is EXACTLY why we need some sort of government-backed Green rating system. It's easy enough to claim you're going "green" because it's a marketing zeitgeist. The reality is often way off the mark. It shouldn't (and it obviously can't) be the burden of individual consumers to ascertain whether a mega corporation is really doing the right thing or just wording some advertising in a way that makes them sound like they're doing the right thing. Why can't governments mandate companies have a regular green audit- with the resulting 0-5 star rating across a few key metrics printed on EVERY product they sell. It's not like in the UK we don't already have something like this- the government here requires tobacco companies to print the harm their products cause to human health right on the packaging. Why not require every company to do the same thing, but for how much damage they do to the environment?
It's smart for them to start off in Japan, Japan is famous of knowing the recycling, Japanese do not like to eat when they walk.They prefer to sit down and enjoy a meal. Therefore they don’t need the trashcan. One of the first things that children at school learn about and strictly to laws. If you don’t get their recycling correctly. then you will get the red sticker of shame. If you put the wrong thing in the wrong ‘clear’ bag, you may find your trash left on the side walks with the red sticker. This will have an explanation as to why you have ‘failed’, and this is for all to see. The Japanese do not like to be shamed at all.
Too bad the store you buy it in will put your Kit-Kat in one bag and your drink in another bag then put those bags into another bag. They over-package things so much in Japan.
Certainly companies like Nestle have a certain responsibility, but a huge party of the problem is people still just throw their trash on the ground or in the nearest waterway. Half of the people reading this article do it on a daily basis.
Where do you live? People around here (NorCal) don’t do that.
Load More Replies...Whether you are in America or you want to date someone in America to date, American sites for dating are what you should be looking into. American Sites for Dating has proved to be effective so far as people find dates as well as potential life partners Learn more here https://www.techshure.com/american-sites-for-dating/
Isn’t biodegradable plastic-type (plant based) material now an option? We need to put more money towards making those types of materials more affordable for companies to use.
Wow. You know, I think companies are like people in the sense that you should give them praise and encouragement when they do things that are moving in the right direction. Otherwise, they get confused. And they are not sure what the negative feedback is about. . . . Personally, I think making all their packaging on all their products into paper within 6 years is pretty major. And I think it is the best thing I have heard from any company. Anywhere.
According to the Department of Environment's assessment in 2017, around 7,000 brick kilns in the country produce 2,300 crore pieces of burnt clay bricks from around 300 crore cubic feet of topsoil annually. To reduce PM2.5 and other emissions from brick kilns in a meaningful way, environmentalists say the Bangladesh government must enforce laws more stringently, recognize brickmaking as a formal industry, and promote financial policies to support kiln conversions. We are not against protecting the environment,” said Abu Bakr, secretary general of the Bangladesh Brick Manufacturing Owners Association, but if this act is implemented it won't be possible to have brick kilns anywhere in the country and millions of people working in this industry will become jobless.” Auto Bricks Plant in Bangladesh
Is not that everyone will keep it, the paper is the perfect size for origami giving the wrapping a double purpose. It’s better than plastic that cannot be recycled.
Load More Replies...Thanks for the downvotes lol paper is made of trees, which take a very long time to grow and we literally can't afford cutting more trees down, since our rainforests are essential for the global climate. You can downvote me again if you like, but disliking it won't change the fact that it's true.
Load More Replies...
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