Have you checked out the new milk jug at Costco yet? It's a brick. A great example of sustainable packaging. The container is optimized to eliminate shipping dead space from the dairy to the dairy case and it can be stacked without having to put it in a box first. By optimizing the container to fill the space, standardizing the shape to fit on a normal palette, it also eliminates the need for the odd sized milk crates that need to be sent back to the dairy to be sterilized and reused. Here's another example of something so simple, as the redesign of a container to make it more like a space saving cube, that it is revolutionary. And so sustainable, saving space, water (for cleaning the milk crates), and energy (fuel and space conditioning). Oh, and did I mention, it is cheaper than the traditional gallon milk jug.
What else can we make into a cube that can be easily fit on a standard pallet for efficient shipping? Those two liter soda bottles come to mind. Let's face it, they are tough to pour as is, why can't Coke and Pepsi follow the lead of the dairy with their 'cubic' milk jug? Just think about how much more product could be put on the shelf along with the reduced footprint this would net! No doubt the cost would also be reduced.
Sustainability can be as simple as a cubic jug of milk.
Rosemarie
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Rosemarie,
Wanting to see a photo of the milk jug I did a quick google search and was flabbergasted to see all the negative comments. Very few complaints about tangible features, but a firestorm of change resistance. "We're comfortable with our old milk jugs ... why change? This is a curse on consumers!" Actually, I can understand some resistance (this is a NEW idea) but the passion and vitriol surprised me.
We have a long way to go. Did you, by chance, read the interview with Jay Forrester in the latest Sloan Management Review?
Steve
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