You Say You Want an Evolution

photo credit: kevindooley

It’s not often that I do a double-take when I’m shopping for routine household goods, but last week I was actually on my tiptoes with excitement over a new version of an old product. What had me so enthusiastic? If you can even believe it, it was plastic bags.

Having a small child in the home, we seem to use a lot of sandwich and snack bags these days. Nothing is quite as convenient for Cheerios, cheddar bunnies, carrot sticks, graham crackers, or even a handful of wipes as a Ziploc bag, and we go through plenty of these plastic disposables every month. I’ve been less than thrilled with using even this small amount of plastic, but it never occurred to me that the bags would or could become more environmentally friendly.

Enter my show-stopping product: The new eco-friendly Ziploc evolve sandwich and storage bags are made from a new resin that uses 25% less plastic than their regular bags, are manufactured using approximately 50% renewable wind energy and packaged in a 100% recycled box, with at least 35% postconsumer content. I read these stats over and over again in disbelief. Ziploc is a brand of SC Johnson, a company that has been working rather diligently to transform their brands into “green” products; frankly, until the evolve bags, I wasn’t really convinced they were serious. I suspected that most of their effort was re-marketing the same old thing with new words and label designs without actually making a change.

It’s difficult to deny the statistics behind the new product. Significantly less plastic, 100% recycled packaging, and what impressed me the most, clean renewable energy as a major power source in production. As a consumer, I truly appreciate the opportunity to put my money into a company that is making a positive change in how it brings products to market and in how that product makes an impact on our world through its lifecycle.

I’m going to keep trying to cut back on the bags and use more reusable plastic products; but SC Johnson has my gratitude for their new direction, and my support with a new loyalty to their brand when I do need some sandwich bags. I only hope they will retool their entire lineup to meet the same standards of this one product!

This may not be the product that gets your attention, but I’m sure something has. What companies have you made a conscience effort to support because they are willing to change? What are you willing to change in your work that will encourage new supporters for you?