Let's get something straight. I like my peanut butter. There may be exceptions, but so far I have yet to discover any food that doesn't taste a little better with peanut butter on it. However, recently, I came across a little marketing ploy that turned me off - at least from one brand in particular.You see, Peter Pan peanut butter is environmentally conscious. They know that producing unnecessay plastic for their jars of peanut butter is not responsible in this day and age. So they have taken reductionism to new heights - as you can see, they now sell jars that use 9% less plastic PER OUNCE.
Sounds pretty good, huh? I mean, 9% isn't much, but it's a start, right? Wait - did I read that right? They don't use less plastic per JAR, but per OUNCE. Wow- that's even better! Indulge me a bit. The small jar of peanut butter containes 16.3 ounces of peanut butter. So if they are using 9% less plastic PER OUNCE, that makes... 16.3 ... times ... 9%... carry the one... and whoa- they have actually reduced their plastic consumption by 146.7%! This is big news. Not only have they done away with 100% of the plastic they previously used, but they are now actually giving almost 50% of that previous amount BACK to the environment.
If you're confused, let's assume that originally, they used 2 ounces of plastic per jar. (I actually have no idea, but it wouldn't be that hard to weigh the jar and subtract 16.3 ounces for the product inside. 146.7% of 2 ounces is a little over 2.9 ounces. That means they actually got rid of all plastic, and now use almost NEGATIVE 1 ounce of plastic on each jar - now THAT is environmental responsibility!
What's weird is that their 28 ounce jars do even better (because there is more plastic AND peanut butter?). They have reduced that plastic consumption by 12% per ounce. That equates to a reduction of 336%. So if that 28 ounce jar previously required 5 ounces of plastic, now not only do they not use those 5 ounces, but they use an "additional" NEGATIVE 11.8 ounces. They give back more than twice what they used to use.
Peter Pan has cornered the market on packaging reduction. In fact, they have taken it to extremes...unless they really aren't doing what they say they are doing. So to find out, I wrote Peter Pan (the company, not the elf) a letter explaining my concern. And to their credit, I received a lovely form letter back telling me how much they appreciate my interest in their peanut butter and that with helpful suggestions like mine they can make their product even better. Say what? I like their product fine. I just don't like the way they market it to a green-hungry populace. I kindly replied, and explained that my concern wasn't about the quality of their product, but the ethics of their advertising. I'm still waiting for a response.
As consumers of both products and marketing, let's make sure we know what we're being sold, both inside the product and outside. Let's recognize manufacturers for the valid work they are doing to produce quality products in environmentally responsible packaging. But let's not be swayed by marketing gimmicks that play on our emotions, while falling short of mathematical accuracy. For the record, I still have plenty of peanut butter in my pantry, but not one of the jars says Peter Pan. Good thing, too. As they don't use any packaging any more, it would make a mess on the shelf.
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