'Neutral' is the New Black

Within the few years, "carbon neutral" entered the world vocabulary, the process by which companies offset their carbon emission by purchasing credits for emission reductions that are produced by environmentally friendly projects, i.e wind farms.

Enter "Packing Neutral," the process by which Wal-Mart slashes the amount of packaging material used annually for merchandise, and pressures competitors to do likewise.

Retail giants Wal-Mart, Proctor and Gamble and Coca-Cola are at the forefront of the consumer packaging slim down.

Recently each behemoth retailer introduced products with reduced packaging, and strategy to cut down on waste products, in efforts cut down on waster materials, thereby helping the environment.

Superfluous boxes, say for toothpaste, are being eliminated, Coke bottles are getting gastric bypasses and thin layers of plastic insulation will soon take the place of giant cellophane mittens that are typically seen girding shipped products.

For the complete NYT article, go here:

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