A Target employee sounded off about a store practice they found hypocritical, sparking a discussion about how major corporations have a responsibility to people and the planet.
What's happening?
The employee wrote on Reddit: "Target: 'we're turning down the AC to save the environment!' Also Target: puts plastic wrap around every single item of their owned brands." A picture revealing a box filled with individually wrapped quick wall chargers accompanies the caption.
Other Reddit users in r/Target shared the poster's frustration.
"I'm formerly style team. The plastic on everything actually radicalized me," one person shared. "Like here I am at home washing and reusing my ziploc bags to save the plastic. Meanwhile, I fill up multiple giant trash cans with single use plastic every day at work. Make it make sense."
"The amount of plastic I go through in a day sickens me," another said.
Why is this important?
While minimizing plastic consumption is very much worth doing because it can save you money in the long run and collectively contributes to a healthier, less polluted future, the post highlights how billion-dollar corporations like Target have disproportionately large environmental footprints that are difficult to overcome — and their reliance on plastic is a major part of the problem.
"I used to work in wildlife education/conservation. We spent so much time and energy trying to teach people to reduce their consumption and waste to help the environment," one commenter said. "... And then I worked retail … Mass-produced, cheaply-made, easily-broken plastic toys shipped across the ocean only to end up in landfills after they fail to sell or inevitably break."
According to Statista, plastic waste generation has increased sevenfold over the past 40 years, with the world now producing nearly 400 million tons each year. Some estimates suggest that number could be closer to 500 million tons, leaving our landfills and communities overwhelmed with waste that takes hundreds or thousands of years to break down.
Is Target doing anything about this?
Target said it is committed to reducing plastic in its products, packaging, and operations. In 2023, it recycled more than 12,200 tons of plastic bags and shrink wrap and increased postconsumer recycled plastic in its owned-brand products.
The company also launched a "reuse and refill" pilot program for Everspring Liquid Soap products and continued its partnership with Fashion for Good to promote a more sustainable fashion value chain. Synthetic clothing is a surprising source of microplastic pollution.
TCD Picks » Upway Spotlight
💡Upway makes it easy to find discounts of up to 60% on premium e-bike brands
|
What confuses you most about recycling protocol?
Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
Which materials I can recycle 📦 What can be done to hold corporations accountable more broadly?
Many corporations talk up their climate credentials while engaging in massively damaging practices. Learning how to spot greenwashing and using this knowledge to support eco-friendly products and services can demonstrate to businesses that it pays to protect the planet.
Over time, prioritizing brands with plastic-free packaging may also encourage companies to explore packaging alternatives to move products if they aren't doing so already.
💰Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips to save more, waste less, and make smarter choices — and earn up to $5,000 toward clean upgrades in TCD's exclusive Rewards Club.
Cool Picks
