Annoyed Redditors have expressed frustration about sustainable brand If You Care's coffee filter packaging.
On the r/Anticonsumption subreddit, one user posted an image of the brand's No. 4 Value Pack of coffee filters. But in the cardboard packaging, the environmentally friendly filters were wrapped in plastic.
The harm that single-use plastics cause our planet and our bodies has become a hot topic. According to EarthDay.org, 9.1 billion tons of plastic have been manufactured since the 1950s. And around the world, people use roughly 1.2 million plastic bottles every minute, while most single-use plastic (around 95%) is never recycled.
"When plastics end up in landfills, they aren't harmless. They break down into tiny toxic particles that contaminate the soil and waterways and enter the food chain when animals accidentally ingest them," Earth Day explained.
If You Care is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, the Biodegradable Products Institute, and the USDA, among other organizations that aim to evaluate products based on their environmental impact and consumer safety.
But despite the plastic packaging, the brand contends that its No. 4 filters are manufactured with the environment in mind.
"Like all If You Care paper products, these Coffee Filters are totally chlorine-free, so no chlorine or chlorine derivatives are dumped into our lakes, rivers, and streams … " the item's product description states. "If You Care coffee filters will not affect the taste of your coffee, but they will, of course, reduce the amount of pollution in our environment."
Some Reddit users suggested the original poster should reach out to the company to express dissatisfaction with If You Care's packaging and suggest the brand ditch plastic from an otherwise compostable product.
"Send it back and voice your disappointment in buying a seeming ecological product that was wrapped in plastic," they said.
Another remarked on a different company with a similar issue.
"Caboo toilet paper is now wrapped in plastic unless you buy single rolls, which I now do. So aggravating!" they stated.
Other users suggested purchasing a reusable coffee filter or coffee sock as an alternative to disposable filters.
Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more, waste less, and help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
