Consumerist
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waste
Why Store Receipts Keep Getting Longer and Longer
Ever run to the drug store for a tube of toothpaste and find that your meager purchase results in a receipt the length of War and Peace? Two-foot long receipts are increasingly common these days, as retailers embrace technologies allowing them to microtarget customers. The colossal waste of paper comes at a cost, not only in felled trees but on man hours spent on changing tape and fixing broken printers. More » -
your health
100% All Natural Plumped Chickens Are Stuffed With Water And Salt
Do you like overpaying for salt and water? Then "100% All Natural" chicken breasts might be for you! Just look for the labels that boast "enhanced with up to 15% chicken broth," and you can be sure you're overpaying for the saltiest, most water-logged chicken that industrial food processors can design. So how does all that chicken water get into the chickens, you ask? Hit the jump for the delightfully graphic description... More » -
greenwashing
Yellow Book Saves The Earth By Distributing Thousands Of Phone Books With Smaller Print
I don't use phone books, but I get three different ones delivered to my house every year anyway. Hardly anyone I communicate with even has a landline, let alone a white pages listing, but that doesn't matter. They still deliver them. Straight into a snowbank.
Cliff received his phone book earlier this week, and noticed something interesting. His Yellow Book has been greenwashed. More »
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waste
Toothpaste Purchase Results In 3-foot Long Receipt
CVS asks: How about some dead trees and a bunch of ads with that purchase? Not in so many words, of course: that would actually give shoppers a choice. More » -
stupid shipping gang
Tower Hobbies Provides Free Craft Materials With Gear
Reader Sean sent us what may not be the most egregious example of wasteful packaging, but in terms of the proportion of the item shipped to the size of the box it came in, it comes pretty close. Sean ordered a gear the size of a fingernail — literally — from Tower Hobbies. More » -
cvs
2-Foot-Long CVS Receipt Doubles As Party Streamer
Matt sent Consumerist an e-mail with the subject line, "Why is my receipt two feet long?" See, he shopped at CVS, purchased one item, used the self-checkout machine, and walked away with a receipt longer than my dog. This is a massive waste of paper, especially when you multiply it by the number of CVS stores and the number of purchases at each one, but it isn't completely pointless. More » -
cellphones
Are You Actually Paying More Than $3 A Minute To Use Your Cellphone?
The LA Times brings up an interesting point. You may think you are getting each cellphone minute for about $0.10... but are you really? Or are you paying for more minutes than you use? More » -
stupid shipping gang
Ponderables: Why Must Amazon Ship Air All Over The United States of America?
Reader Marc would like Amazon to stop shipping bubbles of air all over the country. He ordered two items that would have been fine to ship in an envelope — but instead he got the usual large box with several air bubbles. This makes Marc mad. More » -
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Comcastic!
Comcast Spends 42 Cents to Mail You a 13 Cent Check
It could be worse; they could have just charged him the difference and called it a day. Full Comcastic Check inside. [Thanks David!] More » -
samsclub
Sam's Club Pretends Its Polystyrene Cup Is Green
Gregg saw this cheerful environmentally-friendly message on the side of his Sam's Club soda cup. Wait, what? We guess it saves Sam's Club fuel costs to ship the cups, but that sounds more like a profit-friendly quality. Gregg notes another benefit of the cup: "[it] may never biodegrade but at least it's easy on my drinkin' elbow." More » -
hewlett-packard
Hewlett-Packard Crowned Head Of The Stupid Shipping Gang After Packing 32 Sheets Of Paper In 17 Boxes
Leading the stupid shipping gang takes creative incompetence, and Hewlett-Packard is clearly up to the task. Other companies might have turned to email when faced with the challenge of shipping sixteen software licenses. Not Hewlett-Packard! HP went looking for a box. A really big box, which they filled with sixteen smaller boxes, each containing two precious pieces of paper ensconced in a layer of protective foam.
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consumption
20 Ways To Make The Most Of Your Groceries Without Spending An Extra Cent
Americans throw away a quarter of our food uneaten, which translates into serious wasted cash over time. The Guardian compiled an excellent list of ways to shop smarter so you end up buying what you need, and eating what you buy. More » -
stupid shipping gang
Boy, This Tiny Microfiber Cloth From Amazon Sure Is Packaged Efficiently
Yes, folks. It's time for everybody's favorite post: Stupid Shipping Gang! In this episode, Amazon demonstrates how to package a tiny microfiber cloth efficiently. More » -
new york city
Pregnant? Asthmatic? Don't Like Rollercoasters? Stay Away From NYC Elevators And Escalators
Unless you're willing to risk being stranded with 14 other passengers several stories underground in a cattle car elevator on a hot summer day, or plunging at extreme speeds down an escalator with a broken chain, you might want to steer clear of NYC's subway system lifts. The New York Times has published the results of an extensive investigation that includes tales of daily breakdowns, comically undertrained mechanics, and about $1 billion spent over the past decade. More » -
stupid shipping gang
Canon Uses Comically Oversized Box To Send You Something They Could Have Taped To A Postcard
Earlier this week I ordered a part from Canon USA Service for one of my Canon cameras and it arrived today. I am impressed for the fast shipping but not so much by the efficiency of the packaging.
Additional photo inside. More » -
stupid shipping gang
Dell Still Ships Tiny Items In Massive Boxes
From the looks of David's package, Dell isn't close to honoring its promise to switch to alternative packaging within the next two months. This obscenely large box contained nothing more than a 2GB flash drive. David's son snapped a few pictures, which appear as an eerie slideshow after the jump.
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polls
Should American Airlines Have Flown Five Overbooked Passengers Across The Atlantic In An Empty Plane?
American Airlines managed to rebook all but five passengers after canceling one of its four daily flights from Chicago to London. The five still needed to get to London, so American rustled up an empty plane and invited everyone up to business class. Seems nice, but Friends of the Earth is outraged that American burned 22,000 gallons of fuel for five passengers. Great customer service or eco-scandal? Vote in our poll, after the jump. More » -
stupid shipping gang
What's Inside This Big Box From IBM?
Ooo, what could be inside this box that IBM shipped to a reader—retail-packaged software? Peripherals? Maybe a hard drive with air padding? A logo-emblazoned hoodie? Monogrammed pencils? A kitten? More »
waste
New York, 2:07 PM
Wed Nov 11
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