Malt-O-Meal’s Bag the Box site claims the discount breakfast cereal line is doing its part to inflict minimal damage on the environment because its product doesn’t use boxes like its competitors do. But because Malt-O-Meal didn’t recently shift from boxes to bags and is vague about resources used to create its packaging, GreenBiz argues it’s hard to discern whether or not the company is easier on the environment than boxed cereal manufacturers.

The site says Malt-O-Meal “saved” 156 million pounds of paperboard and 1.1 billion BTUs of energy since 2001 by using bags rather than boxes, but the claim holds little water because the company used bags before then, as my college days munching down bags of Marshmallow Mateys can attest. Also, the site doesn’t address the fact that Malt-O-Meal’s thicker, heavier packaging likely uses more plastic than the flimsy stuff boxed cereals are packaged in.

What do you make of Malt-O-Meal’s greener-than-thou claims? And if you eat cereal, what role do environmental concerns play in your purchase?

Also, what’s your favorite Malt-O-Meal cereal?

Malt-O-Meal’s ‘Green’ Anti-Box Campaign is Half in the Bag [GreenBiz]

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