What A Waste

'Scuse me while I have a snit. I try to live my life in a gentle to the earth, waste less way. Sure it's a work in progress. We haven't gotten to the zero waste lunches we aim for 100% of the time yet. We're still a 2 car family despite the composter, recycling bin, and 2 water barrels. But we're trying... we really are.

Then the corporate sabotage comes. As a blogger I'm sent a LOT of shipments of products to review, prizes for our readers and PR whatnots and most of it is greatly appreciated, professionally sent, and not overkill. 

Then there are the exceptions... Last year I was incredulous a tea company sent a FedEx box from the west coast, at great expense. What treasure did they send me? A BOTTLE OF SAND with a scroll inside, inviting me to a press event!!

But that pales in comparison to THIS WEEK. Grrrrrrrrr. I'm gritting my teeth. Don't worry--no names to protect the guilty. But... I was sent THREE different Priority Overnight FedEx shipments from California to Chicago, containing a padded envelope within a medium box. If that wasn't expensive and wasteful enough... What were the wondrous contents that had to be rushed half way across the country?!

• Box #1 -- a Blu-ray movie and 2 plastic toys (wasteful, yeah, but maybe almost justifiable since we were reviewing the release, though it still makes me cringe)

• Box #2 --1 plastic toy & 1 sheet of stickers (WTF people... really?!)

• Box #3 -- 3 sticker sheets, 2 plastic toys, and a tiny t-shirt (C'mon people. You're killing me!)

I mean, really. I know you make a bazillion bucks on your movies, but it would be awesome if you cut some of the shipping waste and made your tickets cheaper so more families could go out and see a movie without going broke.  Or maybe you could run more paid promotions for bloggers, who are mostly well educated, overworked, un or underpaid professionals. Maybe you could even put the extra shipping/savings money toward some eco-friendly philanthropy. 

I don't want to bite the hand that feeds... but this is seriously bugging me! I'm trying to be zen about it and think of all the FedEx employees who have food on their tables due to this insanity. But the carbon footprint to send 1 sheet of stickers and some plastic crap across the country, padded enveloped and boxed, priority FedEx, and hand delivered--signature required?! It makes my head spin.

Anyone else have cognitive dissonance at this kind of corporate craziness?? What's the most wasteful corporate thing you've been sent, or seen, or participated in?

Thanks guys. I just had to vent! Now back to our reviews.