Cellophane
When Jacques Brandenberger invented cellophane, consumers loved it. Clear plastic food packaging transformed the way we purchased food, as well as how producers sold it.
Plastic food packaging often seems obviously wasteful. But when Jacques Brandenberger invented cellophane, consumers loved it. It helped supermarkets go self-service, and it was so popular Cole Porter put it in a song lyric. Nowadays, people worry that plastic doesn’t get recycled enough but there are two sides to this story. Plastic packaging can protect food from being damaged in transit, and help it stay fresh for longer. Should we care more about plastic waste or food waste? As Tim Harford explains, it isn’t obvious and the issue is complicated enough that our choices at the checkout may accidentally do more harm than good.
Producer: Ben Crighton
Editor: Richard Vadon
(Image: Noodles and cellophane, Credit: Getty Images)
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Sources
Plastic-wrapped bananas and the 'kiwi spoon': your packaging peeves
Are seafood lovers really eating 11,000 bits of plastic per year?
Plastic: The Making of a Synthetic Century. Stephen Fenichell. HarperBusiness, 1996.
Inventors of Food and Agriculture Technology. Heather S. Morrison. Cavendish Square Publishing, 2015.
Cellophane, the New Visuality, and the Creation of Self-Service Food Retailing. Ai Hisano. Harvard Business School Working Paper 17-106
Science and Corporate Strategy: Du Pont R and D, 1902-1980. David A. Hounshell, John Kenly Smith, Jr. Victor Smith. Cambridge University Press, 1988.
How to Make Money Selling Meat, Craig Davidson and Fred Orval Briton. Progressive Grocer, 1938.
Plastic: The Making of a Synthetic Century. Stephen Fenichell. HarperBusiness, 1996.
Who Invented Saran Wrap? By Mary Bellis
Phase-out of lightweight plastic bags
The cost of plastic packaging, By Alexander H. Tullo
Is less packaging really good for the environment? By Tom Szaky
Plastic – The Elephant In The Room. Sam Knight. Financial Times, 26 April 2008.
Broadcasts
- Sat 6 Apr 201904:50GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & South Asia
- Sat 6 Apr 201913:50GMTBBC World Service News Internet
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- Sun 7 Apr 201922:50GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Mon 8 Apr 201903:50GMTBBC World Service South Asia
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