Nate
When it comes to wasteful practices, egregious packaging takes the cake. From layers of plastic on already-sealed items to massive boxes for products that could fit in your pocket, the examples are both laughable and maddening. These packaging fails highlight just how far companies will go to overdo it.
Scroll on to see the most absurd examples of over-the-top and excessive packaging—you’ll be shaking your head the whole way through.
1. “Individually Wrapped Lemon Slices”
2. “Since Oranges Don’t Have A Natural Packaging”
3. “This Tin Of Individually Wrapped Assorted Jelly Beans I Got As A Gift”
4. “Seen At Target – 2 Apple Slices X 6 Plastic Bags, In A Plastic Box”
5. “Not Sure What The Point Of The Plastic Wrapping Is… What A Waste”
6. “For F*ck’s Sake”
7. “Pure Absurdity”
8. “All Of This For One Purse. (Cat For Scale)”
9. “This Box Was For One Little Ds Game”
10. “47,785ml Of Packaging For 5.4ml Of Product. These Boxes All Came From The Same Warehouse Together”
11. “Ordered 5 Nail Polishes From Amazon”
12. “Wasteful Packaging Should Be A Crime. Credit: Gegloon On Reddit Via @get.waste.ed”
13. “Included A Lipstick In A Target Pick-Up Order. They Said It Was Out Of Stock Locally, But They Could Mail Me One”
14. “Two Sleeves Of Pills Came In The Box Of 10”
15. “17-Inch Box For A 2-Inch Item, Including Whole Printed Spiel That It Was ‘Thoughtfully Packaged’ To ‘Reduce Impact'”
16. “Some Sort Of Chip My Coworker Received”
17. “All This Plastic For A Single Cough Drop”
18. “Just Got A Pair Of Headphones, Why Is The Box So Big”
19. “Somehow Both Too Much And Not Enough”
20. “‘Eco Friendly’ Soft Toys All Individually Wrapped In Single Use Plastic”
21. “The Box And What It Was Used For. Ordered From An Ink Supplier”
22. “Got My Battery Today From Amazon. They Didn’t Even Add Bubble Wrap Or Craft Paper”
23. “Pixy Stix”
24. “‘Gift Of Nothing’ Is The Gift Of Egregious Packaging”
25. “The Forks At Buffalo Wild Wings”
26. “Can’t Be Too Careful!”
27. “Christmas Present. A Box With Plastic Lid, Six Useless Cups, 6 Plastic Lids… All For 6 Little Sachets Of Hot Chocolate/Coffee”
28. “My Chef Saved $2.50/300 Units If They Come Individually Wrapped. So I Spent The First Hour Of My Shift Unwrapping Them”
29. “Forgot About This Gem…this Was 12 Years Ago But I Believe That Was About An 18-In Ruler And It Was Absolutely The Only Thing In That Box”
30. “Way Too Much Packaging For Some Batteries”
31. “A Little Bottle And A Tiny Other Thing”
32. “A Specific Carton Just For A Single Egg”
33. “A Fanny Pack”
34. “This Is The Packaging For 8 Serving Utensils From Crate And Barrel. (Banana For Scale)”
35. “Nutrisystem Pizza”
36. “Giant Box To Ship Five 4×6 Photos”
37. “All For One Book”
38. “A Presentation Case For A Single Tube Of Toothpaste. It’s Recyclable, Forgetting That They Could Just Not”
39. “Too Much Package For 3 ‘Gourmet’ Cookies. Found At Sams Club”
40. “Ordered 2 Knives From Crate And Barrel…”
41. “Hannaford Supermarket Hoping To Sell You *a* Donut”
42. “Change Wiper Blades On Two Vehicles And Win This Pile Of Bs!”
43. “All This For Some Spirit Gum :/”
44. “Why”
45. “All This Plastic For Just 5 Toothbrush Heads”
46. “The Tomato Aisle In My Local Grocery Store Made Me Sad”
47. “Thanks Tesla! All This Packaging For A USB Drive”
48. “Was The Paper Seriously Supposed To Keep The Two Items From Moving Around In This Huge Box?”
49. “Wait, Why Wrap Compostable Poo Bags In Plastic?”
50. “Some Anti-Egregiouspackaging? I Mean, Thanks, But A Little Discretion Would Have Been Appreciated”
h/t: r/EgregiousPackaging