The (Pandemic) Future's in...Packaging: "Paper or Plastic?"

Sage Advice from 1967: Mr. McGuire (Walter Brooke) to Ben Braddock (Dustin Hoffman):                                                             Mr. M: "I just want to say one word to you, just one word"                                                                           Ben: "Yes sir"                                                                                                                                                 Mr. M: "Are you listening?"                                                                                                                           Ben: "Yes, I am listening"                                                                                                                               Mr. M: "Plastics"

       This, an iconic scene from "The Graduate", one in which both actors have been since linked (as well as Ben and Mrs. Robinson, of course) by trivia buffs such as myself -- whenever someone I know casually asks me "What's the good word?" I answer with "plastics", followed by asking them what movie it was from, sometimes a source of good conversation and at other times annoyance, I suppose, but I've been quoting this movie for over thirty years. How prescient Mr. McGuire was, trying to get the young graduate to consider a career at a time that was way 'pre-pandemic'; he would not have known what was in store for us five decades later, as well as what would literally be in stores, warehouses, and, with the rise of Amazon, on our front porches! As a title from a recent Forbes article (7-9-20) cites, "The Pandemic is Bringing Plastic Back to Food Packaging: COVID-19 has changed just about everything and food and beverage packaging is one of the most visible..." Add to this the demand for PPE products (both paper and plastic products) as well as plastic signs, and you've got the formula for the rebirth of a product/material that had been rather demonized as being environmentally unfriendly, even in the time and land of recycling.                                                                                            

Dollars and Scents: Flash forward to another conversation I was having on behalf of a graduate, that being the son of a friend of mine, as I inquired about his initial career direction after graduating from a local university. "Oh, he's going into packaging". Naively, I responded by asking what kind of sales or marketing position he was seeking (assuming it was shorthand for packaging a sales and marketing plan for a client/customer). "No, it's literally designing and engineering packages...think about it, everything comes in a package, right? Have you ever thought about it?" I have about a gazillion time since! My friend went on to explain what I would eventually encounter when talking with aspiring packaging students about where they were interning or what setting they thought they might end up in, which ranges amazingly far and wide: one who was designing cartons to ship truck doors cross country for a car manufacturer, to one employed by a paper company with many clients demanding a diversity of products, to a perfume company (and you thought the big bucks you have been dolling out is for that famous scent--think twice). And all this before the rise of Amazon!                                                        Cross Training: One of the highest ranking Plastics programs is offered nearby at Michigan State University: "Students will learn how to select raw materials, design and create packaging to withstand environmental hazards during transportation (as well as when the Amazon driver throws it on your porch carelessly, I assume), and to create aesthetically pleasing packages to pique consumer interest" (where a store places or stages a product is another specialty degree). It is aligned with material science, which combines the basic principles of chemistry, mathematics and ergonomics in the broader context of business. Much more involved and intriguing than first glance, huh? Anyone interested?                                   So, at least for the foreseeable future, such products, materials, and people will be in demand. Forecasting careers and/or product demand long term is another type of degree, a different professional discipline. But, whenever you experience ease of opening or, on the other hand, struggle with that 'tamper proof' container, you can utter the same words I do: "Thanks, Sparty!"  

BTW: "Bubble Wrap" was invented in 1957 by engineers Fielding and Chavannes, by sealing two shower curtains together, creating bubbles, which they originally tried to market as wallpaper and, when that failed, they marketed it as greenhouse insulation. So, what have you been doing with your recycled, repurposed materials and stuff? You can always look for ideas on Pinterest, if you're getting bored...