Is Packaging Shrinking?

Most of us have heard of shrink wrap.

That’s not the question. What I want to know is when did manufacturers start reducing the contents of their packages so we get less product, but pay the same price or more.

I first noticed it with stuffing mix. I thought the box was the same, but the world – and I – had gotten bigger. A nearby grocery clerk confirmed my sanity and that the package was, indeed, smaller. Packaging for other products has also shrunk. Remember when you could get two good blows out of a Kleenex? Not now.

Makeup is shrinking, too. Lipstick may make you all glossy and smooth, but there are fewer applications. Guess the trade off is that it is supposed to last longer.

What products have you found to be in smaller packages?

I think there is more behind this trend than corporate profit and executive bonuses. I think it’s either in anticipation of smaller people or we’re in some kind of galaxy volume warp that is melting the polar ice and reducing land mass starting with stuff we don’t really need. Well, here’s a thought: If all the polar ice melts, will Earth drip all over Mars and cool it down enough for humans to colonize?

Or maybe it’s those tiny little Martians behind all this shrinking product phenomena. Oh, just had another thought: If we’re invaded by Martians, does that mean yet another national holiday complete with a day off from work, cards, gifts, and special foods, in celebration?

And just so no one is offended, Happy (insert holiday here) to one and all.

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