In addition to discussing the history, uses, types, sustainability and future of the packaging industry, this book addresses the roles that packaging plays in the foods we eat and the products we buy. It offers practical examples, recommendations, and alternatives for living "green" and the avoiding the so-called plastic trap.

"A Watershed Media book."

The packaging landscape -- The package is the product -- Wading upstream in the waste stream -- In packages we trust -- Does packaging waste equal more food? -- Intrinsic environmental consequences of trade-related transport / Jerry Mander, Simon Retallack -- Acceptable levels of waste -- Curbside confessionals -- Tracking a package's footsteps -- In search of water from a deeper well -- A world of "less bad" solutions? -- Can packaging have a meaningful life? -- The search for solutions -- Major obstacles preventing packaging reform -- Key leverage points and trends toward packaging reform -- Extended producer responsibility and product take-back laws -- The expanding face of extended producer responsibility -- Finland's Bottle Law : countrywide standardization -- Source reduction : packing more with less -- Hewlett-Packard : take away the package to lower the damage -- Aveda : optimizing post-consumer content and beyond -- Ben & Jerry's : getting the white out -- Natural systems design -- Celery Design Collaborative : the 80 percent solution -- Packaging tips from the porcupine fish (and other wild packagers) / Janine M. Benyus, Dayna Baumeister -- Wood reduction : packaging and the fate of the forests -- Third-party certification organizations and ecolabels -- The Forest Stewardship Council : certified wood and the well-managed working forest -- Alliances for Environmental Innovation : the "greener" boxboard project -- Summit Brewery : more palatable pallets -- The Chlorine-Free Products Association : processing without chlorine -- The rise of the mini-mill -- Durango-McKinley : leading-edge linerboard -- Regale : 21st-century egg carton -- The carbohydrate economy : on the trail of bioplastics -- Cargill Dow : the corntainer -- The global revival of local economies -- A future beyond the box -- Bad wraps -- Packaging that works -- What you can do -- Wraps at a glance -- Beyond-the-box packaging solutions -- Appendix A. Assessment of packaging practices -- Appendix B. Tips on green packaging -- Appendix C. Resources.