Discussion of "Better Packaging Methods for Everyone"

by **Mikael** » Jun 2nd, '10, 12:58

Discussion of "Better Packaging Methods for Everyone"

by Mikael » Jun 2nd, '10, 12:58

What do you guys think of the Article about the new packaging materials? Are you happy with our decision? Let us know here! :mrgreen:

Last edited by Mikael on Jun 3rd, '10, 15:20, edited 2 times in total.

by **femmennoir** » Jun 2nd, '10, 17:36

Re: Discussion of "Better Packaging Methods for Everyone"

by femmennoir » Jun 2nd, '10, 17:36

I personally will miss the tins, they were great and quite re-usable, which does makes them green! People I know were waiting for them, they are so great to store all sorts of things, after the tea is gone! I guess the bottom line is the pouches are cheaper to produce! Metal is also recyclable, and therefore does not clog landfills, and your tins were both recyclable and re-usable, so I don't buy your "we are going green" argument. The pouches are not bio-degradable, as you say yourselves! Spell it out and say it is cheaper for you!
So now I will have to purchase tins to empty the pouches into, because I have purchased pouches from other companies and they do not store well, you cannot stack them. The tins were also stackable (I know, it's not a word!), therefore saving precious cabinet space in a New York apartment !!!!
This is quite funny, because when I shared information about your company with friends, I always mentioned how great the tins were!
My two cents,
Femmennoir

by **TubbyCow** » Jun 2nd, '10, 18:36

Re: Discussion of "Better Packaging Methods for Everyone"

by TubbyCow » Jun 2nd, '10, 18:36

Have to echo a lot of what Femmennoir said - I'm not sure I buy the "better for the environment" argument. It's fair for a company to want to cut back on costs, and I'm sure the bags are much cheaper, but I will certainly miss the tins. I hope we can still keep purchasing them - not sure what I'll do if they get phased out!

by **Geekgirl** » Jun 2nd, '10, 18:41

Re: Discussion of "Better Packaging Methods for Everyone"

by Geekgirl » Jun 2nd, '10, 18:41

So glad you are switching to pouches, since I have enough tins and never liked adagio's stock tins anyways. I would be happier though, if the pouches were recyclable.

by **spazmat** » Jun 2nd, '10, 18:46

Re: Discussion of "Better Packaging Methods for Everyone"

by spazmat » Jun 2nd, '10, 18:46

I prefer the tins myself, as well. As pointed out, they're stackable (it is indeed a word--never trust spell check!), reusable, and recyclable. C'est la vie.

by **martin64** » Jun 2nd, '10, 18:55

Re: Discussion of "Better Packaging Methods for Everyone"

by martin64 » Jun 2nd, '10, 18:55

I loved the little tins! I even purchased a pretty spice rack to hold them all in my office. Several people have seen them on display and purchased through you because of seeing them. I am a tea newbie and like ordering lots of sample sizes and the tins work perfect for this. I wish you would reconsider or at least make it an option when ordering - order with the tin or without; like a refill option for those that don't want the the tin.

by **kthayer** » Jun 2nd, '10, 19:06

Re: Discussion of "Better Packaging Methods for Everyone"

by kthayer » Jun 2nd, '10, 19:06

I, too, love the tins. I agree that I would prefer to have an option to still get tea sent in either tins or bags. Although, if you're going to offer the option to buy them separately, maybe they could be offered at a discount with every tea order. Will the Specialty Blends still be in tins? Or will they be in bags too?

by **JillDragon** » Jun 2nd, '10, 20:18

Re: Discussion of "Better Packaging Methods for Everyone"

by JillDragon » Jun 2nd, '10, 20:18

Plastic pouches (and yes I noticed the careful avoidance of the word 'plastic') are not much more environmentally friendly than metal. They might talke up less space in the landfill, but because they're much less reusable than the metal tins there'll be much more of them there (not to mention it'll stay there longer as you've stated yourself that this plastic is not biodegradable). So claiming that the packaging is more environmentally friendly in this case is a bunch of nonesense.

It also means that we'll be missing out on the little discount we get when we order refills of our teas. That was a great incentive to re-use the metal containers so I have no idea what the logic is in getting rid of them - was it costing you too many bucks Adagio?

So in short I'm not a fan of the changes in the packaging.

by **gladmaker** » Jun 2nd, '10, 20:56

Re: Discussion of "Better Packaging Methods for Everyone"

by gladmaker » Jun 2nd, '10, 20:56

The only real benefit I can see in changing packaging is one less item from China. The tins are recyclable so they shouldn't be going into the landfill. I reuse the tin until the plastic lid breaks. I would like to have the larger tins with a metal (instead of plastic) lid with a seal. It would keep the tea fresher. I buy the refill packages. Since you're paying less for packaging, are you going to lower the prices by that amount?

by **Mikael** » Jun 3rd, '10, 16:13

Re: Discussion of "Better Packaging Methods for Everyone"

by Mikael » Jun 3rd, '10, 16:13

femmennoir wrote:I personally will miss the tins, they were great and quite re-usable, which does makes them green! People I know were waiting for them, they are so great to store all sorts of things, after the tea is gone! I guess the bottom line is the pouches are cheaper to produce! Metal is also recyclable, and therefore does not clog landfills, and your tins were both recyclable and re-usable, so I don't buy your "we are going green" argument. The pouches are not bio-degradable, as you say yourselves! Spell it out and say it is cheaper for you!
So now I will have to purchase tins to empty the pouches into, because I have purchased pouches from other companies and they do not store well, you cannot stack them. The tins were also stackable (I know, it's not a word!), therefore saving precious cabinet space in a New York apartment !!!!
This is quite funny, because when I shared information about your company with friends, I always mentioned how great the tins were!
My two cents,
Femmennoir

Hi Femmennoir,

Thanks for signing up to give us your opinion. I expected some negative responses because some people really like the tin containers. I believe we're the only company to still use them and, as martin64 mentioned, many people dig the look of the cans.

You're right that as a business we're trying to save money but that isn't our main reason for changing. We really like the tin cans but they are so heavy and bulky to ship all the way from China. A lot of oil gets used in the process. The primary reason for global warming is CO2 emissions and our plan to change packaging will lessen our carbon footprint big time.

As for the material, yes metal is recyclable but most people don't recycle it. If you do then I commend you

The new packaging material can be recycled to create other plastic products. Assuming that somebody throws out both tin cans and plastic pouches, the latter will take up less space in a landfill. The metal containers are indeed reusable but we ship out so many of them, I have to wonder how many are actually reused. For people like you who really like having them and using them, we offer them separately.

I know it'll be a transition. Just keep the tin containers that you already have and continue using them. If you get any teas from the Masters collection, those will come with tin containers but the rest will be phased into the new packaging style.

by **Mikael** » Jun 3rd, '10, 16:34

Re: Discussion of "Better Packaging Methods for Everyone"

by Mikael » Jun 3rd, '10, 16:34

Geekgirl wrote:So glad you are switching to pouches, since I have enough tins and never liked adagio's stock tins anyways. I would be happier though, if the pouches were recyclable.

I hear you

I tried really hard to find a fully biodegradable solution but it doesn't exist at the moment. Without the barrier film, the tea can become ruined with moisture during transit and we don't want that. Until a fully functional biodegradable option arises, we'll use these pouches and still offer tin cans to those who prefer them.

kthayer wrote:I, too, love the tins. I agree that I would prefer to have an option to still get tea sent in either tins or bags. Although, if you're going to offer the option to buy them separately, maybe they could be offered at a discount with every tea order. Will the Specialty Blends still be in tins? Or will they be in bags too?

Unfortunately having an option of tin or bag for every tea will just be too expensive because every tea will require two packaging processes. Our Masters collection will be sent in tins though. Is that what you mean by Specialty blends?

by **Victoria** » Jun 3rd, '10, 19:04

Re: Discussion of "Better Packaging Methods for Everyone"

by Victoria » Jun 3rd, '10, 19:04

I’m excited about the bags personally, they do look cool. I was never fond of the tins, they were bulky and stacked poorly. And the small ones, at times, arrived open. With the amount of tea I have on hand, bags are better, trust me.

I was actually surprised when my full size orders of the Masters Collections Ali Shan, TKY and Jasmine Pearls came in the tins. I was hoping for a firsthand look at the new packaging. Darn!

Will the Masters Collections transition over to bags eventually?

.

by **Dresden** » Jun 3rd, '10, 19:10

Re: Discussion of "Better Packaging Methods for Everyone"

by Dresden » Jun 3rd, '10, 19:10

I like the tins... No, I LOVE the tins!!! :cry:

I was resistant to the change at first also. That being said, I can understand the switch. The bottom line, folks, is that Adagio keeps their price point low by cutting where they can. If any of us were running a business we would likely do the same. No matter how idealistic you are, the bottom line is that you can't run a business in the red :!:

I'm not going to get into the whole global warming argument. This really isn't the forum for that, IMO. :wink:

Just my opinion,
Mike

by **Chip** » Jun 3rd, '10, 20:29

Re: Discussion of "Better Packaging Methods for Everyone"

by Chip » Jun 3rd, '10, 20:29

I have a bunch of the tins that I have transitioned to other uses. The big canisters don't really fit into the scheme of things here. Besides, I just don't store tea in big tins.

I also received a new bag. It has a zip close and will certainly work out quite well.

Bottom line, I will take up to 50 grams out of any larger packaging and place it into an everyday use and MUCH smaller canister. The remainder, I can safely remove most of the air and set aside for when the everyday use canister is emptied.

I am quite comfortable with the new bags as 99% of the tea I order will come in foil type bags!!!

by **LauraW** » Jun 3rd, '10, 23:20

Re: Discussion of "Better Packaging Methods for Everyone"

by LauraW » Jun 3rd, '10, 23:20

mikael wrote:
kthayer wrote:I, too, love the tins. I agree that I would prefer to have an option to still get tea sent in either tins or bags. Although, if you're going to offer the option to buy them separately, maybe they could be offered at a discount with every tea order. Will the Specialty Blends still be in tins? Or will they be in bags too?

Unfortunately having an option of tin or bag for every tea will just be too expensive because every tea will require two packaging processes. Our Masters collection will be sent in tins though. Is that what you mean by Specialty blends?

I think what was meant by "Specialty blends" was the Signature Blends, which - to my knowledge - are still shipping in tins (at least the last 2 orders I got were, and other things came in the brown non-resealable "transition" bags).

As for me, I like the tins, but I do also like the ability to not have the tins pile up with the more tea that I order. So I'll be happy with the tins I have and reuse them, filling them from the bags! (I've taken a little lesson from Chip about filling another frequently-used smaller container and leaving the bag to be opened as infrequently as possible).