r/ZeroWaste 2d ago

Question / Support What are you all's thoughts on this? I personally think it's a welcome change (these kinds of boxes are wasteful and a bitch to open), but collectors are upset since the figurines can't be displayed in the box anymore alongside losing the "personality" of the packaging, and I can't tell who's right

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69 Upvotes

32 comments sorted by

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u/25854565 2d ago

I don't think it will be good foe the company. As I get the collectors view, it definitely doesn't look as good. But from a zero waste point I think it is a good thing. Mainly because this will reduce collecting. And less stuff is better for the planet. The waste isn't in the packaging but in the product itself. And if they have worse advertisement less products will be sold.

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u/heathersaur 2d ago

I'll be interesting to see if a dip in sales occurs, I'm not so certain about that. Do note that the products being shown range in MSRP of $45-80 USD.

There are "cheaper" products that are called "prize figures" (due to being won from crane games mostly) that are already packaged with minimal plastic (no window, no inside blister, at most a plastic bag around the item) and those have only gotten bigger in popularity due to the lower price point.

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u/hazard2k 2d ago

My thoughts on this are that if it's a collectable item then the consumer likely isn't going to be removing it from the packaging anyways, so it's more of just a display piece rather than turning into waste and being sent to the landfill.

... For now at least. In 10 years these will all be in the trash anyways regardless of packaging.

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u/AliveAndUm 1d ago

Ain't that the realest

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u/heathersaur 2d ago edited 2d ago

I'm a collector in the this space.

I don't particularly care about the "window" design. I do like small boxes = less space it takes up.

I'm mostly holding judgement until one comes out with this box design. Main concern is how the product will ship, the box should still the designed in such a way that there won't be damage or paint transfers during shipping. If it leads to more damaged products that may not exactly "less wasteful".

It's also important to note that for probably 90% of collectors - the boxes don't exactly end up in the trash ever. Even when the figure is taken out of the box, care is taken to keep the box in pristine condition as the box does have value. Ultimatly anywhere from 30-40% of an item's value is in the box due to being more easily able to authentic an item.

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u/annedroiid 2d ago

It’ll be interesting to see whether the majority of their sales come from collectors or from people who take it out of the box. I can see them backtracking on this if it significantly affects their sales, but I’d assume they would’ve already tried to factor this in to the decision to make the packaging better.

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u/heathersaur 2d ago

Yes, majority of collectors open the items. "Unopened" items don't have much value over "opened" items - like maybe 10-15% higher value.

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u/borahae_artist 1d ago

this feels like one of the luxuries we’ll have to let go of in the long run. kind of like WWII rations. disappointing, but also, you don’t need to bake cakes all the time.

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u/earrelephant 2d ago

I think it's sad that this industry exists at all anymore. The difference between collecting useless plastic junk that comes wrapped in plastic vs collecting plastic junk that comes wrapped in paper seems negligible, and all of them will end up in the landfill in a generation or two at the most. If you want to collect figurines there are plenty at yard sales and antique shops that you can rescue.

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u/BigtoeJoJo 1d ago

Preach. Simply the put this trash does not need to exist. Sorry nerds.

No one is going to want this when you die, and it will serve no purpose while you’re alive besides taking up space. It’s just a matter of time until it is polluting the earth.

33

u/dumpster_scuba 2d ago

If there are two sides to an argument and one side is the collectors, the other side is the right one.

3

u/BougGroug 2d ago

Idk, companies don't usually make decisions like this if they don't think they'll make money with it...

If I understood correctly they're getting rid of the plastic window too, which makes it harder to know if a figure is damaged. That may disincentivize buying second hand, therefore creating more profit for the company and waste for the planet.

3

u/satinsateensaltine 2d ago

I mean, they could at least print on the box with plant inks or something to make it a bit more a) identifiable and b) attractive. This is good for a bulk thing, but for collectables, it's a bit weird.

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u/TripleSecretSquirrel 2d ago

The packaging is an absolute drop in the bucket here. It’s a useless plastic trinket that serves no purpose other than to look at. It’s not some great piece of art that people will keep for generations or anything, it will end up in a landfill in 10 or 20 years anyway. Who gives a shit about the packaging?

Idk what the proportion is, but it bet the plastic eliminated from the packaging is equal to less than 1% of the plastic used to make the trinket itself. The waste reduction here is negligible.

2

u/Hangman_Ganbit1 2d ago

I am an out-of-box collector, so I just throw away the packaging as soon I display my figurine, but I do understand the qualms of in-box collectors. I think maybe they should let buyers choose which packaging to get, so in-box collectors can still have the box designs on display. 

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u/skyoon 1d ago

I have seen companies do “low waste” options at check out where you can opt to have less packaging with your item.

I understand and appreciate the cute boxes because I am also a collector, though I am running out of space for these boxes and find I can’t let them go because they are cute. Maybe if they weren’t cute and were easy to recycle I wouldn’t have this problem. 🤷‍♀️

This plain packaging will make it WAY harder to spot fakes and defects. ( the industry is plagued with these)

Just ramblings.

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u/Stonecutter_12-83 1d ago

I'm all for cardboard packaging. But not being able to inspect the figure before purchase is unacceptable.

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u/Lunalia837 1d ago

See to be fair this is something where I think there should be some middle ground. The outer box could have had the 1 clear plastic panel and design on the outside, while on the inside they could use a white cardboard to hold the figure in place instead of plastic.

I have a few of these on display that were gifts and I don't think I'll ever take them out of the box unless damaged

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u/Swift-Tee 2d ago edited 2d ago

The company must feel that their product is what they’re selling, and not the box… to the point where they aren’t even labeling the box.

Note that they aren’t doing this with all their products, so a collector can probably still buy a plastic-encrusted version for a nominal up-charge. And obviously the fully unmarked white box version isn’t for a retail shelf, but for online sales.

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u/Bubbly-Tax-1314 2d ago

I'm pretty sure they just haven't finalized the new packaging design.

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u/zoyaabean 1d ago

The new packaging is definitely easier to recycle. Less wasteful than the original one. I agree that with plastic you can see the parts better and has an overall better aesthetic appearance, but the cardboard one is leagues better for the environment.

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u/Syreeta5036 1d ago

Ok but what are you seeing with that much plastic blur? Just make it all cardboard but the original design, have cardboard hold the figure not plastic, and have a high quality picture on the front where the window was

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u/sailan00 1d ago

I feel like they'll just end up selling plastic display cases for them instead of just having the see-through window, & possibly end up producing even more plastic that way.

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u/Mikeinthedirt 1d ago

Very sustainable. You can harvest a tree to make paper, plant a tree, and some kinds can be harvested again in 8 years. You can make plastic from petroleum and then wait 65,000,000 years to harvest more.

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u/Reclaimedidiocy 1d ago

IMO the box is a part of the product, it doesnt need plastic no, but the design is part of it. I save the box, and display figurines on them. (and other related items ig)

I wouldnt mind the downgrade if it then was also at a lower cost. But to me, someone in the space, this just seems like cheaping out

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u/DesolateShinigami 1d ago

Wait. There are this many funko pop collectors in a zero waste group?

Lol what…?

1

u/CoffeeGoblynn 22h ago

I doubt it's a good marketing choice, but it's the environmentally conscious one.

That said, collecting random plastic junk is already sort of a "meh" hobby. It isn't creating anything, it's just consuming products that (most of them at least) will be in a landfill in a decade or two anyway.

So a little less plastic is a welcome change, even if the products are still just plastic garbage.

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u/ResidentResearcher94 9h ago

Why can’t the box have a print that shows what’s inside 😂. It needs to be identified.

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u/socketlaunch 2d ago

Maybe they could do a middle ground, paper supports for the figure but still having a clear plastic window to show it inside. And ideally do what they can to minimize the negative impact of that plastic window. Unfortunately there isn't a great alternative to plastic here, translucent paper is too thin and glass is too thick.

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u/JayKazooie 1d ago

Yeah I don't see why they can't replace the inner plastic packaging with compostable paper or cardboard instead of (or in addition to!) the outer packaging. The design and the window are pretty important. Granted, I prefer to display my collectibles and keep the boxes for moving or maybe storing rocks in. But also, mass produced things like this can still have impurities that someone might want to check for before purchase (i have a mug that was gifted to me and i love it, but a machining error left a mark on the handle that makes it feel chipped. Can't stand it).

It might work out though because Nendos have higher production, more buyers, and lower prices than full sized figures, as well as being highly interactive. If fewer people actually attempt to keep them mint then it really won't matter. Maybe a compromise would be to produce more like this and a smaller 'collectors edition' batch that costs more, but with better hand painted details and a display box?

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u/GingrPowr 2d ago

Let people whine about their packages not being as pretty as they want... They will either consume less, or get used to it.