No plastic? Fantastic!

I know everyone yawns when we post about Apple’s environmental initiatives, but this one is big: Cupertino finally ditched plastic packaging.

Tbh, Apple’s packaging has long bothered me.

I know Apple’s boxes are beautiful and all. And, like a lot of people, I assembled a sizable collection of old boxes at one point. I just couldn’t bear to throw them away.

Apple’s obsession with packaging goes back to the original Macintosh, when Steve Jobs insisted that unboxing the computer was an important way to introduce customers to its then-unfamiliar components (especially things like the mouse).

Jony Ive talked about how unpacking an Apple product is a form of “theater.” He revealed that Apple’s designers carefully engineer the two halves of a box so that they gently slide apart under gravity, as if the container had a built-in dampener.

This kind of attention to detail is not surprising. When I interviewed a member of Ive’s industrial design team, he told me that packaging was just as important as everything else the team created.

I have no problem with Apple paying attention to its packaging, but it does vex me that so many resources go into something destined to be thrown away.

I’d much rather Apple wrapped its products in simple, easily recycled cardboard — preferably itself made from recycled boxes.

So I’m cheered by today’s news that Apple has eliminated all plastic from its packaging. The amount of plastic saved is pretty staggering. Plus, it’s only part of a range of worthy milestones detailed in the company’s annual environmental impact report.

Also in today’s newsletter:

— Leander Kahney, EIC.

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