Product Packaging and Ethical Responsibility
Courtney Hoppes
BMGT 223
Article Review #1
Product Packaging and Ethical Responsibility There have been many consumer products that have had misleading advertisements, designs, and labels. One writer of Forbes.com has come across the packaging of a certain products that he believes should raise an ethical concern. These concerns are aimed mostly at young children since they usually do not read labels, and generally go by appearance. The article is aimed at the Colgate company for their misleading packaging on their product known as ‘Fabuloso’. This product sold by the Colgate Company is packaged in clear bottles, filled with brightly colored liquids, and have fruit designs on the labels. This product, however, is a household cleaning supply. The ethical issue for the author and for me as well, is that even adults are easily fooled by this product; thus making children an easy target for ingesting what they think will taste as great as it looks. The author goes into detail that he has contacted packaging and design expert, David Brier, for his opinion, and even he agrees that the packaging for this sort of product is indeed, unusual. We must remember that children, even the ones that can read, generally don’t look at labels before consuming a product. If it looks good to a child, then they are going to want to eat or drink it. I believe that the makers of this household cleaner should reexamine the way they have presented their items. Maybe they could conduct studies that include children to see what their reaction is to this product’s appearance. It may even increase their sales if shoppers are aware that this is a cleaning product and not just an overpriced bottle of juice!
Works Cited
Olenski, Steve. "Do Brands Have A Responsibility When It Comes To Packaging" Forbes.com. Forbes.com LLC, 09 Nov 2012. Web. 10 Feb
BMGT 223
Article Review #1
Product Packaging and Ethical Responsibility There have been many consumer products that have had misleading advertisements, designs, and labels. One writer of Forbes.com has come across the packaging of a certain products that he believes should raise an ethical concern. These concerns are aimed mostly at young children since they usually do not read labels, and generally go by appearance. The article is aimed at the Colgate company for their misleading packaging on their product known as ‘Fabuloso’. This product sold by the Colgate Company is packaged in clear bottles, filled with brightly colored liquids, and have fruit designs on the labels. This product, however, is a household cleaning supply. The ethical issue for the author and for me as well, is that even adults are easily fooled by this product; thus making children an easy target for ingesting what they think will taste as great as it looks. The author goes into detail that he has contacted packaging and design expert, David Brier, for his opinion, and even he agrees that the packaging for this sort of product is indeed, unusual. We must remember that children, even the ones that can read, generally don’t look at labels before consuming a product. If it looks good to a child, then they are going to want to eat or drink it. I believe that the makers of this household cleaner should reexamine the way they have presented their items. Maybe they could conduct studies that include children to see what their reaction is to this product’s appearance. It may even increase their sales if shoppers are aware that this is a cleaning product and not just an overpriced bottle of juice!
Works Cited
Olenski, Steve. "Do Brands Have A Responsibility When It Comes To Packaging" Forbes.com. Forbes.com LLC, 09 Nov 2012. Web. 10 Feb
Cited: Olenski, Steve. "Do Brands Have A Responsibility When It Comes To Packaging" Forbes.com. Forbes.com LLC, 09 Nov 2012. Web. 10 Feb 2013.