(The post title comes from the movie “The Graduate” and conveys the attitude towards going into business for young people in the 1960’s)
Plastic was rare when I was a kid in the 1950’s. In fact, we associated plastic with cheap, flimsy and ugly. Nearly every item was made of wood, metal, glass or cardboard. Most liquids came in glass bottles, including bleach, shampoo, oils, juices and syrups. Toys were made mainly of wood or metal. My blocks were wood cubes. My doll furniture was wood, with a smattering of “cheap plastic.” Our Ferris wheel toy was made of sheet metal, as was our toy train. As I mentioned yesterday, my lunch box was metal. Most food came in cardboard boxes, as much of it does today. However, the boxes were never covered in plastic, nor did they have their contents wrapped in plastic inside the box.
Glass is of course breakable, and there were endless clean up jobs when one of us kids dropped something in the house. Metal edges can cut, and more than one toy wounded one of us. Cardboard doesn’t protect crackers from getting stale. On the other hand, crackers didn’t have a chance to go stale in our house with six people eating them!
So is the proliferation of plastic more beneficial or harmful? We can see islands of plastic debris in the oceans, clearly a negative. We are beginning to examine the effects of plastic on the disruption of hormones in humans. There is some research about decreasing sperm count, for instance, in relation to the chemicals used to make plastic.
I realize that we are unlikely to return to the simple packaging of my childhood. However, it was a time of much less waste and much less negative effect on the world around us. All for the sake of “convenience.”
Saved By Words 
I remember we used little paper straws with our cartons of milk at school. I wish they’d make paper straws again and ban the plastic ones which are so damaging to sea life.
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Do you remember those Flavor Straws that were paper with koolaid or something in them so that when you sipped you got a flavor? I too recently looked for paper straws and couldn’t find any.
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I remember colorful straws that had a powdery sweet and sour candy you would pour into your mouth!
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I just looked them up and they were Flavr_Straws. I remember then because my brother and I got sick from the strawberry milk from drinking too much of it.
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I am glad that we can buy things in bulk at the co-op in Woodstock NY near here, and bring our own containers for it, whether it’s liquid or grains. I think some things are insanely wasteful these days, like individually-wrapped toothpicks in restaurants–
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In Oregon we lived near such a place. I like co-ops in general, but don’t have one near us.
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Stores and malls here are no longer using plastic bags. You can bring your own reusable bag or they wrap the items in paper bag. Grocery items except for canned goods are still packaged in plastic. Aren’t they harmful to the environment?
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That is good news about your stores. Maybe we will take your lead here. I think most plastic is bad for the earth.
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Plastic is one of the gravest dangers to humanity
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And yet it seems to have taken over.
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Unfortunately, yes
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I couldn’t agree more! I have chemical sensitivities, and most modern conveniences are a threat to me. I miss a lot of the old ways when things were made of natural materials. Just today I accidentally found out that “wrinkle free” fabrics are infused with formaldehyde. Ick!
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That’s a problem we have created, for sure. Except for stinky perfume, I don’t remember anyone having chemical sensitivity years ago.
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Did you have a porcelain doll? Plastic straws are now being banned. I hope supermarket plastic bags woul be next.
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Yes. I had my grandmother’s porcelain doll which I have given to my granddaughter. It is now 130 years old! In the US plastic straws are still legal.
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Wow…I knew it. That is a keeper.
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We may have to revert back to simple packaging, Elizabeth. The plastic in the ocean is frightening.
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I guess there is a lot of money to be made from plastic, hence its proliferation. I hope we revert also.
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I agree, I hate plastic packaging, let’s go back to bringing our own containers & paying by weight from wholesalers! Like it was when I was a child!
Jennifer
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When we lived near a co-op, we were able to do that.
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It isn’t common here in Australia anymore only in sparsely placed boutique “organic” outlets.
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Why should simple food be found in expensive shops and junk everywhere else?
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This is a very good question Elizabeth, one that many here are asking.
We had until recently a service where you could order online directly from the farmer & it was delivered to your door. It was cost affective for many household budgets, but with fuel cost rises etc. This just went belly up (bankrupt) as it became untenable.
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I remember a produce truck driving around my neighborhood as a kid. In fact there was an area of “truck farms” where they grew the food for those trucks. Jasper drove the one near us.
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Yes, we had those too! We also had horse drawn carts that delivered milk in the morning & then bread just before lunch! A Clydesdale used to pull each cart! Oh it was such a delight!
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Wow, a Clydesdale. A great image.
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They knew where to go & stop at each house too while the baker or milkman was delivering to the door, the horse would move further on to the next place on its own!
Wonderful memories of childhood :-D…We loved it!
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Better than a car for sure.
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