Coconuts are a pretty sturdy fruit.
With a hard outer shell and a thick husk they can withstand a lot, and you certainly wouldn’t want one falling on your head.
But apparently some people thought they needed more packaging, because screw the environment, right?
Sainsburys was called out by a Twitter user this week for selling the tropical fruit covered in plastic with a straw and ring-pull to boot.
Fruits, nuts & seeds have evolved their own natural packaging, which has done the job well for millennia. How is replacing a coconut's perfectly good shell with unsustainable plastic wrapping, a single-use plastic straw & cardboard 'striving to avoid all unnecessary packaging' ? pic.twitter.com/DVkNMtcovi
— Alex Morss (@morss_alex) January 8, 2018
Alex Morss pointed out the hypocrisy of calling a product organic and covering it in packaging which isn’t sustainable or biodegradable. She also highlights research that says coconuts keep better when stored as nature intended.
Here are the coconuts in question:
These are sold by Genuine Coconut, who claim that their seemingly over the top wrapping gives people the option to drink raw water straight from the coconut on the go, due to the ‘easy opening system’.
However, other tweeters also shared their frustration at the unnecessary plastic:
How long has this ridiculousness been going on?!
Totally unnecessary – particularly as coconuts come in their own rather sturdy packaging! A perfect example of #pointlessplastics
— Alan Shenton (@alan_shenton) January 6, 2018
If only coconuts came in there own protective outer shell……ohh wait…..
— Messgorough (@Messgorough) January 6, 2018
That is just mad. The whole idea of the ring pull and the cup is ridiculous.
What next plastic zips on bananas?— Rob Acton-Campbell (@RobCrewsHole) January 6, 2018
More: Food
Genuine Coconut and Sainsburys have yet to comment on the matter, but with a growing consciousness around environmental issues, it seems like they’ll have some explaining to do.
Particularly if products are labelled as organic, there should be a concerted effort to ensure that there’s as little waste as possible, and if there is any it should be easy to recycle.
Maybe if you can’t be bothered to open a coconut on the go, you could pick something else? Just a thought.
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