Readers Unhappy Over Polybags

Maybe the irony was lost on some, but I was surprised to find my latest copy of C&EN in my mailbox—a bare, naked magazine—not wrapped in the usual plastic mailer bag condom that the publication has embraced lately. I assume the lack of this bag had something to do with a little publisher guilt over the cover article in this edition about our unhealthy attachment to plastic bags and the harm they do (C&EN, Sept. 15, page 12).

I wish C&EN would embrace its own story and stop using shipping bags along with all the wasteful glue on ads that come with my weekly subscription. Not only is the shipping bag wasteful and harmful to the economy, but I often tear my precious copy of the magazine trying to extract it from the wrapper. If you practiced what you preach, we could all save a lot.

Kenneth Carter
Hadley, Mass.

My Sept. 8 issue of C&EN arrived in a plastic bag that I had to rip off with my teeth so that I could trash the ad pasted to its cover so that I could begin reading the aforesaid issue. My Sept. 15 issue arrived unadorned, and I could promptly turn to the cover story, “Breaking the Bag Habit.” Does this all make sense?

Jim Birkett
Nobleboro, Maine

Editor’s note: We’re not thrilled with the polybags (that’s what they’re called in the printing business) either, but the tip-on ads are a premium advertising location, and the Post Office requires them to be polybagged. Without the advertising, we wouldn’t be able to publish C&EN.