‘This is why advertising and marketing is evil’

While the Cheetos Duster — primarily a handheld blender meant for use to grind up Cheetos — has been round since 2022, it is nonetheless a little bit surprising to see the novelty kitchen gadget within the wild.

When a consumer got here throughout the product at Walmart, they could not assist however snap a pic and share the find on Reddit with the r/Anticonsumption neighborhood.

What occurred?

The authentic poster mentioned they stopped by Walmart to buy just a few objects and located the Cheetos Duster close to the snack aisle. Judging by their response, that they had by no means heard of the area of interest kitchenware product earlier than.

“Cheetos dust(er)???” they captioned the pictures. One confirmed the best way to use the product, and one other had a piece describing what meals you’ll be able to sprinkle the Cheetos shavings on, a few of which truthfully do not sound too appetizing.

“So… a food processor?” one particular person replied. “This is why marketing is evil. Also I don’t see the value of using Cheetos when you really want the cheese seasoning which is easy enough to find.”

“They’re gonna go crazy when they learn you can do it with your hands. Or a rolling pin, if you don’t want your hands getting dirty,” another person said.

Watch now: Is this common bathroom item making you sick?

Why are pointless merchandise regarding?

Perhaps some foodies on the market would argue that the Cheetos Duster is certainly helpful. It was so fashionable when it launched in November 2022 that it offered out simply days after it became available on Amazon, in line with Fox 9 News.

However, contemplating it is primarily a small blender, you could possibly simply use one that you just most likely already should grind up Cheetos. The product is a novelty merchandise at finest, designed to seize individuals’s consideration with intelligent advertising and marketing. Since components of the product seem like made with plastic, the Cheetos Duster would trigger vital environmental hurt if many find yourself in landfills relatively than being recycled when individuals not need them.

According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 86% of plastic generated within the United States in 2019 was landfilled, whereas 9% was burned to provide electrical energy, and simply 5% was recycled. Plastics are additionally contaminating the oceans and different pure areas, placing wildlife and ecosystems in danger.

The extra pointless plastic merchandise which are made, the better the menace to the setting, contemplating there’s at present no society-wide different to plastic.

Is Frito-Lay doing something about this?

PepsiCo, which owns Frito-Lay, has just lately updated its climate and sustainability goals, which embody plans to scale back and reuse packaging. For instance, it goals to make use of 40% or extra recycled content material in its plastic packaging by 2035 and design 97% of its major and secondary packaging to be recyclable, compostable, biodegradable, or reusable by 2030 in key packaging markets.

All of this includes the packaging relatively than precise merchandise, nonetheless. Still, it is definitely commendable and a step in the best route, as PepsiCo was recognized as one of many prime 5 contributors to plastic waste worldwide, in line with a examine revealed in Science Advances.

What else is being carried out about wasteful merchandise?

More customers are calling out firms for promoting merchandise that both encourage conspicuous consumption or comprise extreme plastic packaging, equivalent to these espresso mugs and Nestlé Drumstick cones.

However, some retailers are listening and beginning to supply extra eco-friendly products. For instance, Target launched a line of family necessities known as Everspring, which aren’t solely budget-friendly however are made with at the least partially recycled content material or packaged in glass as a substitute of plastic.

You also can save hundreds of {dollars} per 12 months by switching from single-use coffee purchases to a French press and reusable journey mugs, in addition to from disposable water bottles and grocery luggage to reusable choices.

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