O'Cocos Baked Chocolate Crisps

As a conscientious consumer, I understand that every item I purchase supports the practices and ethics on which the business that created it is founded. Thank you for offering more sustainable and environmentally friendly choices; I highly respect your organization for its commitment to the health of both our planet and the organisms that inhabit it.

A few years ago I became aware of the looming environmental problems caused by plastic. I had known about the toxins that went into creating plastic, and that some of them were known to leach into food, but I was under the naïve impression that plastic could be recycled indefinitely. I was shocked and saddened to learn that plastic can usually only be recycled once, and that our garbage has made its way into the ocean where there are huge swirling gyres of plastic twice the size of Texas (or larger) and growing (1). The mass of plastic in these gyres is up to 6x greater than plankton (2).

There are no known organisms that can decompose plastic, so it is merely broken down into very small components by the sun (3). In a marine environment, those small plastic bits accumulate DDT, PCBs, and other pollutants to levels up to 1 million times their concentration in the water. They are then consumed by salps and sea jellies, where they begin making their way up the food chain (4).

Unfortunately plastic is ubiquitous, and accumulating at a frightening rate. To be environmentally aware while buying plastic products is an overwhelming contradiction. I’ve worked feverishly to cut plastic out of my life, and to educate those around me about our unsustainable addiction to plastic.

I urge you to consider using alternative packaging materials for your products. There is a multitude of consumers like me for whom this is an issue of great concern, and the numbers are increasing daily as more individuals learn about the impacts of their behavior. I’m certain that you would receive support in your transition, and I look forward to the day I can purchase your products with a clear conscience.

Please let me know if I can provide any further information to influence your decision.

Thanks for your time,

Leah Finity

(1) Bialik, C. (2009, March 25) How Big Is That Widening Gyre of Floating Plastic? The Wolf Star

(2) Moore, S.L., Leecaster, M.K., Weisberg S.B. (2001). A comparison of plastic and plankton in the North Pacific central gyre. Moore, CJ, Marine Pollution Bulletin 42 (12): 1297–1300.

(3) Lapidos, J. (2007, June 27). Will My Plastic Bag Still Be Here in 2507? Slate

(4) Moore, C. (2003). Trashed. Across the Pacific Ocean, plastics, plastics, everywhere. Natural History