STOP USING STICKY STICKERS AS PRODUCT LABELS!
We’ve all done this 1,000 times…
You purchase a piece of wood, or worse, a piece of fruit, peel the sticker, and it completely self-destructs, leaving bits of sticker, and a sticky residue.
First of all, Did YOU SAY FRUIT?
Yep.
Scientifically, pretty much any portion of a plant with seeds in it is a fruit.
According to the law, what differentiates a fruit from a vegetable is mostly intangible, but has consequences around taxation. And most recently, nutrition.
Apparently, by the court, “anything that is normally served with dinner” is a vegetable, while “anything normally served as desert” is a fruit.
So, yes, the following are fruits, and for whatever reason, fruit (or vegetable?) vendors seem to think that putting a sticker on it, makes it a better product:
- Tomatoes
- Peppers
- Squash of various types
The problem is that you don’t normally skin these fruits.
If you want to put a sticker on a fruit, citrus makes the most sense – I give not one thought about stickers on an orange, tangerine, lime, lemon, or even avocado because these specific fruits are encased in a thick, bitter, pithy skin that one normally removes before use.
Thus, if a sticker is attached to that skin, and if said sticker leaves a sticky, disgusting residue, who cares? I remove the skin before use, and the sticker with it.
BUT…
If you put a sticker on a pepper or a tomato or an eggplant, unless I scrub the crap out of it, or remove that portion of the skin, I get to eat your tasty glue residue. Yummmy.
Why Stickers?
- Can be applied automatically
- Simple way to attach the UPC code
- Branding (If you put a sticker on fruit for the sole purpose of brand recognition, you’re a jerk)
- (Theoretically) removable without damaging the product
Why I HATE Stickers
- They NEVER come off cleanly, even if they are designed to do so.
- Even good stickers leave behind a sticky residue.
- BAD stickers simply shred apart, leaving paper AND a sticky residue.
Stuff that Stickers Ruin
- Buying a stuffed toy for your child (or someone else’s)? A sticky patch of fur makes your gift so much better.
- Anything with a refined or finished surface? YEP, LET’S SLAP A STICKER ON IT! So, literally, removing the sticker messes up the exact reason I was buying whatever the surface happens to be attached to.
- Sticky stickers on clothing results in sticky clothing that sticks. To you.
- I have cookware, such as plastic bowls, that I know for a fact are 10+ years old, that still have a sticky blob of goo on the bottom. YES, they have been scrubbed. YES, they have gone through the dishwasher more times than I can count.
- Etc…
Frangible Stickers
The only thing worse than stickers are stickers that are DESIGNED to break apart.
Presumably, this keeps people from shoplifting, or swapping labels.
However, attempting to remove a frangible sticker results in THIS mess:
Better Options
- Use lasers. A laser can quickly burn or etch a product logo and / or UPC code on just about anything with a smooth surface.
- User better glue. Use stickers with a modern glue (like post-it notes) that are much easier to remove.
- Attach stickers to areas of the product that are normally discarded. For example, peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant all have a stem or core that won’t be used. Wood has two ends – by definition, the minute you make one cut, you’ve discarded one of them.
- Use tags instead. A loop and tag can be installed in an automated fashion, probably almost as inexpensively as a sticker. Those plastic loops aren’t exactly trivial to remove, and a tag can do anything a sticker can do.
Self-destructing stickers SUCK! Please stop using them!