Getting a straight answer in this world anymore is next door to impossible: You can ring the doorbell for Fact all day and night, but, only Spin will come to the door.
The latest case in point: writing a corporation with a helpful suggestion, where everyone wins. You already know how this turns out, I'll bet. For the record, and to help flesh out your imaginations, some detail:
We live out in the country, in an area where our drinking water needs filtering from various muds and murk. We use the handy (but expensive-seeming, for our monthly budget) replaceable-cartridge water filters from PUR. (Short commercial: They do a pretty good job.)
Thing is, the size and heft of these things always snags attention: more than 4 inches long, 2.5 across, 4-point-8 ounces -- more, when they're filled with water, dead, and on their way to the landfill.
The gnawing consideration always asserts itself: We are drinking better water, but we are contributing to the explosion of landfills bursting beyond their planned, and revised, sizes. So, PUR was sent the concern -- thanks for making the filters, but we're making a very poor and ironic environmental trade in this process: Clean up one element of Nature that then trashes another? Zero sum gain, or worse, right, PUR?
I slipped them a suggestion, complete with sparkling PR grab-holds built in, to help spur them on. The gist of it: Make these things recyclable. Put a water-tight mailer into the box, all set to mail, and away they go, to a recycling station, not another sodden sump hole or dang dump.
The response was completely expected -- pure public relations buzz. To paraphrase: We realize, throwing these things out, month after month, has nasty and inconvenient PR implications -- however, we are doing nothing at all now, nor are we planning to do anything at all, as money may be involved.
They might as well have added that their timeframe for any possible action was somewhere around the time Hell sports a continuing supply of free, fruit-flavored icicles.
If you want to buff up your NuSpeak Decoder Ring, be my guest, have a go at the pertinent part of the communication:
"We appreciate your loyalty to our brand and your concern regarding the recycling of PUR filters. Although PUR does not have a recycling program for filters available at this time, P&G is committed to ensuring our products, packaging, and operations are safe for consumers and the environment.
"For products that go out with the trash, our approach is to reduce, reuse, recycle, compost, or incinerate waste (with energy recovered) prior to land filling, wherever it's environmentally and economically appropriate.
"We're continually researching alternatives for more environmentally improved products and packaging. For more information, [website info] ..."
Wherever economically appropriate? This is the nonsense we settle for every single day, without letup. Spin has contaminated every part of our lives, seeping into the press, politicians, general population, and products. We do not get answers or information on inquiry, we are provided evasions, topic-changers, and non-answers to questions. We even get replies to questions we haven't asked, to further throw us off the scent.
Truth and plain speaking have fallen far out of favor. For confirmation, take a look around, with your grandparents' or your parents' eyes -- or your own, set to just 10 or 20 years ago.
Spin doctors are ruining our mental health and our ability to think about and discuss facts. Spin doctors take no oaths to higher powers of first doing no wrong. They are beholden only to their corporations. You already know how that has worked out, too.
Caution: This item could be very hot. Your mileage may vary. Usage might cause serious side effects. Product is not normally meant for internal use. Quitting now may improve your health. Made on equipment that processes dairy products. Use is not encouraged during pregnancy. May contain nuts.
