Small changes you would like manufactures to make

[SamBeckett]

I dont mean thing like less salt / sugar / fat in foods or a complete rethink of a design just little things that would make them better / easier to use.
For me it is ;
Cheese I wish it was produced in square blocks so that one or two slices would be enough to fill a round of bread instead of about eight narrow slices. Some supermarkets sell their own in larger blocks but they tend to be the size of a house brick and not strong enough taste for my liking .

Clam shell packing , just NO , stop using it its to bloody hard to open and we don't need more plastic in this world .

Resealable packing , not the zip-lock type but the ones that have sticky tags that are meant to keep to keep the pack closed - they just don't work , yes I know I can decant stuff into containers or buy them clippy things but they could also put more sticky stuff on the tag.

What would you like to see changed ?

I just would rather stick to sugar.

I suppose the trans fat issue has affected my thinking: I remember my Dad shaking his head as he realised I had margarine not butter in my house. I now have butter, lard and olive oil!

It's 2019. Why am I still failing to open corned beef with a bloody key. There has to be easier ways.

Also. Stop filling things with aspartame.

Ocado criticism I don't get. They pay 5p for every carrier bag returned (whether theirs or not) and recycle them.

Stop all artificial sweeteners (including Stevia, it’s not ‘natural’ just because it was once a plant).

Ditto ‘spreads’ etc - just have butter!

The problem with some ideas - e.g. chocolate bars being wrapped in foil is that it tears and the whole bar has to be thrown away. Customers won’t buy it if the wrapper has been torn and the edges wear away when it’s stacked on shelves and picked up/put down (my parents ran a sweet shop).

There are lots of good ideas here particualy regarding supermarkets packaging and food labelling.

I agree there is a LOT of unnecessary plastic in supermarkets. In our local Sainsbury’s nearly all fruit and veg comes pre-packaged in plastic - bags or sometimes even more packaging. My main suspicion is that they want to make people buy more - I can’t get a single leek but have to buy a pack of three etc. This then leads to people throwing out food that’s gone off. I’m fairly good about not wasting food as I absolutely hate it but the supermarkets certainly don’t help!
For those of you who struggle with feta portions: feta keeps for absolutely ever and stays nice and fresh if submerged in salty water. If you’ve ever seen a Greek or Turkish shop with a fresh feta counter, that’s how they keep it.
Not all plastic is bad though and not all its replacements are necessarily better for the environment. In Germany for example many drinks come in PET bottles which are sturdier and can be reused many times, and then recycled at the end of their lives into new PET bottles. The whole system works as PP described via a deposit scheme. As the PET bottles are lighter than glass bottles they are actually even better for the environment as it saves on fuel during transport.
A deposit scheme for nearly all bottles has been operating very well in many European countries for years, I don’t see why the UK couldn’t do it!

Softer peanut butter, if I have it on toast I can just stick it back under the grill for a minuet but I also like it on crackers as a snack at work but it's to firm to spread without the cracker smashing into a million bits

I also struggle with trousers that fit over hips but too big on waist - because WOMEN HAVE CURVES! We're not straight up and down like men!
I have the opposite problem with dresses. I am pretty straight up and down (small boobs, wide/no waist, fairly small hips) if i try a dress, if it fits on the waist i need about 6 chicken fillets to fill the top!

I also have problems with dresses but it's because I have narrow shoulders and wide hips so anything that fits over my arse is far too big on the shoulders despite being a 32F bra size.

For me to have a dress to fit, it needs to have size 8 shoulders, size 12 bust, size 10 waist and size 14 hips.

Re feta and the like if you store it in a bowl with the brine then it don’t go off. It is suppose to sit in liquid - it’s that kind of cheese. I buy metal tins of the stuff from the Turkish shop.

Anyway just stop wrapping cucumbers and the like in plastic

I live in a windy place, and hanging out the washing is taking my life in my hands, it's like hanging laundry on a helicopter.

I know it is a MN cliche but I literally just spilt Coke on my dress laughing at this image.

My two cents - make clothes for baby/toddler girls with as much freedom for movement/stretch/comfort as boys' clothes. Yes I can shop at Frugi or Boden where it's all sunshine and rainbows but I want to be able to find it at Asda too.

@pantherpants oooh i have not seen them before , thanks.

@BarbaraofSeville
I always have a printed boarding pass, which is much easier to fold up and keep with my passport and it seems to get people through boarding faster than everyone fiddling with their phones

I agree with this ^ when ever i have to travel by train I always seem to get stuck behind the person who's phone is not working or they have so many old tickets on there it takes them ages to scroll through to find the right one

I want a hairdryer I can switch on and off easily with my thumb. Why? Because I am shit at blow drying and need to put down the hairdryer every time to position my hair into the brush first.

oh and I did mean Minuet not minute . I like my toast to have a dance before I eat it

EssentialHummus I recently wanted to buy a toddler girls UV suit as a present for someone, omg was it a mission to find one. In the cheap shops there were loads for little boys and just tiny bikinis or mermaid swimming skirts for girls.

My suggestion would be clothing for people with tiny boobs. I'd like to wear nice dresses without having to find a matching vest top for underneath as the neckline is all gaping.

Why don't we all give back wrapping and packaging at stores from now on - as an earlier PP does? If supermarkets see a huge spike this week with thousands of MNers unboxing and unwrapping straight after the till it might get their attention. I'm doing it.

Other items on my wishlist -
No artificial sweeteners

Stop putting palm oil in chocoate

Cut the use of palm oil generally

Stop putting stickers on make up - looking at you Superdrug
They don't come off and leave sticky residue

Coffee shops to stop using sweetened soya. If we want sugar we'll add it

Bring the CEO and Board of Kraft/Mondelez to the Hague and put them on trial for killing Cadbury's

I want eye-level grills back. We never use our stupid grill, as we can't see what the hell is happening in there and no idea if it's doing ok and have to keep checking it every couple of minutes until whatever it is starts smoking. Plus it's part of the small top oven and only has two heat levels: well I say 'levels', it's actually half the grill or the full grill. Fucking ridiculous

I hadn't realised I was so exercised about grills until now

Milk, toothpaste, creams and ointments do not need foil tabs that are almost impossible to remove if you have arthritis.

Agree about Cadbury's.

While we're on cooking equipment, why do Cooke & Lewis hobs have bigger gas jets than everyone else? Some of us actually want to simmer things.

In general Reduce the amount of packaging

Specific things- tomato ketchup make it easier to remove when it’s getting low. There’s always loads stuck in the shoulders of the bottle which is hard to remove

Pockets I want big pockets not just pathetic little things

When you peel away films and things. Make it so it’s done smoothly and neatly

use easy peel labels on everything especially cook wear

@Wombleish - yes to eye level grills. Why did they ever go out of fashion?

Drinks without sugar or sweeteners. Things are just too sweet but water is boring.
2nd the idea of more and better pockets.
Sanitary towels that are bigger and wider and stickier but NOT more absorbent.

@wombleish I agree, my cooker is about 30 years old and understandably showing it's are but I will not get rid of it because it has a powerful eye level grill.
The heat lose out of the top is used to keep other food warm so a cooked breakfast has sausage and bacon under the grill, and in pans on top beans, egg frying and mushrooms. All cooked on one heat source.

Oh and yes decent size pockets on jeans etc I HATE handbags. I tend to use a small rucksack but on a night out I end up carrying other people's phones purses sanitary products.

I didn't take it one day and I got complaints that people had to carry their own stuff !