Paper, Plastic, Purses and Purpose

I am a Kate Spade fanatic. I am always happy to have one of her bags by my side. I used to wonder why they  hadn't made her as happy as they made me.

I am going on holiday and bought a new bag. I always buy on sale because I am not crazy rich. Because I’m not crazy rich I had to have a second reason to buy the purse. That reason was that purple is my favorite color and I did not have a purple purse. Despite the word, I am well aware that not every “reason” makes sense.

Anyway, I was eager to receive this one. This time, though, the unboxing sapped me of joy. Every strap was tightly wrapped in a soft foam. Every buckle was protected by a papery tube. Each and EVERY pocket was stuffed with paper. The whole bag was swaddled in a soft foam that was held in place by plastic straps. Then the whole thing was placed in a thick plastic bag. Then that whole thing was placed in a box twice its size.

The bag probably would’ve arrived safe enough with just a normal size box and a little bit of paper wrapped around it. When I started to think that every one of these purses and every one of the 10,000 purses available on the website are all being shipped this way I got sick to my stomach about my participation in the waste. The blood on my hands was paper, foam and plastic.

I placed the bag on my shelf. Right next to a light purple purse, that I forgot I had, that is encased in a plastic bag, waiting for its purpose. And then I knew. I knew how Kate Spade could have been sad.