Every time I buy a pair of shoes, I become annoyed at the waste of the packing paper, silicon packets (what’s up with that stuff anyway?) and plastic stuff used to pack up something so unbreakable as shoes.
I have listened to countless women shoe buyers complain about the very same thing. It’s just ending up in a land fill, why don’t they make the shoe boxes smaller to prevent sliding around, or wrap the shoes once in a single chunk of paper, not twenty.
Why so much waste?
They don’t make smaller boxes because each box has to be able to hold the largest possible size shoe in that particular style. It would be expensive to make boxes the neatly match the size of the shoe, since you’d need a different box for each size. Much easier and cheaper to buy boxes in bulk large enough to fit any show. That’s why the boxes are so generic, with the style and size usually marked with a sticker or separate printing.
Bah, oh sure, figure common sense into things and it ruins my perfect-waste-free-paper-free world that I try to live in 
The little silicon packets? I think you mean the dessicant (usually nothing more than clay in porous paper) used to absorb moisture during shipping - you wouldn’t want those new shoes soggy or smelling of mildew, would you?
Let me start this off by stating emphatically that I don’t sell/manufacture or ship shoes.
Now, as one who has tons of boxes of them in her closet, I must assure one and all they don’t all come in the same size box. The heels come in boxes that seem to fit the shoe; the athletic ones likewise; and the sandals the same.
The only shoes that seem to come with plastic wrapping in them (along with plastic straight pieces that help keep their shape) are the dress shoes (heels, etc.). If they’re leather, they have the silicon bag in them, which, as Nickrz mentioned, keeps away the mildew smells and helps waft the aroma of the leather.
I, too, go nuts over all the packing materials within the box, but appreciate purchasing dress shoes with no scuffs and a nice leather smell. Then I put them on, and my dog goes for them…sigh.
“There will always be somebody who’s never read a book who’ll know twice what you know.” - D.Duchovny
I empathize, Shirley. I recently purchased two computer games for my son. The packing boxes were, what, 8 x 12 x 2 inches. Know what was in 'em? A 5 x 5 1/2 x 3/8 inch CD in its jewel case. And a bunch of air. Ridiculous.
Well, we could ease the problem by making everyone’s feet the same size. . .by using immutable genes, and passing all offspring through a decent QA department.
And, BTW, that little preservative packet is not “silicon”, but silica gel. DO NOT EAT THE WHITE SILICA GEL. It could be dangerous to your health. . .it says here.
Ray (Yellow snow should always be filtered.)
gaaack! NOW she tells me!!!
If they didn’t pack those computer game CDs in a big blocky cardboard box you wouldn’t have to purchase them. Your son, if he has any talent at all, could just go into a store and pick them up for free.
Naw, I think it’s more a matter of advertising. Music CD’s don’t need the big box, why else would CDROMs? Think about it: I’m gonna buy Creeds’ new CD regardless of the artwork, but the kids are gonna buy the game with the most gore on the big box.
And if junior ever stole a computer game, he wouldn’t be capable of playing it when I got through with him.
Oh sure,beat your kid senseless just because he is at the delicate age where he is learning to respect the property and values of others <sigh>. I suppose you are equally harsh with Fido when he poops on the pillow??? Visigoths… <eg>
Kidding…kidding.
I walked back into the damned StupidMarket in bitter, and I mean BITTER cold last year. There was stuff ( small, and pricey ) in my cart that the kids didn’t toss up onto the conveyor belt, and so was not paid for. It was inadvertent, but a lesson nonetheless. God…so freaking cold- and WINDY. I like the idea that theft and frostbite are now inexorable linked in their small minds.
Typer
" If you want to kiss the sky, you’d better learn how to kneel "