The Narrator Returns wrote:
Why are you even on CriterionForum if you are that violently opposed to making discs of any kind? And really, the manufacturing of anything can take away "valuable materials". Do you not use pencils because they take away from the Earth's supply of wood?
The poster made no mention of being opposed to all discs, just that dual-format leaves us with more plastic that we don't use and that it prioritizes marketing/selling decisions over impact on the environment, and that is a perfectly good topic to discuss & in this thread. However, It is also difficult to assess how much more one causes than other options without more concrete information, and some of that information involves how companies guess future sales. To add to the complexity, the creation of emissions in manufacturing is completely different from that produced by extracting the materials themselves. I would imagine that when producing 1,000 discs, the carbon footprint for each disc is much higher than for a run of 10,000 discs. Then there is the same thing repeated with production of packaging materials (not to mention the need in the US to have plastic wrap on each new item).
Criterion actually made more environmentally friendly decisions when introducing blu-rays. They limited the discs in a package to only what was needed, which also made people pay more for acquiring both formats (which dissuades people from buying more). They also used packaging with acid-free paper, substituted plastic amaray cases with cardboard digipaks, etc., while also putting together nice packages, but were overwhelmingly criticized here (I don't recall anyone else standing up for the digipaks here besides myself) because of their "flimsiness". I keep mine on a shelf & only pull them out on the occassion that I want to use them, which isn't all that often for each title, given how many I have. To add to that, their flimsiness also increases their "collectability" or resale value as time goes on (because some people don't treat their stuff well).
So Criterion was resoundingly criticized for making a more enviro-friendly decisions (which also possibly caused a loss in sales) in the early days, which makes it rather unfair to criticize it for now hopping on the bandwagon. I do think that the time to go dual-format was earlier in the transition process, as most people don't buy discs now & those who do want the best available version (blu). That being said, it would be nice if Criterion shed a little light on its decision-making process to its fanboys.
Made-to-order discs are a good option to both minimize waste & sell only what is needed & have a physical copy of a title to always be available (regardless of the latest retailing trends). It would be interesting if Warners, Universal, etc. were more open in their decisions & how well this model is working. More collectors seem to dislike the programs though, because the discs aren't as durable as manufactured ones & the packaging/design is cheap (not to mention the fact that all these use plastic cases). I'm certainly less-inclined to buy dvd-r's than a nicely manufactured product.
Buying/not-buying product or posting here on a forum might be feel-good measures that convince people that they are actually doing something for the environment, but I feel that if people really want to make an impact on the environment there needs to be change industry-wide.....and for that to happen there needs to be regulation of manufacturing or a ground-swell of consumer revolt that forces companies to change the decisions they make. So, I would think if you are really concerned about the environment, time could be better spent. Should that be in encouraging people to boycot buying all discs? I think people are actually doing that already. People realize at some point that they don't use a lot of what they have & lose interest in acquiring more. I think that disc sales might show reflect that the disc-buying population is dwindling down to those who are the collectors, but films are lagging behind music in that regard because 1.) it is easier for anyone to rip/duplicate music than a film 2.) the film industry did a better job than the music industry in promoting a high definition format that can't be easily duplicated 3.) the data requirement for sound & image is heftier (ie. not as easy to stream or duplicate).
As both a collector (of music, books & movies) and someone who is concerned about his environmental impact (I have only owned one car in my 40+ years on this planet, ...), I am at a loss as to how to influence industry decisions. I buy Criterion releases over others available domestically, I buy French (minimally packaged) digipaks over others (though importing certainly adds to carbon footprint), I buy used & sell or give away what I don't want, I keep my digipaks as they are and don't ask for plastic amarays to replace them. I would become an "activist" and mobilize collectors to influence industry decisions, however I'm not sure what the best option for minimal waste/carbon is & the overwhelming sentiment of collectors (not just here) seems to be in favor of the options that involve more rather than less plastic.
