P&G files coffee container lawsuit

Lighter-weight container is a green marketer's tool as well as a way for companies to save millions of dollars in reduced packaging material, fuel and other distribution costs.

Which is why Procter & Gamble is suing Kraft Foods alleging that it infringed P&G's patented lighter-weight Folgers plastic container when Kraft recently introduced in the US its new 4-pound plastic container Maxwell House coffee.

P&G said it costs the company lots of green bucks to overcome the technical challenges in making a lightweight plastic container which can withstand the pressure changes that occur between the factory and the consumer's home.

By the way, P&G's Folger's AromaSeal Shaped Plastic Coffee Canister won DuPont's Innovation in Packaging award in 2004. The canister was recognized for its innovation in replacing a 150-year tradition of using metal cans in coffee container, with the plastic also dent and ding-resistant, and the canister being lightweight and stackable.

I won't be surprised to see more green packaging lawsuits in the near future, whether they'll be about patent infringement, misleading marketing, or even safety hazards.