To cope with the ever-rising prices of plastic raw materials, processors are looking for ways to use less resin in the same product.

Newell Rubbermaid Inc., for one, is using more additives such as calcium carbonate and tweaking product designs. "We're taking a look at our products and redesigning them," Ray Johnson, Rubbermaid's president of global manufacturing and supply chain was quoted as saying in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

A picture on the AJC Web page demonstrates how drastically storage containers have been slimmed down.

According to Johnson, plastic currently accounts for merely 10-12 percent of costs, compared to 25 percent prior to the changes. For a container maker, that sounds really impressive.

I don't know how many consumers have noticed the thinning trend of plastic products and how they take it. I guess it's good for the environment and easy on the wallet. But as packaged water bottles turn from rigid to semi-flexible, I miss the feel of holding a solid and sturdy container of beverage. At home, I've started to pour my spring water from its soft bottle into ceramic cups. It's my little pet peeve, but I hope to make the experience of drinking water less "disposable."