Kickstart: Supply chains, potato chips and plastics

Our sibling magazine Crain's Detroit Business has a nice illustration of how sharply rising costs in supply chains are playing out in some ugly ways.

In this case, it's a potato chip maker prominent in Michigan, Better Made Snack Foods Inc.

Plastics don't play the main role. Executives told CDB that vegetable oil prices have more than doubled, along with 20-30 percent hikes in the cost of potatoes, seasonings and cardboard in the last year.

But for plastics, the company has gone from using two suppliers for its plastic film to four, and from different parts of the country. Better Made said film has been harder to get because of plastic shortages.

One silver lining in all this supply chain fallout from the pandemic: All the online shopping we're doing has meant a big boost in its direct-to-consumer sales on Amazon, which now account for 10 percent of sales.

One of the main authors of the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, Rep. Alan Lowenthal, D-Calif., has decided not to run for reelection.

For his swan song in the halls of Congress, he tells the Long Beach Post he wants to put more attention on plastics and the Break Free legislation.

That could make for an interesting wild card on Capitol Hill. Let me give one example.

Last year, Lowenthal was able to insert a provision of his plastics bill into must-pass transportation legislation, directing the Environmental Protection Agency to write new rules around pellet pollution from factories.

If you look at the Break Free Act officially, you might say the ambitious, everything-and-the-kitchen-sink legislation has stalled out.

But the plan, which was first written with former Sen. Tom Udall, has had a big impact in changing the debate in Washington. Would Congress have considered a virgin resin tax this year without the Break Free Act coming first?

And now, with Lowenthal saying plastics will be a priority for his last year in Congress, I could see more provisions of Break Free showing up in other legislation.

It's not easy to get things done in Congress, but if Lowenthal is going to put more attention to plastics and he's now "broken free" of some of the limits of reelection, it could get a little more interesting.

Hello there, Erin Sloan here, Plastics News audience engagement editor. You might remember me from sharing my experiences working from home with two kids during a pandemic.

Well, I'm here to share that while the world worries about shortages, there was no shortage of high jinks from my son, Clark, who is almost 4.

Both my kids, and their cousins, are into Star Wars right now. So instead of getting the hot new Baby Yoda toys, I went to eBay in search of new-in-box Star Wars dolls.

You know, ones that were bought by fanboys and collectors five years ago only to be resold for double the price?

I had little trouble picking up all the characters, from Luke Skywalker, to three different Leias, a couple Chewbaccas and a few of the more niche ones, for a reasonable price tag.

I wrapped and naively left out a few of them for a party. Apparently, the "Santa knows" talk didn't really phase Clark much and later that day I heard the sound of wrapping paper crinkling.

Clark had opened both presents and was very intensely trying to get through the ample plastic packaging holding Luke in place.

I laughed at first because this doll had been sitting on some nerd's shelf for years and here it was being unceremoniously pecked open by a very upset kid.

After a lot of tears and explanation, Clark helped me return Luke to his packaging and taped up the paperboard holding him in place. He really didn't get very far, thanks to the plastic packaging.

Though it made me pause for a second. Star Wars collectors are notorious for keeping toys unopened. So, did Hasbro include so much plastic because these were intended to stay on the shelf? The prospector from Toy Story 2 went a little mad after being unopened and shelved for so many years. Surely, I wouldn't want Luke to share that same fate and join the Dark Side.

No, Luke and all his rebel friends will be out in "Force" soon enough.

Luke went to one of Clark's cousins at an early holiday party; he didn't even notice the package had already been pre-opened.

As for Clark, I think he'll like opening Kylo Ren and Chewbacca on Christmas morning. I will, too, knowing that I'll have the scissors on hand to free them from carbonite — I mean plastic package.