WOW, who would have thought that videogames impact the environment? Well, they do and we are trying to do something about it.

A few years ago, we used to use a product called a Keeper. These are big plastic thingamajigs that surround your games. If you remember casette tapes and 8-tracks, you may remember a version of these in music stores. They exist to help prevent theft of items. Theft drives up the cost of games for us all and is not something that any retailer wants. The idea was that the added bulk would deter theft. Guess what? They did not work. As a matter of fact, they added cost to our system, added shipping space (which also adds cost) and were a bear to open. They recieved a less than coveted "Oyster Award" from a leading consumer magazine as one of the most difficult packages in America to open. We heard from consumers loud and clear. We had to get rid of them. But how can we do that and control theft?

If you go to our clubs today, you will see a brand new fixture which helps drive awareness of what we carry and deters theft from the few folks out there that have less than the best intentions. Not only that, but we were able to reduce our costs as well. As an added benefit, we were able to take TONS of plastic out of the waste stream and save fuel as well. The new items are made from recycled PET instead of virgin Polyproplyene. Now, I am not a chemist, just a Pharmacist, but this is a lot better for the environment.

We are also challenging our manufacturers to reassess the packaging they use. They are hearing what we are telling them. We may see some changes in how games are sold in the future.

Tell us what you think of this idea and how it looks in your Clubs. Is the environment an important issue to you as a gamer?