I went on a tour with a friend of mine through a sugar mill in Canada a while back, and off to the side of one of the loading docks were some damaged cotton sugar sacks.
Next thing I knew my friend (who obviously sews) had whipped up a shirt for me!! I know it is special, so I only wear it on special occasions.
So years ago, like Jerleen and dwebb discuss in this thread, packaging was honestly re-used - in its same form (in this case as cotton cloth) with no added energy.
Today we hypocritically call our half hearted efforts re-cycling - which usually means that the packaging compound only is re-used, after the packaging material is reprocessed into its original pre-fabrication phase.
For example, aluminum cans are re-cycled not as cans/containers but only as aluminum. Beer bottles are re-cycled not as bottles but rather as crushed glass cullet. Plastic bottles are not recycled as containers but only as plastic pellets.
So as the years have gone by, and we green-wash ourselves, in actuality, we are going backwards in the efficient re-use of packaging.
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