Make your milk cartons ready for whatever formal event may arise.
Recently, our writer Go Hatori heard about the Plus One Project set up by the Japanese dairy industry. The project simply asks everyone in Japan to buy “one moo-re” (their words, not mine) pack of milk or yogurt than usual until June, to help them through this peak period and prevent wasted dairy products.
It’s a rather simple request and Go was more than willing to oblige, but there was just one problem. Take a look at this…
▼ I know, right?!
Go’s normally eclectic yet elegant arrangement of food and drink was now sullied by the cow-patterned hokey-poke packaging of milk cartons. Heavens forbid he get caught with his fridge open during a telework session and be mercilessly mocked with taunts of “Howdy thar, Farmer Hatori!” and “Aye, milkin’ time is it, Gobediah?”
Go was torn. He truly wanted to help the nation’s dairy farmers, but couldn’t live with this secret shame.
Luckily, as always, Japan’s many 100-yen shops were here to help him. This time, it was Can Do’s Simple Style Love Home Drink Pack Cover that came to his aid.
Designed with the help of famous interior design blogger Mari, it gives any and all of your cartons a streamlined monochrome look. It’s a kind of anti-commercial retro-chic as depicted in the 1984 film Repo Man.
The way it works is simple. Just take the cover and clip out of the package.
Then assemble the cover as per the instructions.
Next, slide in the milk carton.
Finally, clip it closed, and bickety bam!
▼ “Ta-daaaaa”
Go’s tiresomely named “Minasan No Osumitsuki Series Unhomogenized Milk Made With 100% Milk and Classified as Milk” has now become “drink,” leaving it up to Go whether to specify what kind of drink it is or not.
Its monochromatic design allows it to provide Go with much-needed calcium and riboflavin without being an ostentatious distraction to the overall harmony of his refrigerator.
The cover also allows for full use of the original carton’s spout, meaning it can even be installed on previously opened containers.
However, one concern potential milk carton coverers might encounter is the clip.
The mere presence of the clip might bother some, and it’s only exacerbated by the fact that it gets pushed upward and backward during opening and closing.
This could be overcome by using some clear tape, or perhaps even well-positioned black tape, to hold the cover in place instead.
As for Go, he kind of liked the clip. Even at its angle, it had a kind of joie de vivre which was kept in check by the cover’s overall refinement, as if it was wearing a jaunty little beret.
If you too are concerned about the coordination of your perishable foods, then be sure to buy two carton covers and help Japan’s milk producers stay solvent. As we’ve seen before, it’s an industry that operates in a very delicate balance.
Photos ©SoraNews24
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[ Read in Japanese ]