Since travel opened up last July, I’ve noticed an odd thing in a few of the smaller, tourist towns I’ve passed through.
Some products are sold very close to, or even past, their best before date.
I noticed it with sunscreen in Spain, and a health foods and supplements store in New Zealand.
It makes sense. Many stores in these places missed their usual flow of travellers for almost 18 months. Products bought, and expected to be sold, weren’t. So they sit on shelves until they do.
At the beginning, I complained about the “expired” sunscreen. But as time has passed, I’ve developed a bit of Best Before Leniency.
Everyone has had a tough couple years, especially hospitality and tourism. And given the best before date is only a guide, there’s no need to waste.
This is a small and trivial example, but it did get me thinking more about leniency as a concept. We can choose to be more lenient if we want to, and we can choose to put fewer things into black and white categories. And I wonder if that’d make a difference, for us and for others.