It may be the most wonderful time of the year, but it’s often the most stressful, too. There’s earlier deadlines, gifts to buy, parties to attend and baking to be done. And along with the flour, sugar and chocolate chips, heavy duty baking regimens call for elaborate storage routines: cookie tins, foil and plastic wrap.

After hours spent in the kitchen rolling out dough, decorating gingerbread men and baking St. Nicholas Cake (see above), I’d do a slow burn when the Saran Wrap didn’t cling to all those cookies and cakes. In fact, I switched brands at some point. Then I got the scoop on Saran Wrap. During an HCPA Annual Meeting Keynote Speech, SC Johnson Chairman and CEO Fisk Johnson explained that doing the right thing wasn’t always the best decision for the bottom line…or for storing St. Nicholas Cake.

Johnson recalled that the original Saran Wrap formula contained Polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC)—the stuff that makes Saran Wrap stick. But after SC Johnson purchased Saran Wrap, FDA warned that, when incinerated, PVDC released toxic fumes into the environment.

Faced with choice between efficacy and environmental-friendliness, SCJ chose the latter and removed PVDC from the Saran Wrap formula. The brand lost its cling, its market share and for a time, me. But, after hearing the back story, I’ve become a Saran Wrap fan for life.

Company executives will make a lot of tough decisions in 2026. Here’s hoping they follow SCJ’s recipe of putting the planet over profits.

Happi Holidays!