Packaging and the Environment
We are without a doubt in an age where consumers genuinely care about the effect their products have on the environment. With landfills growing at a increasingly rapid rate, a large amount of consumers are making conscious decisions to purchase products that come in smaller and more environmentally friendly packaging.
To appeal to this increasing demand many companies are embracing this change by creating new environment sensitive packaging to showcase their products and their ethics.
Environmentally friendly needs!
Planet sensitive packaging covers a multitude of diverse subjects but here we are just going to look at a few examples of who is doing it well.
Packaging for Technology
Apple are one such company who have really taken this concept on board. The New MacBooks come in much smaller boxes with less foam, less packaging and paper. The packaging has been carefully designed to reduce the amount of packaging by 41 percent in comparison to other similar Apple products. Smaller boxes are much better for the planet. As well as for obvious reasons by reducing the use of resources, Apple are now able to fit more boxes on each shipping pallet. This means more products will fit on each boat and plane. Fewer planes and boats now have to be used, resulting in fewer CO2 emissions. It’s only one minor change but a change which an international company such as Apple has an increasing positive impact on our environment.
Moving away from the ever popular technology sector and into food we come to discover that Waitrose are also pulling their weight!
Food Packaging
The way consumers buy meat is set to change forever following the introduction of the new style ‘waste reducing’ eco packaging.
Familiar meat trays will become a thing of the past as Waitrose introduces snip and slide packaging that will remove 90 tones of plastic waste from customers’ bins every year. The packs can be easily snipped open and the contents slid into the pan, saving time in the kitchen as well as space in the refuse sack. Using ‘flow pack’ technology, already used for foods such as bagged salads and crisps, the packs are robust yet lightweight enough to withstand other items being placed on top of them in the shopping basket.
From these diverse companies and the billions of other companies involved I believe this is an area of packaging design which we are really stating to get to grips with!
Packaging is so critical today and consumers are more demanding than ever about how products look as well as how they can reduce waste.
Design meets planet sensitive innovation!
I believe that Puma are a strong company that are really showcasing both of these factors, creating a vibrant visual impact as well as adhering to the concerns of the environment.
Puma are due to launch a new range of packaging for their footwear which saves on materials and creates advertising that will outlive the purpose of the packaging.
Boxes contribute to millions of tons of waste each year. Nike have considered this and are due to launch a new packaging concept which will eliminate the use of boxes. The idea is to create a cardboard insert which will be encased by a re-usable bag, therefore cutting down on the amount of redundant materials used by 65 %. The packaging also has no laminated printing, no tissue paper and weighs less for shipping while also eliminating the need for a plastic retail bag.
Millions of shoes shipped in this bag will reduce water, energy and diesel consumption in the manufacturing process by more than six percent per year. In summary: 8,500 tons less paper, 20 million megajoules of electricity saved, 1 million liters of fuel oil and 1 million liters of water will be conserved. During transport 500,000 liters of diesel will be saved and by replacing traditional shopping bags, the difference in weight will save almost 275 tons of plastic.
This is a fantastic case study to show that the need to create environmentally friendly packaging does not have to compromise the creative and visual effect required to capture the attention of the consumer.
As designers if we can follow the same policies when producing new packaging for the next design brief that lands on our desk, we can make high emissions, excessive energy and wasted materials a thing of the past!
With over 7 years experience in both print & web roles Rachael is an ideal all rounder. With a background in the highly competitive Estate Agency industry, Rachael’s skills lie in creating fantastic new brands and translating those brands across all your marketing materials whether that be a corporate brochure, website or beautifully packaged new brand.
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