Sarah Treanor

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Eco-Friendly Packaging Solutions

 

Time and time again we hear design described as a form of problem-solving. Designers are trying to find the best, most effective solutions in their work. When it comes to packaging we’re hearing more and more about the added battle of creating environmentally friendly solutions. Plastic has almost become a bad word! And it’s about time – According to National Geographic 18 billion pounds of plastic waste flows into the oceans every year from coastal regions! To design packaging that is beautiful and eye-catching is not enough. Packaging designers are now more aware that we must consider avoiding material waste, reduce energy usage, and use materials that are easily recycled.

Recently I have come across some amazingly innovative packaging solutions that were designed to be sustainable and eco-friendly…

 

Puma – Clever Little Bag

Puma’s aptly named Clever Little Bag was designed by Yves Behar. This clever design tackles packaging waste both from production and recyclable perspective. It’s cut down on the amount of cardboard used by Puma by 65% and vastly reduced the amount of diesel and electricity used to produce it. And to top it all of it’s easily recycled and looks great!

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Monday’s Child

British children’s clothing e-commerce site has taken another approach to tackling wasteful packaging. Their boxes are re-purposeful as they double up as adorable doll houses. By adding this extra experience to their packaging the customer gets more value for money and the packaging life is extended.  

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Alter Eco

Alter Eco’s packaging doesn’t look much different from other food products we’ve seen before. But Alter Eco are leading the way for some awesome innovative eco-friendly solutions. They have just recently launched the world’s first compostable, non-GMO, non-toxic wrappers and stand-up pouches. They are still working on better solutions for some of their other products but have vowed their commitment that all their packaging will be fully recyclable or compostable by 2020.

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It feels like the push for sustainable packaging has just begun. Large corporations like Amazon are being slammed for wasteful packaging as consumers are becoming more aware of the problem. Many people now want to associate with more environmentally focused brands and thankfully more and more brands are following this demand and exploring sustainable packaging solutions.