A Call Out To Package Designers
We all buy products. And, we all have different amounts of stuff to carry when we buy these products. It seems there are so many different brands of the same thing out there. How do we differentiate and how do we attract the same consumer to buy our product rather than "the other guy's"? Well, one method is in the design of the packaging. Therein lies a big problem.
Sometimes there is so much packaging around the product, that there is more in packaging that the product itself. There seems to be a lot of plastic covering out there. One thing I can't stand is when there is a box of cookies, for example, and each of the four servings in that box have an individual, additional package, complete with plastic to open - and then throw away. What's up with a plastic tube in a box? Just give me the plastic tube. Better yet, give me a tube made out of something biodegradable that won't fill the landfill and never go away. And, I hate pizza boxes. Thank God we've made headway in getting rid of styrofoam.
OK, package designers, you have a challenge. Start pitching to your art directors and clients the idea that less is more and there can be attractive and effective packaging for their product that doesn't incorporate a lot of extra crap. Pitch the eco-friendly angle. Include this in the advertising. Use corn and soy-based materials. I have been to environmental functions where everything, from the glasses and plates to the silverware and food containers, are all recyclable and biodegradable.
Let's get back to basics and cut out the excess that we have developed and come to expect in society. We've all made a mess out of this world and it's up to us to fix it. We can start by not buying products with a lot of extraneous packaging, or buy products that have packaging that we can use again for other purposes. We don't all need to be so greedy when it comes to products and consumerism. Help me on this path and think about what you design and consume.
I like what you've said, but I think you've missed the better option than just biodegradable.
The Saying goes "Reuse, Renew, Recycle", but is seems most people only partially recall "Renew", and focus solely on Recycle. Probably because it means they just toss it into another bin that someone comes along and hauls away for them. Ignoring the "Reuse" angle is what I feel is the problem with package design.
Its gotten so bad that I've actually asked people about other liquids, for example Orange Juice, in water bottles and got replies along the line of "That is disgusting" and "Its a WATER BOTTLE not an orange juice bottle".
The fact that its a "bottle" is starting to not register on people. I'm not expecting them to go Macgyver on everything they throw out, but getting a few days extra use out of that biodegradable bottle is just as good as getting it out of that plastic, forever in a landfill, bottle. It still took energy to make both bottles after all.
Well, up to a point, Mike. Plates, knives forks etc are all very easy, and pizza boxes are just boxes, but when you get doen to the real packaging, the stuff that has to protect products through the distribution channels and in warehouses, then it has to be right. A lot of bioplastics are really hard to work with, and packaging is a damn sight more technical than a lot of people think (and we'd all starve if we left it up to the graphic designers!). Everything needs to be tested, and it has to work at high speed under factory conditions. There is an ENORMOUS amount of work being done to reduce packaging waste, but it has to be done properly for people's safety. I would also say this: packaging is responsible for reducing food waste. In Europe and the US, food waste before it reaches the consumer is down at around 3%. In many developing countries it's more like 50%, and that's down to packaging and logistics. Packaging is an inherently green technology. It's just getting even better now.
Hi,
I listened to a very interesting program on BBC radio 4 exploring these issues a few month's ago. The big thing to come out of it was that a lot of the packaging that we see as superfluous is in fact needed to get the product to the supermarket undamaged.
In other words what is superfluous on the shelf is essential on the lorry.
The example was given of Marks and Spencer's packing apples in 4's on a recycled plastic base and then shrink warping them. This was in fact the way to get them on the shelf with the least amount of packaging. If they had been supplied loose in a box more packaging would be required to protect them in transportation that petting them in 4's. It was very revealing.
Trevor.