Tag Archives: Sustainable packaging

This sustainable packaging for eggs is inspired by stamps & made from paper foam!

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Sustainable designs, especially packaging designs, are giving designers food for thought – very literally in some cases – to find solutions that can reduce waste and the burden on the planet! The Stamp Egg packaging stands out from the rest because it is detachable and made of PaperFoam which is sustainable, eco-friendly, low-carbon, highly recyclable, and home compostable material – it is truly egg-cellent!

Think of Stamp Egg as having your eggs individually wrapped but instead of plastic, it is a super sustainable and compostable material. It has all the necessary elements for an egg carton – easy open and close, protective form, and stackability. As the name suggested, it is inspired by a postage stamp that lets you tear out individual pieces from the collection, and now you can do it with your eggs.

This form also helps you save more space in the refrigerator and easily count the eggs without opening the package thus keeping them fresh for longer as they are less affected by temperature changes. Also, the separately packaged eggs can be easily packed for a picnic or in a lunch box without compromising on protectiveness or playing Jenga with the other items.

PaperFoam is a studio based in the Netherlands that specializes in making environmentally friendly packaging material widely used in electronics, cosmetics, medical devices, and food applications. The bio-based product is made out of starch, cellulose fibers, and water all with a very low carbon footprint. It can be composted or recycled at home with paper. Curious to learn more about this innovative material? Read about the manufacturing process, detailed benefits, and more here! 

“After experimenting with the material to enhance its look and its mechanical properties, I had to find a proper application for it. I aimed at designing a mass-produced everyday object within the packaging industry, which proved to be a successful field of application for PaperFoam as it was resistant, natural, and could be customized with branding,” says Yoon. “The purpose was to approach this project in a sustainable way, think about a valid and meaningful alternative to already existing products, combine maximum efficiency with aesthetic quality using an environment-friendly approach throughout the whole lifecycle.”

Compared to the cellulose-pulp, foam, or plastic boxes, the Stamp PaperFoam egg trays are lighter (beaten only by the Polystyrene ones) and emit much less carbon dioxide compared to their competitors (96% less than pulp, 91% less than PS, and 87% less than PET). Easy to achieve with the injection-molded manufacturing process, the product is cost-effective, energy-efficient, high-performing, and attractive!

The carton’s dimpled form accommodates individual eggs and prevents them from coming into contact with one another. An improved hinge holds the units together and makes the cups easy to separate into single independent boxes which saves space and keeps them fresh for longer. The name of the brand and the nutrient contents can be directly embossed on the material surface, saving on additional labeling costs and making recycling easier. Stamp is egg-straordinary!

Designer: Il-Seop Yoon

The post This sustainable packaging for eggs is inspired by stamps & made from paper foam! first appeared on Yanko Design.

This compostable flower scoop made from peanut shells is an award-winning packaging design!

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Packaging design is so interesting but the best innovation always comes when great packaging meets sustainability! Seed Scoop Fertilizer is a prime example of sustainable packaging design – it is seed packaging that includes a scoop made of peanut shell material and seeds…natural materials down to every last element!

Designed by students from the Royal College of Art, this award-winning green design shows the practical process of how the compostable product was made. The user should take out the seeds first, then use the scoop to dig the soil out and bury the seeds in the flowerpot. Finally, the user could break the spatula into pieces, put it in the soil, and drip it with water, to make the scoop become fertilizer and give nutrients. Designing environment-friendly products have always been the mission of designers. We hope to let more people pay attention to the sustainable use of resources through this design.

Peanut shells are often discarded by people in daily life, but we found that peanut shells still contain a lot of nutrients and can be used as fertilizer. Seed Scoop Fertilizer has a flower scoop made of peanut shells and seeds. When using, the user first takes out the seeds from the flower scoop, then uses the flower scoop to dig the soil out and plant the seeds in the flowerpot. Finally, the user could break the flower scoop into pieces, place it in the soil, and drip it with water, so that the flower scoop becomes fertilizer to give nutrients!

Designers: Zhixi Dai, Zixi Chen, and Hao Yao

The post This compostable flower scoop made from peanut shells is an award-winning packaging design! first appeared on Yanko Design.

This eco-friendly packaging design for premium Chinese tea draws inspiration from the plantations!

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Packaging designs that pay homage to what’s inside or the process or creating it truly tug at our heartstrings. Especially, eco-friendly packaging designs because they showcase the best of innovation and sustainability. Chatu is a shining example of all of that – the packaging is an ode to the tea plantations in Sichuan, Henan, and Fujian provinces from where the premium Chinese tea is collected. Each tea package has a unique shape that represents the terrain and resembles the patterns on the hands of tea pickers.

The Chinese tea plantations were the source of inspiration for the packaging design. The texture of the package mimics the shape of the land on which the tea is harvested which is so sacred to the tea pickers. Even the colors were carefully chosen to match each of the three types of tea – white, green, and red.

The packaging is made by molding pulp and then colored with natural dyes. The shape resembles traditional Chinese teapots while the texture is a reminder of the plantations. The loose-leaf tea leaves are packed in two-layer cotton bags because it is breathable and environmentally friendly.

Each package also comes with a note that gives you more information about the province and the type of tea – it educates you about the flavor and the agricultural features of the plantation that make it special. It also tells you how the tea should be brewed for the optimum experience. Chatu is minimal but yet so powerful in communicating about the product, the process of making it, the art of brewing it, its origins, and more in the most simple yet elegant form.

Designer: Xenia Alexandrova

This biodegradable material made from seaweed is used to make ‘disappearing’ plastic-free packaging!

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Plastic is not biodegradable and is one of the biggest contributors to waste and pollution. Every year, 8 million tonnes of plastic are dumped in the oceans and has resulted in a desperate need to change our behavior when it comes to single-use plastic. Meet Notpla – a sustainable material made by a start-up that’s on a mission to make packaging disappear naturally. The innovative seaweed-based material is a biodegradable alternative to single-use plastic that is clogging up our pipes and our planet.

Notpla has created an evolutionary, biodegradable seaweed-based material that can be used to replace plastic cups and condiment sachets with this sustainable packaging solution. It can also be made into thin films or a coating for cardboard to create a wide range of products. “Consumers today are not just aware, but emotionally connected with the issue of plastic pollution. We joined its design engineers and backers to deliver the strategy, name, identity, and brand that would leave people in no doubt about its potential value in the world,” says the team.

Notpla’s products are geared towards cutting down on single-use plastic, giving consumer brands a significant advantage as audiences become more conscious about food packaging. It has been designed to be a simple, bold definition of who they are – not plastic, but a completely new material that is more than just a brand’s clever name.

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The edible, biodegradable material is made from plants and brown seaweed – one of nature’s most renewable resources. It can be used directly to replace plastic cups at sporting events, festivals, and private parties, as well as sachets for condiments, and can be made into thin films or a coating for cardboard to create a wide range of products. It is durable and disappears without harming the environment.

Notpla was trialed in 2019 at the London Marathon with Lucozade and London Cocktail Week and since formed a partnership with Just Eat and Unilever to provide more sustainable food packaging, whilst creating a new and exciting experience for customers. Growing up to 1m per day, it doesn’t compete with food crops, doesn’t need fresh water or fertiliser and actively contributes to de-acidifying our oceans.

The products have featured at Virgin Money’s London Marathon and London Cocktail Week and the brand also has a partnership with Just Eat and Unilever. Conventional wisdom dictates that a brand should be defined by what it is, not what it isn’t. But when what it isn’t is one of the world’s biggest problems – plastics – that’s OK. (Particularly when what it is, is seaweed).

The minimal sachets make a big contribution toward cutting down on single-use plastic, giving consumer brands a significant advantage as audiences make more conscious choices about where and what they eat today. Notpla disintegrates naturally in 4-6 weeks – no micro-plastics, no waste for centuries. Unlike PLA, it is home compostable and doesn’t contaminate PET recycling. It is not too good to be true, it is actually true and you can shop the product here.

Designer: Superunion

The post This biodegradable material made from seaweed is used to make ‘disappearing’ plastic-free packaging! first appeared on Yanko Design.

Sony debuts original sustainable packaging as part of its initiative to achieve a zero environmental footprint by 2050!

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Brands across the globe have taken green initiatives to communicate to consumers their commitment to sustainability. While some companies are rolling out products with longer life cycles that reduce waste and overall consumption, other brands are seeking out sustainable building materials for their products and their packaging. Multinational conglomerate Sony has commenced its own sustainability effort by sourcing recycled paper goods and building material from locally grown annuals to replace their previous packaging, which came from mature perennial trees.

Sony’s Original Blended Material, the brand’s new sustainable packaging, consists of 100% paper material derived from bamboo, sugarcane, and post-consumer recycled paper. Whereas most paper packaging comes from mature perennial trees, Sony’s new Original Blended Material is responsibly harvested from annuals like bamboo and sugarcane, generating less CO2 in the process. Annuals, like bamboo, carry CO2 absorption and emission cycles that last only for one year, decreasing the perennials’ emission cycles that can last several decades by more than half. Similarly, the release of CO2 gas emissions given off from sugarcane fiber production for power generation is halted by using the fiber as one of Sony’s Blended Materials. While the bamboo and sugarcane fiber is both sustainably grown and harvested in local farms, Sony also cuts back on shipping and handling by incorporating post-consumer recycled paper goods into the Blended Material, giving packages a crisp, organic look.

Currently, Sony has developed the Blended Material specifically for their new WF-1000XM4 headphones, but future variations of the organic packaging accommodate differently shaped products by adjusting the construction formula. In addition to acquiring sustainably sourced building materials and cutting back on the effects of shipping and handling, Sony’s Original Blended Material ditches ink for embossed signatures and supplemental package coloring for a more organic look.

Designer: Sony

By adjusting the construction formula, Sony’s new Original Blended Material can be made to fit differently shaped and sized products.

Sony ditches ink for embossing their signature.

Without coloring, Sony’s Original Blended Material achieves an organic look.

Constructed for their new WF-1000XM4 headphones, Sony’s Original Blended Material echoes Sony’s initiative to eliminate plastic packaging from newly designed small products, an initiative set for their medium-term environmental target for ‘green management’ by 2025.

Innovative Packaging Designs that make the perfect first and last impression of a product!

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A great packaging design is extremely critical in today’s consumer-centric world! Especially when it comes to products, the packaging is what draws a customer towards them. The packaging design determines the customer’s first and last impression of the product! It pulls the consumer towards the product and even drives them to purchase it. Hence, allocating time, effort, and energy to create an appealing packaging design is extremely crucial, and designers are leaving no tables unturned in doing this. The result is – innovative, interesting, and attention-grabbing packaging designs that are hard to miss, and we’ve collected a few for you to admire!

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We’re always in the mooooood for a good packaging design and this one is udderly the best! Quite simply, it’s shaped like a cow’s udder which is not only freakin’ cute but ergonomic. Four little teats give it a little stability and something to hold on to when you’re pouring a cold glass of milk! Available in different cute shades, I honestly wouldn’t mind a glass of milk every morning, if I get to see this cow-inspired carton every day!

Who avoids eating pistachios because of the mess the shells create? Well, we might just be in luck because ÖLOBOX was designed with a pocket for shells inside the packaging itself which allows you to eat snacks like pistachios anywhere! The origami-inspired packaging design is meant for snacks that need shelling before eating. The husks section is inside and opens after the pack is opened. When you finish eating, simply close the pack with shells and discard it responsibly. ÖLOBOX aims to encourage a new culture of healthy snacking and an attentive attitude that takes into account how we interact with the packaging, if it makes snacking easier, what happens to the packaging after the snack is done, and more.

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Designers Simone Caronni, Pietro Gaeli, and Paolo Stefano Gentile have put their heads together to create an all-new food packaging design that’s… well… so meta! After learning about how much peel waste was created in the process of making fries, the team explored different ways to reuse the discarded matter. After softening and naturally drying potato peels (which are made up of starches and fibers) the organic material can bond and harden into the desired cone shape. The resulting material is made entirely of production waste and 100% biodegradable. After being used, the peel packaging can be reintroduced to the biological cycle to become animal food or fertilizer for crops – including potatoes!

A 100% paper noodle packaging was created by Australian student Emily Enrica. Her design is called Paper Noodle which will stick in your memory because it is so easy. Her packaging is made from paper pulp which is 100% biodegradable, recyclable, microwave safe and FDA tested food safe. The design of the box is ergonomic which makes it comfortable to hold even when the contents inside are hot. The belly band of the box is made of debossed paper pulp too. It comes with a cover label that keeps the noodles sealed. Even the spoon is made of paper pulp further reducing waste. Now that is a cup of noodles – serves you and the environment!

Most designs have not found a way to integrate their packaging as part of their product, but they should take notes from the Light Box. So what is it? True to its name, the Light Box is a mini electric light kit, consisting of three small light bulb modules, three solar panels, and a charging wire. The cardboard packaging, an eco-friendly, lightweight box (see what they did there?) that contributes to the product’s commitment to sustainability. In addition to being biodegradable, the packaging can also be used as an integral part of the lighting kit. How do these two elements work together? Each side of the box has its own “deployment diagram” with perforations and pre-stressed lines to indicate where you should fold. These cardboard-origami structures serve as holders for the mini light modules, creating unique hanging fixtures for your space.

‘Trebodur’ is an organic material made entirely from brewers’ spent grain! Brewers’ spent grains are the residues that accumulate from barley malt during the process of lautering while making beer. So what binds the material to give it strength? The contained proteins in the spent grains act as a natural binder, now that’s a self-sufficient material! Creators Niko and Tillmann did extensive research and several experiments with natural fibers and binders. Being 100% biodegradable, Trebodur is a perfect choice for creating products that are used and thrown at large events or even in PR packages. It can be used for all kinds of packaging products and become a substitute material for paper and plastic packaging.

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Designer Xiang Guan redesigned the packaging for IKEA’s Hilver table to serve more of a purpose than packaging. With a pattern printed on it serving as a folding guide, the packaging for IKEA’s table turns into a stool that you can use with the said table. “Around 30.5 million tonnes of household waste are generated in the United Kingdom every year. With this in mind, FOLD is a packaging designed for IKEA’s “HILVER” table that encourages upcycling”, said Guan, who secured a Red Dot Award and Core77 Award for his innovative solution. Unlike most upcycled furniture, the Fold stool comes with a faceted design that looks good in most homes, and the print on it breaks the monotony of the brown cardboard color. The stool uses the corrugated board that comprised the packaging, with just an extra rubber band to hold it in place, making it not only convenient to assemble but also easy to disassemble and recycle after it finishes serving its purpose.

SOAPBOTTLE is an elegant, waste-free product that does two things – it eliminates those pesky throwaway plastic bottles while giving you extra soap! Each SOAPBOTTLE comes in a slick, rectangular form factor with 100ml of liquid body wash on the inside. To ‘open’ the SOAPBOTTLE, all you need to do is shave the marked corner off and you can pour the liquid soap out the way you pour milk out of a carton. When the liquid runs out, the bottle itself can be used as a bar of soap all the way till it eventually disintegrates into nothingness, leaving absolutely no plastic waste behind. All that is left behind is the reusable metal clip that snaps onto the SOAPBOTTLE, allowing you to open and close it during use.

I am constantly looking for innovative packaging designs that can inspire the design community to continue building on sustainable solutions and I am adding Sprout to that list! It is an environmentally friendly packaging that aims to contribute to the growth of local plants. I also love that the design is interactive – you can learn about the seeds and plant them instead of discarding the packaging! Sprout’s plantable feature ensures that its life does not end right after consumption; its purpose continuously changes before, during, and after use – it’s where circular economy meets sustainable design. Each seed was selected after intense research to pick those that are non-invasive and would be seamlessly embedded in the Pinyapel material. Pinyapel is a specialty paper made of discarded pineapple leaves and was the result of an initiative led by the Design Center of the Philippines to give local communities and resources a boost.

The Dissolvable Noodle Packaging finds a unique, no-waste packaging solution for instant-ramen. Instead of wrapping the noodles in layers of plastic (with an extra plastic sachet filled with the tastemaker powder), Holly decided to develop an edible, spice-infused biofilm to package the noodles in. When you want to cook yourself some ramen, just insert the pre-packaged noodle cake into hot water and the biofilm dissolves in the water, turning it into a flavored broth! “The packaging becomes the sauce”, says Holly, who managed to design and develop her solution right in her own kitchen! The biofilm uses simple, edible ingredients like potato starch, glycerin, and water. “The ingredients are blended and heated until the mixture is at the right thickness. At this point, I add the spices and flavorings before pouring it into a mold to set for 24 hours”, Holly mentions.

This sustainable packaging design is made from discarded pineapple leaves that grow into a new plant!

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Single-use plastic is one of the biggest contributors to ocean pollution – it makes up for more than 50% of the plastic waste problem. I am constantly looking for innovative packaging designs that can inspire the design community to continue building on sustainable solutions and I am adding Sprout to that list! It is an environmentally-friendly packaging that aims to contribute to the growth of local plants. I also love that the design is interactive – you can learn about the seeds and plant them instead of discarding the packaging!

Sprout’s plantable feature ensures that its life does not end right after consumption; its purpose continuously changes before, during, and after use – it’s where circular economy meets sustainable design. Each seed was selected after intense research to pick those that are non-invasive and would be seamlessly embedded in the Pinyapel material. Pinyapel is a specialty paper made of discarded pineapple leaves and was the result of an initiative led by the Design Center of the Philippines to give local communities and resources a boost. Mangulabnan ensures proper composting and planting is possible by using organic soy ink for the printing as well as an edible starch wrapper to further protect the food item inside the package.

This also addressed the issue of agricultural waste accumulating in the country, especially since the Philippines is one of the largest producers of pineapple fruit in the world. Sprout’s design will help eliminate unnecessary waste and encourage locals to actively contribute to the preservation of the diverse Philippine flora. Through the use of design, consumers can interact better with the product, giving them a sense of fulfillment and responsibility, as well as reinforce a positive behavioral change to further avoid littering and other harmful habits that

Designer: Pat Mangulabnan

Sustainable Product Designers, Take Notes from This Light Kit’s No-Waste Packaging

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Most designs have not found a way to integrate their packaging as part of their product, but they should take notes from the Light Box. So what is it? True to its name, the Light Box is a mini electric light kit, consisting of three small light bulb modules, three solar panels, and a charging wire. The cardboard packaging, an eco-friendly, lightweight box (see what they did there?) that contributes to the product’s commitment to sustainability. In addition to being biodegradable, the packaging can also be used as an integral part of the lighting kit. How do these two elements work together? Each side of the box has its own “deployment diagram” with perforations and pre-stressed lines to indicate where you should fold. These cardboard-origami structures serve as holders for the mini light modules, creating unique hanging fixtures for your space.

The Light Box was designed as a functional, portable light for indoor and outdoor use. The light presents itself in 3 iterations – use it as a regular indoor or outdoor light and even tell a story with the silhouette created by the shadowbox. But those are simple versions. The lightbox really shines with its solar panels inspired lighting. The solar panels allow you to be while camping or during the nighttime in regions where electricity is not easy to come by. Truly multifunctional and useful, isn’t it? Hang it as a charming, minimalist light fixture in your room, or keep it as part of your camping essentials. I could imagine the Light Box in a variety of stores, from Bed, Bath, and Beyond to the “gift” section of Urban Outfitters; the product has such a widespread consumer appeal. But in general, I hope its concept of integrating the packaging into the product catches on in the product design world.

Designer: Sungrae Kim

Edible food packaging made from seaweed has the potential to offset carbon emissions entirely!

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I don’t even know where to begin with the problem of plastic pollution – it is a heavy one and in literal terms, the amount of plastic on this planet is almost the same as the weight of the entire human population. Let that sink in. Single-use plastic makes for more than 50% of the plastic waste problem and if we continue at the rate we are going right now, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050. According to the UN Environment, one million plastic drinking bottles are purchased every minute around the world, while up to 5 trillion single-use plastic bags are used worldwide every year (read more here). In total, half of all plastic produced is designed to be used only once and then thrown away – this is a serious problem and Wenwen Fan of the Royal College of Arts is using her design abilities to do her bit in providing a solution.

Seaweed is touted as green gold by scientists who are exploring its uses as a sustainable alternative for single-use plastic. What makes it interesting is that it can be edible and has high nutritional value too! It is already a staple in Asian diets and also in skincare routines, so it was time to push the boundaries and turn these into vegan wrappers. Made from seaweed and vegetable extracts, these low-cal wrappers can be used as edible packaging for snacks and dissolvable pouches that add extra nutritional value to your food like vitamins, minerals as well as polysaccharides from that support your gut health. The seaweed extract is then dehydrated and the prototypes are examined in different temperature settings as well as tested for waterproof properties. Turtles eat seaweed and they live to be 100 so why not!?

“As a multidisciplinary experience designer, I am passionate about designing a cohesive, integrated set of experiences for behavior change. From embedding AR into an immersive Alzheimer’s simulation experience to creating sustainable edible packaging from seaweed, I believe a good experience design should be context-driven, behaviorally informed, and culturally relevant,” says Fan. The wrappers can customize for different flavors and nutritions for a more personalized product combination on Seaweed U which will be an online platform dedicated to the product. It is an ingenious way of packaging food while also being a source of soluble fiber – I see this design as a win-win with the only hurdle being the scale of mass production should a big brand adopt this packaging design. Seaweed U encourages a more convenient, playful, and pleasurable diet solution as well as reducing plastic pollution from the food industry.

There are three suggested scenarios in using these seaweed wrappers: Trick or Treat, The Lazy Pouch, and Super Chef. Trick or Treat is a healthy snack made from fruity-taste seaweed skins. Through combining a more familiar food palate like nuts and berries with the nutritional skins, it enables people to enjoy seaweed through daily snacking without being held back by the green and slimy texture. The Lazy Pouch is a single-serve, dissolvable pouch with different types of seaweed like wakame, dulse, and kelp, etc. that offers a convenient and quality meal supplement for those living a fast-paced lifestyle. Super Chef offers a creative DIY food experience in the kitchen where people can play with this versatile material in combination with ordinary ingredients to make unique dishes like transparent onigiris, ice cream raviolis, and colorful spring rolls.

We all know eating a more plant-based diet has a direct impact on climate change and seaweed can be of great help. According to scientists, building seaweed farming networks on just 9% of the world’s ocean could offset carbon emission entirely – that can buy us more time to focus on the larger plastic problem. Seaweed U aims to help people feel comfortable with different superfoods that add immense benefits to their health as well as the health of our planet.

Designer: Wenwen Fan

This award-winning paper packaging will reduce the beauty industry’s plastic waste

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The Dieline Awards 2020 had some of the most amazing innovative entries but Pearl caught my attention for two main reasons – it was the plastic-free innovation winner of the year and it looked straight out of the little mermaid’s treasure box! Pearl is a paper pod packing solution by BillerudKorsnas and Syntegon who wanted to create a more sustainable fiber-based alternative with a premium aesthetic while also focusing on the portions to reduce waste.

Portion packaging is common in many industries but most widely used in the beauty industry, notorious for their waste generation, for the sample product packaging. Brands usually resort to plastic because it can easily be molded and designed to fit their image and unique experiences and because paper packaging hasn’t been accepted as ‘pretty’ just yet – Pearl is here to change that outlook. The designers combined their work on two previous projects that also revolved around replacing plastic packaging with sustainable alternatives. “Inspired by life and shapes of the sea, we then conceptualized the project named Pearl. What makes it special are the 3D-properties enabled by the FibreForm paper and manufacturing technology. Resulting in unique tactile experiences and embossed shapes of the paper shell, driving new business opportunities,” said the design team.

This paper pod aims to replace the plastic for product samples, inserts, refills, portion packs, and disposable packaging for sustainable brand owners that match their high business goals with high environmental ambitions. Pearl is a natural packaging alternative that fits within the aesthetics of the beauty industry while also reducing its negative impact on the environment. Designs like Pearl are important to showcase the malleability of eco-friendly materials to that they can be more widely accepted while still being “on brand” and I might argue that being eco-conscious in 2020 should be “on-brand” for everyone.

Designers: BillerudKorsnas and Syntegon