Innovative Packaging Lab

overview

Unboxing videos where people slowly strip down layers of packaging to reveal a new product are trending all over the internet. While these videos are compelling, they really make you question, “where does all of this packaging go?”

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 29.9% of the contents of municipal solid waste landfills are product packaging, which equals 80.1 million tons of garbage. That’s a ton of garbage!

As climate change has begun to rapidly impact our lives, businesses are starting to note the need for change in packaging. Businesses are being required to report their ESG scores where packaging innovation is key. To be more thoughtful about how to design sustainable packaging, there is a need to better understand why packaging contributes to so much waste. Through this baseline understanding, we can then inject curiosity into the design process through asking important questions to re-think how we might design more sustainable packaging that benefits people, the planet, and allows businesses to profit.

there are many challenges with packaging in regards to sustainability

01. more packaging materials are used than necessary

Packaging materials are often used as a means of making the product appealing to the consumer. Take the image above of the iPhone X. The sleek white packaging that holds the phone is eye-catching, modern, and on brand with Apple. However, the packaging is much larger than the product being delivered.

Packaging materials also exist as a means to ensure the product will not be damaged, will be weather resistant, and will have a long shelf life. While this use of packaging is necessary to ensure the safety of the product, oversized packaging and mixing of various materials is a result. This poses sustainability challenges because some materials might not be recyclable or reusable.

02. there is a lack of data on which packaging materials are most sustainable

Many companies don’t have tools to compare and contrast different packaging materials and understand which materials are truly the most sustainable using data. This leads to assumptions about how materials are extracted, manufactured, used, and disposed of without a clear understanding of the LCA of each material option.

03. low cost packaging is the expectation

Sometimes more sustainable packaging can be more costly for businesses to invest in. Given that profitable solutions are needed in the corporate world, there is a need for businesses to look into development of packaging services and opportunities for reuse, which can provide more sustainable solutions while ensuring cost effectiveness.

04. lack of consumer knowledge on recycling

Consumers often don’t separate packaging components. Unfortunately mixed packaging cannot be recycled and tends to end up in a landfill.

what comes out of this innovation lab?

At Sustain Tomorrow, we hold facilitated and interactive Innovative Packaging Labs to help businesses improve their ESG certification scores. We make sure the need for aesthetics, protection of goods, sustainable materials, cost effectiveness, and reusability are considered. We utilize LCA software alongside these workshops to help ensure the environmental impact of our ideas are rooted in holistic data.

Through this lab, we hope you gain a deeper understanding of how to design packaging with cost, safety, longevity, sustainability, and people at the center of design.

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Apply to see if the creative communication lab is right for you

We want to meet you to see if Sustain Tomorrow is a good fit for you! Fill out the form below to apply and member from our team will be in touch with you. We want to hear about the work you’re doing, talk about the details of our offerings, and talk about ways you’d like to improve creative communication.