DESIRABLE SUSTAINABILITY PT 4: Waste is a design flaw

This series is from our talk at London Packaging Week on the Luxury Unboxed stage as a part of the Pentawards: Capital of Design Sessions in 2022. If you haven’t read the first instalment catch up here

BEGIN AT THE END

Packaging is often considered a waste product, a means to an end - so how can we ensure that it enhances the product within as well as functioning on its own aside from the product?

At Good by Design, when tackling a packaging brief we like to work backwards.

We ask ourselves: Where will the pack end up?

If the answer is ‘landfill’ - and it usually is - then we consider how we might give the pack a second life beyond its primary purpose.

To do this we consider the pack journey and the user story;

- What is the pack’s primary purpose?
- How else could they use our packaging?
- Why would they want to?
- When will it cease to be useful / coveted?
- Where will it end up?
- How could we make it better?

By considering the end-of-life opportunities we can better understand what material will best suit each project.

A good example of this is our work for client Heloise O’Hagan.

Image ©Heloise O’Hagan

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

Heloise is an interior designer whose luxurious soy wax candle range is consciously handmade in Britain.
Aimed at the style-conscious, the brand appeals to the audience’s interest in curating beautiful spaces without sacrificing their well-being or the environment.

Having already worked through a brand strategy to perfectly position the client and her offering, creating a consistent identity system that highlights her refined style, and crafting an emotive tone of voice that does justice to her creativity, we were challenged with creating a range of packaging that would not only protect the fine bone china vessels inside, but that would also be reflective of the brand's commitment to sustainability, craftsmanship & reusability - to denote a more meaningful sense of what luxury can be.

And this was the result; 

We wanted a piece of sustainable packaging that felt luxurious, covetable and unexpected, so we sought to create a multi-sensory experience.

You see the box, with its clean lines, blind-embossed lid and elegant, minimalist design.

You feel the soft vacuum as the lid glides smoothly upwards, 

Hear the soft whoosh of the air rushing out, releasing the fragrance inside.

And connect with the brand through their story upon opening the box, every aspect of the unboxing has been carefully curated to evoke both the tangible & intangible elements of luxury.

But let’s not forget, another key aspect was to be sustainable & protect the vessel inside;

Like the refillable vessel, we wanted the packaging to function in a secondary way.

So we designed a structure using ‘secondary’ materials recycled grey board covered with PCW paper.

To cover the boxes, we chose G.F Smith’s Extract which is made from rescued disposable paper coffee cups that were destined for landfill - each sheet equating to at least 5 cups! 

The outer frame is robust enough to resist knocks and rather than using fillers or stuffing, we designed a removable die-cut card frame that hugs & protects the delicate vessel.

Once removed, the box becomes an everlasting sanctum for the customer's keepsakes or to simply adorn a shelf.

But just in case they decided to send it to waste, the box is plastic-free and toxin-free and so can be recycled.

And, as the box is paper-based with a cotton pull tag - it could even be home-composted.

And by choosing a supply chain based entirely in the UK we minimise our carbon emissions, support British manufacturing, and are assured of safe & fair working conditions. 

Furthermore, because the brand offers a candle refill scheme, this reduces the need for additional candle boxes and vessels meaning they only ever produce what is needed.

SEE THE FULL PROJECT HERE >>