Task One

-Packaging Wastage- 

One of the problems spoke of in the movie "The Age of Stupid" was how small, plastic toys are mass-produced in China and shipped to America and Europe, where they are soon to be broken and promptly moved to the rubbish bin. Are these toys, which will be appreciated for little more than a day, worth the fuel and the non-biodegradable plastic that will ultimately affect the environment?

In my opinion, the production of plastic should be minimised when possible and instead we should be working on producing items that, after their use, can continued to be recycled and reused. For, according to Plastic Oceans, packaging accounts for over 40% of total plastic usage. This is something that we Graphic Designers can lend a hand in.

I looked further into this issue, finding its solution with eco-friendly packaging, such as the examples below.

Yellow + Blue Wine Packaging

This brand produces organic wine contained in environmentally-friendly packaging. Instead of a bottle, the wine is sealed inside a carton, which leads to a lesser carbon footprint. Indeed, the carbon footprint of the wine industry is large, especially when it is dealing with considerations such as glass, labels, chemicals, cork, pesticides and fuel. Yellow + Blue's wine, however, is 93% wine and only 7% packaging. Issues such as transportation has also been looked at, for they purchase wine from the wine makers before it is bottled and then ship it in bulk via insulted steel tanks to North America. There the cartons and filled and then distributed. These considerations mean that this brand's carbon footprint is almost half (54%) of the usual wine company. 

Yet, the importance of design has not been lost in the attempt to make better packaging for the environment. Yellow + Blue's design is bold, with striking colours contrasted against the black and white of their packaging logo. Typography has been used wisely, giving this $12 wine a sleek and sophisticated appearance.


Lee Never Wasted Reusable Shopping Bag

The Happy Creative Services of India created something extremely fun and creative when they produced a shopping bag that was 100% reusable and extremely functional - and not just as a bag. 

This bag can be used as its intended function but it can be cut up when no longer needed and be used as multiple different things. The bag is made up of templates for a calendar, a snakes and ladders board game, a ruler, dice, a do not disturb sign, a pencil holder, a CD box and even more items.

This really brings home the idea that so many things can - and should - be recycled. And this company gained very positive feedback, with the initial production of 3000 bags going on to another 10,000.

Arcadia Organic Tea Packaging

This unique tea packaging was created from a single sheet of paper to keep the production cost low. It has been folded origami style, which also adds a hint of culture, as well as creating a fun and engaging packaging appearance. The finished product arrives in a set of four. If placed back-to-back,  the smaller pyramids, joined together, would create a larger pyramid.

This reinforces how packaging can still be beautiful while also helping the environment. The two can definitely go together.


HP Inks Packaging 

The packaging of HP inks allows the consumer to send back their empty ink cartridge in the same, self addressed box that it was purchased in. The packaging has been made from recycled chipboard, while the screen printing for the simple and attractive design was used with only cyan, magenta, yellow and black inks.


These companies have the right idea. If more brands started to do the same, some of the world's problems could be helped much sooner.


References: 
http://www.plasticoceans.net/the-facts/what-a-waste/

http://www.ybwines.com/default.asp

http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2011/2/9/lee-never-wasted.html

http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/environment-friendly-packaging-designs/

http://www.weeco.co.uk/wowspiral/

http://jayce-o.blogspot.com/2011/04/50-eco-friendly-recyclable-packaging.html