context book by Hannah Jackson

Introduction

“Perhaps there should be no special category called ‘sustainable design’. It might be simpler to assume that designers will try to reshape their values and their work so that all design is based in humility, combines objective aspects of climate and the ecological use of materials with subjective intuitive processes...” - Victor Papanek

Contents

3. 5. 7. 9. 11. 13. 15. 17. 19. 21. 23. 25. 27. 29. 31. 33. 35.

Contents Introduction Definitions The Sustainable Packaging Coalition Lush Case Study Stanley Honey Case Study Pangea Organics Case Study Recyclability vs. Reusability Inks Stock & Substrate Tree-free Alternatives Finishes Binding Greenwashing Glossary Picture Credits Further Reading

“Packaging is one of the most visible components of the waste stream, making up around onethird of the average household’s rubbish”

- Lewis and Gertsakis, 2001.

When it comes to recycling household waste, packaging is one of the most criticized areas. These statistics are not often publicized so the consumer is most likely unaware of the amount of waste they are generating and the effect that it is having on the planet. Defra (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs) estimates that in 2008, the UK disposed of 10.7 million tonnes of packaging waste. On average, each person in the UK produces 507kg of household waste each year and only 173kg is composted or recycled (Defra, 2009). The amount of household waste that we recycle is slowly rising and has risen from 27% to 56% since 1998, but we still have a way to go. Since this rise in recycling, WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Planner) suggests that out of the 30 million tonnes of household waste that the UK produces as a whole, 5.9 million tonnes is still made up of packaging, which could easily be recycled and dramatically reduced (WRAP, 2009).

Packaging is one of the most ‘throw-away’ parts of our household waste and also one of the things that has a high need to be designed with sustainable materials. Most packaging that comes into our households is simply thrown away without consideration for what can be recycled or reused. The amount of plastic that is used for modern packaging is enormous and consumers are likely to be unaware or confused by what types of plastic can be recycled and whether or not they can be recycled at a site near them. The easier solution is to simply throw it away.

Definitions

Sustainable

Packaging

Capable of being sustained

(Of economic development, energy sources, etc) capable of being maintained at a steady level without exhausting natural resources or causing severe ecological damage: sustainable development

(Of economic growth) non-inflationary

a) The box or wrapping in which a product is offered for sale. b) The design of such a box or wrapping, esp with reference to its ability to attract customers.

The presentation of a person, product, television programme, etc, to the public in a way designed to build up a favourable image.

The work of a packager.

The package must be beneficial, safe and healthy for individuals and communities throughout its life cycle. The package meets market criteria for performance and cost. The package is sourced, manufactured, transported, and recycled using renewable energy. The package maximizes the use of renewable or recycled source materials.

The Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) is an industry-working group dedicated to being a source of information where both businesses and designers can go to learn more about the specific area. They are working towards a world where all packaging is sustainable. From their website they have provided the opposite list of criteria of what sustainable packaging must be. Their definition of sustainability is not the global definition, but it is widely cited and used as a basis for sustainable design worldwide.

The package must be manufactured using clean production technologies and best practices. The package must be made from materials healthy in all probable end-of-life scenarios. The package must be physically designed to optimize materials and energy. The package must be effectively recovered and utilized in biological and/or industrial cradle to cradle cycles.

- The Sustainable Packaging Coalition

Case Studies

“When you buy a shampoo bar, you’re preventing about 75g of plastic from being introduced into the environment. Since we sell nearly 1,800,000 bars all over the world, we collectively save around 135 tonnes of plastic every year”

-Lush (2010)

Lush is UK based company that, since it was founded in 1994, has been working towards creating sustainable cosmetics and being as environmentally friendly as possible. Through doing this, Lush sells its products using minimal packaging and over 70% of their products are sold how they refer to as ‘naked’ – meaning using no packaging at all. Whereas shampoo is typically sold in liquid form and requires a bottle to hold it, Lush developed a solid shampoo bar which removes the need for any packaging at all and saves a vast amount of water at the same time as well as greatly reducing their carbon footprint. However, some of Lush’s products are still available in liquid form and therefore do require plastic bottles or pots to contain them. Instead of simply telling the consumer to put the empty bottle out for

recycling when they are done with it, they ask that the empty bottles be returned to them in order for the bottles to go right back into the same company. While this is a method that is both easier and more awkward than simply recycling – easier in the sense that the consumer does not have to worry about whether the bottle or pot can be recycled in their area and more awkward in the way that returning the bottle or pot to the store is more effort than the average consumer is willing to put into recycling – Lush offers a reward system for their customers. For every five bottles or pots that the consumer returns to the store, they receive a new bottle or pot of their favorite product for free. In doing this, Lush customers are more likely to collect and return their empties to the store in exchange for something extra.

The shampoo bars are so much smaller and more compact than the average bottle of shampoo that it would take fifteen lorries to transport the liquid shampoo equivalent of one lorry transporting Lush shampoo bars.

Bars

Bottles

Stanley Honey

“Once emptied of their contents, the ceramic pots are designed to encourage you to plant your own flowers in them. This will produce delicious nectar for all the bees in your area and hopefully result in more honey for everyone. Sweet.” - The Partners Designed by The Partners and the winner of numerous awards, Stanley Honey is a great example of sustainable packaging. As opposed to simply being made of a recyclable material, The Partners have designed the packaging without the need to be recycled at all, simply re-used for another purporse. The purpose behind this design is, of course, to plant a flower in the empty pot for bees to use to make more honey, creating an endless cycle and so being 100% sustainable.

On top of being clever, the design is very aesthetically pleasing and is packaged in an unusual way for such a product, and so tends to catch the consumer’s eye and remains in their memory for longer.

Pangea Organics

“All product boxes are made from 100% post-consumer paper that has been seeded with herbs such as basil and amaranth.”

- Scott Boylston On top of creating cosmestics from organic ingredients, Pangea Organics wanted their packaging to reflect this. Initially sold ‘raw’ without any packaging whatsoever, it was soon discovered that as the cosmetics grew in popularity, they were going to need to create packaging with the information of where to get more printed on it. From hemp cards to die-cut boxes, the brand has arrived at a packaging solution that is satisfactory for both the company and the client.

Pangea Organic’s packaging is made from 100% post consumer waste, in the form of post-consumer newsprint, which is shredded, pulped in water and pressed into the shape of the box using a mold. Any pulp left over goes right back into the process, leaving no waste whatsoever. On top of this, the packaging is embedded with the seeds of various herbs so that instead of having to recycle the packaging, it can be easily soaked in water and planted out in soil, where the seeds will germinate and grow a small herb garden for the consumer while the packaging biodegrades completely. No fuss, no mess.

Recyclability vs. Reusability

An example of a piece of packaging’s second life being a part of the product is a product called ‘lite2go’ designed by Knoend, which is piece of light bulb packaging that consists of a pillow-box made from recyclable polypropylene which contains a light bulb and fixture. Instead of the packaging simply being thrown away, it has a second life as the lampshade that goes with the bulb. It is an integral part of the design and makes sure that there is no wastage and nothing to be thrown away, therefore creating a piece of sustainable packaging. Other pieces of design also reflect this method is ‘Hangerpak’ which is simple mail-able packaging for t-shirts which is transformed into a coat hanger.

“I buy t-shirts online and they always come wrinkled and I always run out of coat-hangers. So I designed a sustainable, reusable way to send and keep your t-shirts. As you open the package you create a coat hanger. The packaging could be made from recycled material whether it is card or plastic and the only waste is the green tearaway tab.” - Steve Haslip, 2009

“By making a bird feeder that could be hung directly outside the kitchen window, Twist has envisioned a way to invite nature a little bit closer.” - Boylston, 2009

top right left

lite2go Twist Hangerpak

However, the second life of the packaging does not have to have anything to do with its original purpose as long as it has a viable purpose in its second life. An example of this is shown in the sponge company Twist’s product range. While the packaging is produced using post consumer recycled materials and soy/ vegetable ink, the designers could think of no second life for the packaging that tied in with the purpose of the original purpose of the product. So instead the reverse of the packaging has a net and a how-to guide on how to transform the packaging into a small bird feeder.

Specifications

Inks The â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;goodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; black. As any designer should know, if you mix enough colours together, the ultimate result will be black. It was initially embraced by printers as a money saving technique, but has also been accepted as an ecologically sound method of cutting down on ink wastage. Instead of those inks being unusable and simply being discarded, inks left over from printing jobs are saved and mixed together in a large vat, creating black ink. This both saves the printers a lot of money on having to purchase more black ink as well as drastically cuts down on the wastage a printers produces.

Specify soy-based inks. Petroleum based inks contain chemicals that are harmful to the environment, called VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds), and are made from a nonrenewable resource - oil. When it comes to recycling paper, it must first be de-inked, which is a high energy, highly destructive process. Soy beans, on the other hand, are readily available and are a renewable resource. When compared with petroleum based inks, soy based inks are generally more intense, thus creating a need for less ink usage and it is easily removed (de-inked) and can be done so with water based solvents, which greatly reduces the amount of harmful chemicals (VOCs) used.

Less ink coverage Simply put, the more ink coverage on a page, the less ecologically sound the job is. It uses a lot of ink, and must go through a more intense deinking process before the substrate can be recycled.

Stock & Substrate Post-consumer waste. Post consumer waste is paper that has already been used for something, used by a consumer and then has been recycled and created into new paper for something else. Not to be confused with ‘Pre-consumer waste’ which is the term given to recycled paper made from cut offs and waste paper from a previous printing job. Pre-consumer waste has never been used by a consumer. Paper can be recycled up to seven times before the fibres become too damaged for it to be used again.

Natural or ‘off-white’ paper. Virgin paper, but more environmentally friendly because it hasn’t gone through the processes to bleach a sheet of paper to make it as white as possible, thus lowering the amount of harmful chemicals being introduced into the environment and uses less energy.

FSC Paper The Forest Stewardship Council is an international, non-governmental organisation dedicated to promoting responsible management of the world’s forests and is the only certification scheme endorsed by NGOs worldwide. There are three types of FSC paper: FSC Mixed Sources: Made from both FSC paper and recycled paper. 100% FSC: No explanation necessary. FSC Recycled: Made from post consumer waste by FSC certified mills.

Tree-free alternatives What is tree-free paper? Tree-free paper is as simple as it sounds: paper made from material other than trees. It can be made from a wide variety of things from rocks to banana skins.

TerraSkin TerraSkin is probably the most well known â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of tree-free paper. The paper is produced from ground up rocks and stones and will return to this state if left to degrade for anywhere between three to nine months. The production of TerraSkin paper requires no water whatsoever, and because it is mineral based, it has no fibres, therefore the ink does not absorb into the paper, so it requires 20 to 30% less ink than regular paper. It is also both tear, and water-resistant, making it more durable than regular paper.

Sugarcane paper Also known as bagasse, sugarcane is used to create both paper and tableware products, such as fast food packaging, because of itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to withstand heat and be food-safe. On top of all that, it is completely biodegradable and can be thrown away with the food waste.

top right left

TerraSkin Sugarcane Paper Tree-free note pad

Finishes Spot Varnish Spot varnish is a UV varnish, which is mineral-oil based meaning that it contains solvents. It also causes problems during the recycling process. There is an environmentally friendly alternative in the form of aqueous varnish. It is water based and comes in both matt and gloss finishes.

Metallic Ink For a long time, metallics have only been available as petroleum-based ink which, as mentioned in the section on â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Inksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, are high in VOCs. Recently a vegetable-based version has become available which is much safer for the environment as well as using less energy and being easy to remove during the de-inking process.

Foil Blocking Foil is made of polyester film and is high in chemicals and occasionally heavy metals. They are high in energy in production and do not break down during the recycling process, and so cause problems. They are one of the least environmentally print finishes. Vegetable-based metallic inks may not be as glossy, but are much safer for the environment.

right left bottom

Spot varnish Metallic Ink Foil Blocking

Binding Use water-based adhesives Adhesives are another product that is high in harmful chemicals (VOCs) and are difficult to remove during the de-inking process. An ecologically sound alternative is to use water-based adhesives. They do not contain VOCs and are easily dissolved during the de-inking process.

Stitch vs. Staple Of the two options for book binding, staples are the most environmentally friendly method of binding a publication. This is due to the fact that they are easily removed prior to the recycling process and are 100% recyclable themselves. Stitch binding is a little more difficult to remove. On top of this, there is also the fact that the binding thread is not always made of natural materials such as cotton and linen and are sometimes coated to make them more durable. The same applies to plasticoil and comb binding methods.

right centre left

Plasticoil Binding Saddle Binding Perfect Binding

End Matter

Greenwashing

Greenwashing is the term used when a company seeks to mislead its consumers by giving the illusion that their product is sustainable and environmentally friendly and providing the credentials to support the claim while in actual fact the product is nothing of the sort. The product is marketed in a way that leads the consumer to believe that what they are buying into is more eco-friendly and less harmful to the environment. This tactic is used by companies on the basis that a consumer will feel less guilty about using that particular product if they believe that the company is aware of and endeavouring to reduce it’s impact on the environment and through this, promoting a false ‘green’ image of themselves to gain consumer approval and more business. Greenwashing is, in a word, lying to consumers in a bid for the company to be viewed more favourably, fooling their customers into believing that they are something that they are not. Many companies use this tactic to make themselves appear more green while not being willing to put the money and effort into actually making the product more sustainable and environmentally friendly, or only making a much smaller effort than they claim to be doing. (Greenpeace, 2010) The pressure is on in today’s society for companies to be more aware and to be more ‘green’ and therefore companies are falling over themselves to, at the very least, appear to be green when in fact they are not. An excellent example of greenwashing on a mass scale is BP. “BP likes to say that it is investing $1.5bn (£980,000) a year in “alternative energy”. True, I am sure. But that word “alternative” is clever. Delve a little further and it turns out that BP’s alternative energy division includes not just wind and solar and biofuels but also natural gas-fired power stations. Natural gas may be less polluting than coal and oil, but at the end of the day it’s a fossil fuel filling the atmosphere with CO2. Alternative” (The Guardian, 2008)

“A 2009 study published by Greenpeace reported that BP “allocated 93 percent ($20 billion) of its total investment fund for the development and extraction of oil, gas and other fossil fuels. In contrast, solar power was allocated just 1.39 percent, and wind a paltry 2.79 percent.” Along with its aggregate investment in alternative energy – including wave, tidal, and biofuels – this amount is only 6.8 percent of BP’s total investment.” (247wallst.com, 2009) This quote clearly states that while BP is actively promoting how green and environmentally aware it is, it is misleading consumers into believing that BP is putting a lot more effort into alternative energy sources than it really is. The focus of their adverts and their website all point to the idea that their main goal as a company is to limit usage of the natural fuel resources of the planet and to focus on finding a renewable alternative when in fact it is clearly not their main priority and in the face of the total expenditure of the company, very little capital is put into becoming green. To all appearances BP is striving to become more environmentally aware and this is the message that they convey to their consumers to make them feel less guilty about continuing to use BP. (Greenpeace, 2010)

BP went out of itself to completely rebrand itself. It was ‘British Petroleum’ until 2004, now it’s ‘Beyond Petroleum’ complete with a new ‘warm and sunny’ (Ollins, 2004) logo. 29

Glossary Accordion pack An accordion-like flexible package that enables food to be squeezed into the mouth, eliminating the need for a spoon. Applied colour lettering (ACL) When colourful graphic or typographic elements are permanently fused onto the surface of a glass bottle. Billboard Another term for the front or face panel of a carton as it is displayed on a shelf – this is where you catch consumers’ attention. Blank A carton that has been cut and creased but not yet folded and glued shut. Also refers to the mould used to transform glass into a preliminary bottle shape. Blister pack Refers to several types of pre-formed plastic packaging for small consumer goods. A blister pack consists of a web of ‘blisters’ or pockets made from plastic or aluminium, and a lid, usually made from aluminium or card. Often used as unit-dose packaging for pharmaceutical tablets. Box board Paperboard used in the manufacture of boxes or printed cartons; may be made of wood pulp or wastepaper; sometimes called ‘duplex board’. Clamshell Usually a type of blister pack, this refers to the two hinged halves of a plastic shell that form protective packaging for small, valuable items such as electronics.

Compostability Environmentally responsible packaging designed to decompose rapidly in a professionally managed compost facility, resulting in humus that supports plant life. Cutting and creasing A single process for cutting a carton shape and applying creases in it correctly. Die cut Any operation in which a sharp-edged tool or blade is used to cut a shape, or hole, into a variety of substrates; or to cut a shape into a material that can’t be achieved with a guillotine. Euroslot A standardised measure for the pegmounted hanging of items. Film An unsupported, basically organic, nonfibrous, thin, flexible material no more than 0.01-inch thick. In general terms, this refers to a thin coating. Flute (corrugation) This refers to the ridges that are pressed into a sheet of material that has been softened by steam. The material is then sandwiched between flat sheets to form corrugated fibreboard. Gatefold When paper or other material is folded inward to form four or more panels. Laminate A number of single ply materials stuck together in layers to form a single product that maximises strength, durability and other barrier properties.

Paperboard Paperboard is a paper-based material consisting of a fluted sheet housed either beneath or sandwiched between two flat linerboards. In general, all paper sheets with a thickness of 12 points (0.012inch) or greater are classified as paperboard. Plastic memory The tendency of plastic objects to return to their original moulded form. Polycarbonate (PC) The toughest of all thermoplastics, PC is temperature resistant, clear, rigid and has good impact strength. But its cost means it’s kept for special uses.

Thermoforming A process of forming plastics by heating a plastic sheet to the point where it gets soft and pliable, and transforming it into the desired shaped using vacuum, pressure and mechanical assists. VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) Chemicals that vaporize and enter the air under normal atmospheric conditions. Their vapors contribute to a range of air pollution, including smog, ozone and greenhouse gases.

Polyethylene (PE) A thermoplastic material composed of polymers of ethylene, PE is usually a tough, translucent solid that comes in low, medium and high density forms, and is popular as a container for frozen foods. Polypropylene (PP) Available as a fibre, film or foam, in any colour or clear, PP is a super-versatile material formed from propylene polymers. Plastarch Material (PSM) – aka plant or potato starch material A flexible packaging material, PSM is usually made from the starch found in corn or potatoes. It has a low carbon footprint and is compostable. PSM is also heat resistant, making it particularly suitable for hot food applications. Substrate Any base material that a design is printed onto: a carton, board, polypropylene, metallic film and so on. 32

Picture Credits

p11 Photograph courtesy www.makeupsavvy.co.uk p13 Photograph courtesy The Partners p15 Photograph courtesy Pangea Organics p17 Photographs courtesy The Dieline p19 Photograph courtesy Hannah Jackson p21 Photograph courtesy www.recycle.co.uk p23 Photographs courtesy www.ecofriendlyprinter.com, Matt Beardsly & www.fixitordeal.wordpress.com p25 Photographs courtesy www.istprintingservices.co.uk, Chris Dayfold & mslk.com p27 Photographs courtesy www.lulu.com p31 Photograph courtesy BP