Sustainable is Good | Where design, lifestyle and packaging meet

360 Vodka

What sets McCormick Distilling's 360 Vodka apart from other premium spirits is the entire brand's identity is based on sustainability.

Branding communications firm Sagon Phior handled 360's brand identity including its graphic and packaging design.  "The concept behind the bottle (85% recycled glass) and logo that adorns it (blown into the glass) is all about sustainability, represented by the idea of things coming full circle or 360 degrees," said Sagon Phior's Darren Tarlow.  "Every aspect of this brand and bottle were created to be as renewable as possible, because renewable things don't end like the finite, they continue indefinitely.  That is a very hopeful and fantastic kind of thought, the exact thought we wanted to imbue in 360," he said.

The 360 degree design philosophy is also apparent in the label which was designed to wrap completely around the bottle, unlike many other brands.  Sagon Phior has worked with New Leaf 100% PCW paper with a number of its clients and brought that option to McCormick Distilling's team for 360's label.  The company liked it and 360's label is made exclusively with New Leaf paper.

Nokia Reduces Packaging Releases Greener Phone

Finnish cell phone maker Nokia announced this week at the Nokia World conference a new greener phone with reduced green packaging.

The new Nokia 3110 Evolve, is a mobile device with bio-covers made from more than 50% renewable material. The device is presented in a small package made of 60% recycled content and it comes with Nokia's most energy efficient charger yet, using 94% less energy than the Energy Star requirements.

Nokia has been exploring the use of a smaller final packaging solution since early 2005. It designed and rolled out a space saving, compact sales package in spring 2006. This has reduced the amount of packaging materials by 54% compared to the previous solution, and using the same paper-based material inside and out has enhanced the overall recyclability of the packaging.

The smaller packaging size has doubled transportation efficiency with a more than 50% reduction in land and air shipping requirements. During 2006, Nokia shipped 60 million mobile devices in this small package alone, using more than 1,200 fewer trucks than the previous packaging solution.

Sainsbury's Tetra Pak FSC Certified Packaging

Swedish packaging company Tetra Pak and UK food retailer Sainbury's announced the world's first Tetra Pak certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

Sainbury's is the first supermarket in the world to stock the Tetra Recart packaged with FSC-certified wood fiber.  The packaging will initially be used for Sainbury's own private label Premium Chopped Tomatoes.  The tomatoes will have a two-year shelf life in the Recart packaging.

The companies said the new packaging will reassure "Sainbury's customers that the paperboard used comes from well-managed forests and controlled sources."

Additional benefits according to Tetra Pak are the package's rectangular shape which makes it highly efficient during transportation, storage and distribution using 33% less space than a can.

Target Mirel Bioplastic Gift Cards in All 1600 Stores for Holidays

Target stores are carrying bioplastic gift cards in all 1600 stores for the holiday season.  The cards, available in twelve different holiday designs (see photos) are made from Mirel, a biobased plastic from Cambridge Massachusetts-based Metabolix. 

According to a source, the cards began to appear nationwide on Saturday 12/1 in Target stores.  Metabolix confirmed the news late Monday with a press release.

Sustainable is Good has reported extensively on the Mirel gift cards and the Target relationship.  In July, Target test marketed gift cards made using Mirel in 129 of its stores.

Reducing Corrugated Consumption - 4 Ways to Get More From Less

BY BRAD SHORR

Corrugated boxes are so widely used for shipping, most of us barely notice them. However, if your company uses corrugated, chances are you can use less of it. Here are four commonly used approaches to cutting back on corrugated. Not only do these options save trees and reduce cost, they have the potential to improve your packaging performance.

Use Lighter Board

The traditional standard for most corrugated containers is the Mullen test, which measures the bursting strength of the corrugated material used to make a particular box. Another standard now commonly in use is the Edge Crush Test (ECT), which measures a box's stacking strength. A box conforming to the ECT standard is comprised of less paperboard than its Mullen equivalent, yet depending on the application its performance may be equal or superior.

Consider a Bookfold

A bookfold , or one-piece folder, is a flat corrugated sheet with four scored flaps that wrap around the item(s) being packaged. Bookfolds are so called because they are widely used to package books, documents, posters, and other printed materials. But bookfolds are quite suitable for shipping most any type of products less than 4" in height . The sustainable advantage: bookfolds require far less corrugated board than a box designed for the same job. Functionally, bookfolds offer the advantage of wrapping tightly around the product, eliminating the need for void fill materials.