Sustainable is Good | Where design, lifestyle and packaging meet

Why Are We Wasting?

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings."
(William Shakespeare, from his play “Julius Caesar”)

“We have met the enemy, and they are us.”
(Walt Kelly, from his cartoon strip, “Pogo”)
_________________________

The Chicken and the Egg

There are two schools of thought about why Americans generate so much waste. One school believes we have been conditioned to consume by big business, big media, and big marketing. People from this school are convinced that these massive entities – informally or perhaps not so informally – have conspired since the Industrial Revolution to line their pockets by socking us and sacking the environment. The other school believes just the opposite. These folks hold that the consumption treadmill rolls on and on because that is what American consumers want. The American character, they say, is self absorbed and materialistic, so business and media respond by producing more and more stuff.

The first school, which I call the Conspiracy School, believes the sustainable solution is more and more and more government regulation. The second school, which I call the Culture in Crisis School, believes the sustainable solution is blowing up Hummer dealerships. I believe the second school has it right with regard to diagnosing the illness, but has it all wrong when it comes to prescribing the cure.

Twist Sponges

Twist is a clean fresh fun brand that makes high quality more eco-friendly sponges and cleaning cloths by combining elements of design with eco-consciousness.   TWIST products are 100% biodegradable and the packaging is earth-friendly and recyclable. 

Founded in 2006 by Egil Wigert and Brian Ross, Twist has found early success being carried by Whole Foods Market.

The packaging design is clean and simple just like the products.  A key focus for designer Teresa Forrester was making packaging that allowed consumers to look and feel the Twist products up close to see what they are all about.   Consumers are interested in the new Twist sponges and cloths and wanted to pick them up and examine them before buying the company found.

"We really wanted to do something that was more visually stimulating than what has previously been seen in this arena of products, yet still be eco sensitive," said Forrester.   "The Twist brand is fresh, clean, fun and bright this is reflective in our package design and choice of packaging colors. we also wanted to embrace the color of the sponges themselves and incorporate that into our design."

Keeping with the green desires of the brand the packaging design team made the packaging so consumers could make a little bird feeder or mobile out of it before recycling it.  "For the inside of the bellybands, we printed small bird mobiles and where we could, did a two piece bird feeder," said Forrester.  Twist provides consumers instructions for making birdfeeders at their web site.

Brand Packaging Magazine: Interview with Jennifer Acevedo

BRANDPACKAGING magazine has just come out with its first publication (JAN/FEB 08) in its new format and design and the reaction has been highly positive.  As one of the only industry magazines focused on the brand marketing side of packaging and design it's a refreshing addition to the existing group of packaging industry publications.

Sustainable is Good recently had the chance to ask BRANDPACKAGING's Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Acevedo about the magazine's new look and format as well as her thoughts on sustainability and packaging design.

RT: Give us some details behind the redesign of BRANDPACKAGING - what is the concept behind it and what prompted the change?

JA:  BRANDPACKAGING has been constantly evolving since it was first launched a little more than 10 years ago. Then, its pages were packed with information on shopping behavior, building shelf presence and taming global markets. This was a publication ahead of its time—the first magazine devoted to how packaging connects to the larger dialogue about the brand.

Today, we find ourselves in a unique position as an industry. The landscape has changed drastically. Design is a business imperative and marketers have realized that the media environment is fragmented at best. Now more than ever, packaging is critical to delivering the brand message. We decided the time was right for a redesign— everything was on the table, from our logo and tagline to the visual look and feel, and even the informational structure, of the magazine.

Visually, the new look is intended to be bold, provocative and powerful. A new logo, which features a “carat” in place of the letter “A” in BRANDPACKAGING, supports our more clearly articulated mission to “Elevate Packaging in the Marketing Mix”.  We have also moved to a new oversized format to provide a larger billboard and accommodate a new two-column layout.

RT: The magazine offers a nice balance between design and packaging information who is the target audience?  Has it evolved?  Do you see it expanding into new areas?  If so which.

JA:  Our primary audience is composed of brand marketers across a wide range of categories of consumer packaged goods—everything from food and beverage to personal care to consumer electronics and cosmetics. We are also heavily utilized by a secondary group, the creative and innovation teams (both internally and based in agencies) who support and collaborate with marketing.

From the research we conducted at the beginning of the redesign project, we found that both of these groups relied on the magazine to sell the value of packaging “up” in their organizations. This understanding of how the publication is used, and by whom, guides us as we are gathering, filtering and presenting information to our readership.

Sustainability

RT:  We've seen a tremendous increase in the focus on sustainability and green issues in packaging over the last year what do you see as the single most important development in packaging design over the last year related to this topic?

JA:  Not long ago, sustainability was addressed by only the most eco-forward of brands, your Aveda’s and the like. These brands embraced sustainability as a core value. When Wal-Mart announced it would begin holding brand owners accountable for the impact their packaging has on the environment, the game changed.

And even though the scorecard is not the only criteria that Wal-Mart will use when making purchasing decisions, it has gotten the attention of the brand owners and I think the program offers a couple of long-term benefits as the consumer becomes more and more savvy about the issue of sustainability.

First, the scorecard gives brands a relatively clear-cut means to quantify and evaluate their packaging and its impact on the environment. The scorecard generates a number that tells the brand where it stands and how it can improve.

Consumers Drive Demand for Green Packaging

Following up on Friday's piece on American consumers willingness to  reduce packaging JoAnn Hines The Packaging Diva, recently gave a speech touching on the the same topic.  Hines' speech entitled "From Green to Great," was presented at a Retailing Today sponsored forum, “Best Practices in Sustainability: Top Trends, Tips and Takeaways from Thought Leaders in Green Retailing.”

U.S. Consumers Driving Greener Packaging

Hines says in the U.S. only about 10% of the population is willing to pay more for eco-friendly products and their corresponding packaging.

According to a Nielsen Global Food Packaging Survey, nearly one in two global consumers would give up all forms of packaging provided for convenience purposes if it would benefit the environment, which includes packaging designed for easy stacking/storing at home (49%); packaging that can be used for cooking, or doubling as a re-sealable container (48%); and packaging designed for easy transport (47%). "That sounds good on paper and in theory but what will it cost us," asks Hines.

"There is no country in the world that has as much convenience packaging as we do in the U.S.," she said.  "Think about what would you be willing to give up?"

Hines said the important message here is that we are a convenience and disposable society.  "We are way behind other countries on the issue of sustainability and other environmentally friendly practices," she said.

Are Americans Willing to Reduce Packaging

Glynn Davis over at Retail Bulletin has an interesting post today on consumer reaction to excess packaging.

Nielsen stats from this week in the US showed majority of Americans would give up all forms of packaging provided for convenience purposes if it would benefit the environment. Consumers said they would give up packaging designed for easy transport, packaging designed for use in cooking, and packaging designed for easy stacking.

Davis writes that sounds great until you delve deeper into the same survey and find that a minority of people would be willing to give up packaging designed for other purposes such as keeping food fresher for longer or keeping products in good condition.

Perhaps most troubling was the revelation that 10 percent of Americans would not give up any form of packaging to help save the environment.

Herein lies the problem for retailers and manufacturers - many consumers claim to do one thing in surveys but their actions say something completely different.  Davis says, "In reality they don't give a damn about the environment."

The piece is quite timely and highlights the challenges major companies face in this arena.  Sustainable is Good covered P&G earlier in the week and their greener packaging improvements fall in line with the results of this survey. 

Makers of many mainstream consumer products are hesitant to make significant packaging adjustments solely for environmental purposes perhaps because as Davis points out consumers are difficult to gauge and the last thing companies want to do is jeopardize sales.   

OASIS First U.S. Organic Standard for the Beauty and Personal Care Industry

Cosmetic Industry Companies Create OASIS

In a major development within the cosmetic and personal care industry here in the U.S., representatives from a number of the leading companies in the industry have come together to create OASIS, the first U.S. industry standard for certifying organic cosmetic products.

OASIS (Organic and sustainable industry standards) is a collaborative effort between a number of companies including Estee Lauder, Aveda, L'Oreal, Private Label Select, Oh Oh Organics, Hain Celestial Group and others.  The organization is a registered 501c 6 Mutual Benefit Trade Association designed to represent the concerns and goals of companies that make sustainable and organic products for the beauty and personal care industry.   The organization has 30 founding member companies which include both product and ingredient manufacturers as well as distributors.

Fueled by the lack of U.S. industry standards and the increased harmonization efforts of similar policies and standards in the EU, OASIS is aimed at providing clear industry standards.  "We (US beauty industry) needed to have a voice in this discussion," said Tim Kapsner a Senior Research Scientist with Aveda. 

Kapsner explained the lack of a clear industry standard and increased consumer demand for organic beauty products have caused some companies to apply the USDA Organic food-grade standard to their cosmetic products.  But those standards were never designed for the beauty industry and presented a number of challenges to companies looking to certify high-performance products.

For Kapsner and his colleagues, OASIS is the result of nearly 10 years of work to establish organic standards and clarity in the industry.

In the EU, ECOCERT is the leading standard using 10% certified organic content as its benchmark for certification.   OASIS will require 85% certified organic content.  According to its organizing board, the "organic" standard will gradually increase until it reaches 95% organic content in several years.   

Karl Halpert, Founder of Private Label Select told Sustainable is Good the new OASIS certification will carry a significant education component both within the industry and also to consumers. "It will bring clarity to a very confusing marketplace," Halpert said.

Halpert said he expected products certified through the OASIS process to be available to consumers within 9-12 months.

OASIS certification will be conducted by International Cosmetics & Regulatory Specialists L.L.C.  an independent certifier using standards developed by OASIS.  Products certified by OASIS will carry the OASIS seal logo on their packaging.

Packaging

OASIS will initially focus on certifying ingredients used in cosmetic/personal care products but will likely branch out to include sustainable practices and packaging.

Ellen Maguire, Vice President of Global Communications for Aveda told Sustainable is Good she expected products from Aveda would be OASIS certified within the next year.  She was also excited the standard would likely branch out to cover packaging noting Aveda's focus and leadership in the area of more sustainable packaging.

Charmin MegaRoll Packaging A Subtle Green Step from P&G

Procter & Gamble's Lee Sauers Vice President of Global Sustainability was profiled last week in Fortune magazine.  Sauers provided a candid assessment of his company's sustainability efforts in packaging and other areas. 

Environmental concerns are something P&G tries to work into products and packaging design on their own accord not necessarily pushed by consumers.

Fueled by a desire to deliver quality products to consumers and an absolute focus on not forcing consumers to compromise on quality for environmental benefits P&G is making subtle adjustments to things like packaging in order to be greener. 

The company's Charmin Mega toilet paper campaign is a typical example of a product reformulation with some sustainable improvements.  Touting the fact the enhanced roll is equivalent to 4 single rolls in 1, P&G markets the bigger rolls to consumers by saying "Change the Roll Less Often." 

Sauers says consumers respond to this type of marketing and by selling the product this way P&G can save large amounts of packaging.  According to the company, if 1 million consumers switched from Regular Charmin to Mega it would save 85,000 gallons of diesel fuel and eliminate 500,000 pounds of trash and packaging.

P&G has made similar adjustments to popular product's packaging including its laundry detergents, diapers and toothpaste.  P&G is now shipping some of its Crest toothpaste in new containers that can be sold directly to consumers without the need for a box or additional packaging.  The new Crest packaging is durable enough to protect the product in transit and is able to withstand the tough retail environment.

Unilever, P&G Battle Over Sustainablity Claims

Interesting story from AdAge on the ongoing battle between consumer products giants Unilever and Procter & Gamble over which company is more ethically/socially responsible.

Readers of Sustainable is Good know this ongoing race for which company can claim they're more sustainable has touched the world of packaging.

Most notably the concentration of liquid laundry detergents.  Unilever's All Small & Mighty started the wave of mainstream downsizing followed shortly thereafter by P&G's Tide brand. 

Since the initial roll out of the new formulations and packaging the improvements have trickled down through both companies other brands.  The transition has been helped by a major commitment to the cause from the largest US retailer Wal-Mart.

As we reported Method really started the concentrated laundry detergent craze for mainstream products when it rolled out a concentrated detergent back in 2005 more than a year before Small & Mighty.  If Method's market share was anywhere near Unilever's or P&G's the impact of its forward thinking move would be viewed as more significant.

Packaging plays a critical role for many products and brands Unilever and P&G each produce.  Packaging provides companies with space to sell their product to consumers so while reducing packaging is a good environmental sell its a tough sell to brand managers of mainstream consumer products.

Eco-friendly Motor Oil with Recycled Packaging

A greener more eco-friendly motor oil from Green Earth Technologies called G-OIL will be available to US consumers this month CNET reports.  The new oil is animal fat based and petroleum-free. 

The company uses animal fats from meat processing facilities which used be used to make trans fat cooking oils. Waste fats from cattle instead of fossil fuels are the key ingredients. 

"We turn that into liquid form and use nanotechnology to have it perform in lubricant format," explained company CEO Jeff Marshall.

Because the slaughter of each cow leaves behind 200 pounds of waste tallow, the company is making use of a renewable resource, he said.

Packaging

The company uses containers made from recycled milk jugs as well as recycled paper labels using soy inks for its packaging.  The containers are made from #1 PET as well has #2 HDPE plastics which are both highly recyclable.