Heinz' interest in the environment seems to be on the incline. The company itself seems to be;
*Reducing energy consumption
*Reducing solid waste
*Reducing water consumption
*Increasing renewable energy
*Reducing transportation fossil fuel consumption
*Reducing packaging material
The brief states that the bottle design has to conicide with these specifications.
The Heinz tomato ketchup bottle is now made from 30% material from renewable sources and is fully recyclable. Even though the brief states that the bottle shape will remain the same it does not state that the material has to. Therefore, it may be beneficial to look at materials that are recyclable.
The brief suggests that one method to increase sales is to promote ways in which Worcestershire sauce can be used in recipes. The label or packaging may include recipe cards in order to inform the consumer of innovative ways to create an appetising meal involving Lea & Perrins.
TheLea & Perrins website actually includes some of these tips and recipes on their website. So maybe they need to be promoted more as they are easily accessible.
The brief mentions that the 'iconic bottle shape' has to remain the same...
I then researched the advertising of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce to see whether the styles of advertising could be incorporated within my bottle designs.
I actually think that these old advert designs may influence the packaging I design. This is due to them being aesthetically pleasing.
The most recent advertising has used witt and humour in order to captivate the target audience. I think that this kind of humour should be used on the label recipes (if they are used). It is also mentioned HERE.
'Attract a new generation of Lea & Perrins users through educating and exciting them of ways to use L&P in their everyday dishes'
Objectives:
*Create a pack design that is attractive to the 20-35yr old age group
*The pack design needs to inspire people to use the product in their everyday cooking
*The packaging should be made as sustainable as possible and adhere to the Heinz Corporate social responsibilty guidelines
Mandatories:
*Retain the pproud branding (Orange & Black)
*Retain the iconic bottle design
*Keep the original and genuine feel ofthe product
Considerations:
*The pack should stand out
*Attach elements to the bottle such as recipe cards
*Sustainability themes of refill, recyclability and bio materials should also be considered
Key points from the Worcestershire sauce history:
*First sold in 1837
*Produced in attempt to recreate a taste found in India
*Originally tasted horrible, so was put in a cellar and forgotten about. Found months later and tasted. It was found that it tasted a lot better.
*Process and most spices kept 'secret'
*Although it is known that it contains onions, garlic and red chillies
The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) is in Machynlleth in Mid Wales and was opened in 1973. It aims to demonstrate practical solutions for sustainabilty. It aims to inspire, inform and enable.
The building itself is built upon an old slate quarry. In order to get to the centre, which is located at the top of the quarry, visiters have to travel using the cliff railway. This is operated using the principle of water balancing.
(The cliff railway explanation, the cliff railway and inside)
After arriving atthe main building we were told that the talk would be given at 12:30.We waited in the vegetarian organic cafe and ate some tasty food.
The talk was given by Jo Gwillim. He informed us that the CAT took 5 years to build and cost £6, 000, 000! The building faces south in order to utilise the sunlight as much possible using less artificial lighting and using the sunlight to heat up the building. The walls, mainly compressed earth, act as insulters and keep the warmth in the building. He suggested that people should 'buy less things instead of focussing on recycling'. The main insulating materials within the building are; recycled newspaper, wood fibre, cork, wool, fibreglass and hemp. Jo also played a 4 minute animation by Anna Sancha that showed how we treat the world and how it should be treated.
Materials
Figuring out which label matches each material.
Toni with an eco-friendly wall.
Around the site there were multiple examples of sustainable energy sources and ways in which we can make help to make a difference.
Top L-R: Wind turbine chair, free green veg, a solar panel, several recycling bins, wind turbine
No Impact Man is a documentary film about an American man who wants to see if it possible for him and his family to leave no carbon footprint for a year.
Colin Beaven lives in New York City with his wife, 2 yr old daughter and his dog. He claims that he was so fed up of 'waiting for senators to do something about the way we treat the world' that he decided to see what would happen if he took the situations into his own hands. This meant that he and his family would try to leave no net impact on the environment. In other words, no rubbish, no carbon emissions, no toxins in the water, no lifts, no subway, no products in packaging, no plastics, no tv etc.
At first his wife doesn't seem to take to the idea but after 6months she claims that she is excited and can feel the benefits of only eating local foods (even giving up coffee).
Whilst visiting the farm where their food is produced (Colin proclaiming that this can be their family holiday) Colin asks the farmer why he hasn't labelled his food 'organic' considering that it practically is. The farmer answers;
"There can be no treatment for cows, if a cow gets sick we cannot give them antibiotics. That's the problem I have, I can't let the cows die."
This surprised me actually. I've always presumed that organic meant that no chemicals were used that weren't required. If that makes sense.
The thing that stuck out to me the most was the conclusion. Colin, after acquiring media attention, is giving a talk to students about being a 'no impact man'. He says;
"Without a community, we don't feel accountable to anyone else"
I sort of agree with this statement, I believe that a community is vital to happiness. He states that going to the local market for food has allowed him and his family to become part of a community.
It's weird to think that anybody would have a negative opinion about this project. As a woman suggests on the film, maybe it is because people feel that they have a right to be consumers. 'I've earned this cash, I worked hard for it. Therefore, I can spend it however I choose to'.
Overall it's a very inspiring film that I am glad I have watched. I've already text the parents to say we NEED to give most of these ideas a go in summer (not so keen on the toilet roll idea...) No Impact Man Blog
Ahh...Annie Leonard's 'Story of Stuff'. I really could not take to these videos as they irritated me.
I'm undecided whether the jittery animation was the cause of this, or the fact it was incredibly preachy and it did not state where all the 'facts' came from. However, I like to hear all the sides of every story and I enjoy the fact it made you think. To be fair, I agree with a lot that was said but I feel the approach was all wrong.
Facts I picked up from the video:
* The US makes up 5% of the world's population yet uses 30% of the worlds resources
* 99% of items we buy are trashed within 6months. This may be due to planned obsolescence or perceived obsolenscence.
* National happiness peaked in the 1950's and has declined since planned and perceived obsolenscence. (however, how they 'measured' happiness I do not know)
She also explained why we should not sell bottled water. I'm not sure whether I agree with this concept. I always order tap water if I'm at a restaurant but I always buy bottle water if I'm thirsty and there's a corner shop near by. I think that if bottled water wasn't sold people would complain that 'Everyone is being really unhealthy because they are buying fizzy drinks'. Also, tap water tends to taste different everywhere (that was meant to sound a lot less selfish than it does).
Carbon Footprints
I've been informed, by using an online interactive survey, that I'm using 2.3 planets resources. I'm going to play Devils Adovcate here and ask is this based on a daily amount, yearly, or in the average lifetime? Either way, 2.3 planets is pretty shocking. I did answer with the worst case scenerio in mind.
My score is higher than the world average but lower than my regions average which I am both saddened and pleased by. This website is a good idea as it suggests ways in which we can alter our lifestyles to benefit the world.
The 'Living Planet Report 2012' was incredibly informative. It does not come across preachy but informs the reader with statistics, problems and solutions.
We were set the task of looking at a particular material's history and use. Heather, Billy and I were given the material 'wood'. We chose to focus on the facts;
*1931 First wooden currency. When the Citizen's Bank of Tenino, Washington, defaulted during the great stock-market crash, the Chamber of Commerce decided to issue round wooden couins as scrip to use until they could fill the coffers back up with the real issue
*. 400, 000 BC The spears from Schnoningen provide some of the first examples of wooden hunting gear. Flint tools were used for carving.
We then researched what different ways wood is used in design today.
After research sustainable shoebox designs I tried to design one myself.
I found myself being the least creative person ever. I kept drawing rectangular shoeboxes that did not have that much sustainabilty. So I did some more research, but this time I decided that I would design a bag to put the shoes in. This enables the packaging to have alternate use after protecting the shoes. I began to think back about Japanese packaging where rope and straw was used with basic origami techniques. This lead me to...
Recycling
bags/magazines by weaving them to create new bags is an environmentally
friendly idea. I chose to design for Creeper shoes as they are bulky and
they are usually bought by people who like unusual things. Therefore
they may be more attracted to unique styles of packaging. The main issue
with this technique is that it would be very time consuming so would be
difficult to produce in mass bulk.
Hessian is a woven fabric usually made from skin of the jute plant which is combined with other vegetable fibres. Although the colour may be seen as quite bland I actually think it fits the style of shoe I have designed for.
Designs
Recycled bag design (no zips etc)
The bag may contain sencils on the front to attract consumer.
I decided to draw out a box idea anyway. The initial idea behind this design was that the box can be reused as shelves afterwards. The box would be recycled egg cartons.
You know that feeling when you've just made a decision on something and then someone/something comes along and brings about a whole new perspective to mess you up?
To elaborate I'll start from the very beginning...
Personally I believe that global warming is an issue. However I completely believe that the government only regurgitates statistics when and as needed. So if they need a diversion they whip out the old 'GLOBAL WARMING IS DEAD DEAD BAD' speech. I also have an issue with statistics. If you can manipulate statistics to your advantage you're on to a winner. For example, the national average salary plays on the 'mean'. The average is a term used to group the mean, mode, median and range. If a student, or pretty much anyone who isn't in the government, wants to find the average salary they would find the mode, as finding the salary that is the most common seems the most appropriate. However, when politicians find the average they use the mean, they add up all the salaries and divide by the number of workers.Consequently, the people with phenomenly high salaries affect the result dramatically. They use this manipulation of statistics to their advantage by saying that the 'average salary' is actually a lot better than it actually is. (not an anti-government rant)
"Is there a point to this rant?"
Yes. I think that people who study global warming may also manipulate statistics, but then again, if that's what gets people thinking then I have no issue with this.
This segues beautifully into the roots of this post.
I was reading the daily mail (stop hatin' and just let me continue...) and was greeted by this headline;
'Global warming stopped 16 years ago, reveals Met Office report quietly released... and here is the chart to prove it'
I literally rolled my eyes when I read 'HERE IS THE CHART TO PROVE IT' stats stats stats.The manipulation of statistics. 'IF THERE'S A CHART IT MUST BE TRUE!!'
The basis of the article is that 'the world stopped getting warmer 16 years ago'. It's so hard to reach your own conclusion when people keep throwing 'facts' at each other. How can they all be facts yet so contradicting?
'these boxes will need to both transport, protect and [ideally] provide a secondary use for the packaging after transportation to the purchaser’s home.'
So I decided to look for ANY form of packaging that has a second use or anything that has been made into something new. Basically I found a lot of cool stuff that isn't really related to this task but is too awesome not to share. I WISH I HAD THE CREATIVITY OF THESE PEOPLE.
Packaging that turns into a hanger.
Using the tabs off cans to make this bag. It may not be pretty but it's impressive.
Made from toilet roll tubes.
The above four images show an excellent use of plastic spoons. I need to try this necklace!!
This is just cute.
This is basically what the home section in Urban Outfitters looks like. Love the lamp and LOVE the trolley!
When packaging IS the product.
I would absolutley love this
chair. I like 'hermitting' myself off to do work. Perfect.
Mind. Blown. I would love to know if this actually works.
Light bulb vase.
Simple lampshade which creates crazy shadows on the wall.
I've gone and saved the best till last, you ready for your mind to be blown?!
I'm not going to explain it because I'm still amazed. Just make sure YOU CLICK THIS.
Think that the packaging of products you buy aren't that important? Packaging has a significant amount of influence over what you buy and why you buy them. Whether we like to admit it or not, we all tend to 'judge a book by its cover'. The packaging of a product is the first thing you see, which is why it's important that it tells you about the product, what it's for, why you need it and what values the company has. Businesses that do not invest in eco friendly materials may find that they are losing profit as society becomes increasingly aware of the importance of eco friend products.
So, what makes packaging eco friendly?
*Recycled materials
*Sustainable materials (cotton, bamboo, etc.)
*Biodegradable material (unbleached paper)
*Reusable materials (such as glass bottles)
The most eco-unfriendly aspect of most packaging is how much material they use with product packaging for small items is usually 5+ times larger than it needs to be!
Task 3 stated that I must; design a theoretical prototype multiuse shoe/boot/trainer box that uses recycled or reuseable materials only.
Obviously, research into this area needed to be completed in order for me to get inspiration . Here are what I found to be the most successful. Top 5 (no order).
1) Newton's eco-friendly packaging is my from 100% post consumer recycled material. The shape of the carton is moulded closely to the shape of the shoe, consequently there is no need for tissue paper. Instead of stuffing paper inside of the shoe, in order for them to retain their shape, Newton includes a pair of socks and a reuseable shoe bag! Clever Newton.
2) Pumahave done a lovely job on cutting down the amount of paper they have used in product packaging. They have saved 8,500 tons of paper and the use of water and electricity used for production and transportation has been reduced by 60%. They've eneough took a risk in that it will cost more to begin with, but hopefully it will pan out and eventually lead to profit. Instead of my rambling, check this out...
3) PureProject produced tear-shaped bamboo tubes in which one pair of shoes fits snuggly inside. Although they're not that environmentally friendly to produce, at least the tube can be re-used. There is an illustrated instructions booklet at the top of the tube informing the consumer on how the tube can be reused. It is a unique way to explain how consumers can make use of every last bit of their purchase.
4) Catherine Meuter. Okay, this isn't technically packaging but with shoes this small the packaging is bound to be small.I am a little bit in love with these shoes. After finding them I went on a one woman mission to see if you could buy them. You can't...apparently these are just visions of what could be. The consumer experiences the transformation of the shoe from it's intial flat state into a comfortable and wearable shoe. The shoe is reinforced by the folded parts. I will consider using origami in my design as it will make the box/container stronger.
5) Timberlandearthkeepers come in a 100% recycled material shoebox with a biodegradable handle that includes a latch system preventing the shoes from falling out. Not only is it produced from recycled products but it emphasises the importance of reusing the box and not throwing it away. It can be flattened, stored and reused. It was also designed by a student!
