Cleaner design as a concept is the design of a product to minimise its environmental impact over its entire lifecycle. Its core principle is designing products that can be either reused, repaired or recycled at the end of their lifecycles.
This includes not only the impact on the environment but also other social, health and economic effects on human beings. A cleaner design would be a cleaner product, with lesser harmful impacts compared to a baseline.
We have pulled together four practical tips that can help you reduce your packaging’s environmental impact and help increase your business’s environmental reputation.
Optimal Packaging
It pays off to look for optimal packaging. Excessive packaging weighs heavily on the cost structure as well as on the environment. Many companies don’t comprehend the exact nature of all of the risks to which their products are exposed. They often take a too conservative approach in their choices, risking over-packaging. The dimensions of the product and the packaging should match to avoid excessive use of materials.
Elimination Of Hazardous Materials
It pays off to look for optimal packaging. Excessive packaging weighs heavily on the cost structure as well as on the environment. Many companies don’t comprehend the exact nature of all of the risks to which their products are exposed. They often take a too conservative approach in their choices, risking over-packaging. The dimensions of the product and the packaging should match to avoid excessive use of materials.
Avoid Plastic
The plastic packaging problem is simple: plastics are not biodegradable and end up in our landfills forever. Plastic represents the single most abundantly produced type of industrial plastic, constituting around 10-13% of all manufactured plastics. On the other hand, our oceans contain at least 5 trillion pieces of plastic that can be found floating or settled on the bottom as trash. In fact, 80% of the trash in our oceans is from land-based sources. The production of plastic packaging may emit less CO2 than the production of paper packaging, but you also have to think about what happens to the packaging afterwards. As paper decomposes, paper packaging is more environmentally friendly.
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Let Your Customers Know
It is important to make customers aware of what part they can play, what you are doing and why. This will reflect positively on your brand, and it will inform end-users what they can do to help.
A key part of this ecosystem is skilled designers working with the right tools and knowledge that can help them create lower impact products.
