Re-imagining packaging delivery for the conscious market
Understanding and exploring possibilities for a sustainable & circular parcel design
Consumers' way of purchasing is evolving and packaging design is changing together with them. Most consumers today can relate to the trash created from deliveries and this experience exacerbated further during the course of the pandemic.
‘Packaging’ is a way to securely contain, identify, and deliver a product.
“to contain the product (e.g. box design), identify the product (e.g. brand and visual communication), and/or deliver the product (e.g. parcel packaging).”
As a business owner, how do you actively reduce waste created in delivering your order?
We will start with a baseline case as a way to contextualize the discussion. This also allows us to establish a comparison and explore ways to improve the current setup.
I’m currently in contact with artisans/ handicraft entrepreneurs in West Bengal, India to understand and develop their value offerings towards sustainable and circular pathways. I hope that the process shared in this article can also help other handicraft companies and small business owners who are pivoting or developing products for the conscious market.
The baseline case
A few weeks ago, I received a parcel from India. It was a gift for my talk on developing handicraft products for the sustainable market in Kolkata last January.
According to the acquaintance who sent me the parcel, it is quite common for a parcel to be cloth bound and hand-sewn in India. He added that usually there are two or three people sitting outside the post office in Kolkata who will bind, bundle, stitch, and secure your package accordingly.
These ‘parcel-wallas’ are a unique stakeholder and a localized touchpoint in the Indian delivery system.
Apart from the cloth-bound parcel and ‘parcel-walla’ service, I find the use of strings to attach the delivery documents in lieu of the standard plastic sleeve very fascinating.
The use of threads and string to bound the package and create some kind of sleeve to hold delivery documents is also an interesting design feature. This technique offers a hand-made/ artisanal touch to the product and a replacement for plastic sleeves and tape common in standard packaging. However, this technique does require more time and skill (i.e cost) to complete.
Upon opening the cloth wrapping, the content is packed with a layer of carton box paper bounded with scotch tape. Inside two layers of polystyrene were used to cushion a beautiful hand-drawn artwork in Indian style painting.
What is nice about the materials
The use of fabric, thread, and string to wrap the package is definitely interesting. These materials are cotton-based and they can be considered as ‘Natural Material’ which is one of the sustainable strategies in selecting materials.
Using natural fabric to package products has some advantages. They are biodegradable, durable, aesthetically pleasing, and a good design can increase their chance of reusability (either for similar or different purposes).
It is good to note that cloth bounded parcels are quite unique to India. Thus, not all postal services will accept parcel wrap this way. Nevertheless, this method of packaging is an interesting source of reference in designing your packaging system.
What are the points of improvement?
The main issue in the baseline case is the use of polystyrene.
Polystyrene is a versatile plastic material with a wide variety of applications in consumer products. More often than not, they cost less than the alternatives. The problem with this material is it is rarely being recycled and it takes around 500 years to decompose.
One of the current methods to manage this problem is through sophisticated incinerators where plastic and other waste are burned. This process produces a certain amount of heat and steam to turn turbine blades that generate electricity for the local grid system. Another solution to tackle this situation is selecting alternative materials to replace plastic.
These are common challenges and solutions when it comes to managing plastic materials in our society today.
Alternative materials
Below are two examples of alternative materials in my collection. The first one is thin layers of recycled tissue papers and the second one is processed straw which is a by-product of local agricultural systems. These materials are used to cushion products and ensure their safety during delivery.
Both examples show that the cushion materials are bounded by a thin layer of bio-based fabric. The first example uses paper-based fabric while the second uses compostable starch-based bio-fleece.
These fabrics were used to wrap and shape the cushion materials according to the packaging design requirements. The paper fabric has been machine sewn into a sleeve with 20 layers of thin tissue paper inside. While the bio-fleece was heat pressed to bound the straw into an insert for packaging (see below).
Both packaging materials can simply be disposed of as organic waste i.e they are compostable.
Re-imagine a new packaging design
Five types of materials were used in parcel packaging shown in the baseline case. Three of the materials are new resources— cotton fabric, cotton strings, clear tape. Two of the materials are used/waste resources— carton paper, and polystyrene.
Replacing the polystyrene with alternative cushion materials can improve the current packaging design. Using recyclable materials like paper, bio-based textile, or natural materials like agricultural by-products such as straw and hemp enable the packaging to be circular (cradle-to-cradle/cradle-to-grave).
Next to this, you can also opt for waste materials like the ‘parcel-walla’ in the baseline case — polystyrene, and carton paper. Other waste materials that can be considered cushion materials are secondhand or leftover fabrics. This might not lead to circularity in the final design, however, you will take away some waste from the landfill and extend the use of the materials in the system.
Shaping the cushion materials
With an innovative and creative vision, alternative materials offer great potential in product packaging alongside paper — the convenient, conventional, and favorite material to package products.
Natural,bio-based, and waste fabric can be used to bound cushion materials. These fabrics can be hand-sewn or machine processed depending on your ideas, design, production output, and budget.
Keep in mind that your design cannot exist in a vacuum. There are always other external stakeholders' requirements that need to be considered.
Designing an all-inclusive sleeve that can be used to contain, identify, and deliver your product to clients might be an efficient way to reduce waste( i.e ‘Adequate Packaging’) but might not be something that the postal service provider would accept.
The baseline case shows that the ‘parcel-walla’ are the main stakeholder responsible for selecting materials and designing parcels for delivery. In this context, if the artisans/ entrepreneurs want to include sustainable and circular alternatives in their packaging, they need to take on the role of the ‘parcel-wallas’ or collaborate with their local ‘parcel-wallas’ to find alternative materials to improve their current offerings.
In summary
To re-imagine the packaging delivery for the conscious market, it is important to understand where you stand and identify the direction of transition — either you aim to be sustainable or aspire to be circular.
Redirecting your activities toward sustainability and/or circularity requires a transition phase. This phase includes exploring the current context, understanding the existing situation, and documenting your findings. Then, identify potential areas of improvement and select the direction of transitions. Finally, activate and implement those strategies within your network and system.
Be prepared to do this process in iterations.
The alternative materials mentioned in this article are only meant as a reference. Consider materials that are locally available, suppliers that can offer quality products and services, as well as the means to replace current value offerings with something better for the environment, people, and your business.
*Remarks: Phrases with ‘quotation marks in bold’ are part of our compilation of sustainable strategies. You can find more details on these strategies via the link https://hint-studio.com/dot-strategies
