repackage

rePackage LILY CAMPBELL

SENIOR THESIS 1PAUL CARLOSFALL 2011

PUCD 4205 FCRN: 5339

“rePackage”1. Package again or differently.2. Present in a new way.


CONTENTS

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

RESEARCHwhy

materials + processes

additional packaging inspiration

storage

comsumer + package

sustainability

production cycle

MATERIAL SELECTION

PROTOTYPESinitial explorations

polyhedra advantages

material inspiration

folding + collapsing inspiration

CONTACT

3

55

6

10

12

13

14

15

16

1717

19

20

21

26

3


PROJECT DESCRIPTION

I will be designing a new line of

packaging for items found in a kitch-

en pantry. I want to attempt a design

that will satisfy the many require-

ments for a truly sustainable pack-

age. Special attention will be given

in areas concerning material source,

recyclability/compostability, durabil-

ity, weight, overall package volume to

surface area ratio, functionality, ap-

peal, and ability to remind and cause

users to recycle/compost in an effort

to close the loop of the packaging

manufacturing process.

For example, the cereal box has gone

through many external redesigns and

graphic ‘make-overs’ as far as I can

remember but it has not undergone

any long-lasting, or drastic physical/

shape changes. This is problematic

not because these packages are una-

ble to function in today’s world, we all

know a cereal box stands well, pours

well, and if closed properly, keeps it’s

contents fresh. But because function

is currently following form as op-

posed to form following function,

or the form being derived from the

function or behavior of the contents

and the user, these packages tend to

be what I would consider inadequate.

Material sources are often chemi-

cal or pre-consumer content, and if

either of the previous are true, it’s

likely the package will not be capable

of biodegrading or being recycled.

This package may also use an unnec-

essary amount of packaging because

of either layers of packaging (i.e. a

box + a liner in typical cereal pack-

aging) or because the shape of the

The current packaging landscape

4


PROJECT DESCRIPTION

package requires more material to

contain the given volume than a more

efficient shape with a smaller surface

area to the same volume like a cyl-

inder or cube. A less obvious ineq-

uity (at least to consumers) is in the

shipping of these products. Because

of the restricted time line and my

lack of business/shipping knowledge

I will not attempt to suggests a travel

methods (i.e. train, ship, truck, plane,

etc) but perhaps a type of packag-

ing that will protect the shelf-bound

package, keep them in manageable

“blocks” or units for shipping, and

be capable of acting as an in store

display if one is necessary, without

adding layers of box, board, packag-

ing fillers, etc.

This project is for the next

generation of consumers

who will inevitably face this

shift in packaging. Eventually

sustainable packaging will

be a necessity. I predict this

packaging shift will happen

either by variation in materi-

als used for packaging along

with redesign in an attempt

to make the package a more

efficient item, or the in store

experience itself will digress

to a time when consumers brought

their own containers to market to be

filled from larger (on shelf) contain-

ers: eliminating the packaging all

together. For many products, this sort

of collection experience will be im-

possible, my thesis will serve these

products in either circumstance.

I have recently made contact with a

few packaging designers and visited

Material Connection in an attempt to

select an appropriate material. My

next step is really to decide (or nar-

row down) materials so I’m able to

begin prototype exploration. Hope-

fully this will lead to a package not

dependent on preconsumer mate-

rials or adhesives that can easily

collapse to be put back into a closed

loop system (or as close as I can

come to this idealistic state.) I will

then attempt to develop a system for

delivering nutritional value in a way

that the user can truly understand

what currently seems like arbitrary

numbers and percentages to many,

as well a recycling reminder. (Per-

haps an infographic/visualization of

the actual contents.) I will finally con-

sider ink additions and the branding

of the entire line(s) of packaging.

If branding does manifest in inking

the packages, careful consideration

will be used when selecting colors

(both number of colors involved and

the actual tone/hue) as well as ink

source (soy v coconut v Pantone) and

total amount of ink.

PAPER

Total MSW Generation (by Category), 2008249.6 million tons (Befo

Total MSW Generation (by Material), 200250 Million Tons (Befo

Total MSW Generation by Category in 2008

Total MSW Generation by Material in 2008

5


RESEARCH:WHY

WHY WE NEED PACKAGES:

PHYSICAL PROTECTION

against shock, vibration, electrostatic

discharge, compression, temperate,

etc.

BARRIER PROTECTION

against oxygen, water vapor, dust,

etc.

CONTAINMENT OR

AGGLOMERATION

for liquids & powders

or grouping small objects

INFORMATION

TRANSMISSION

to communicate how to use,

transport, recycle, or dispose

MARKETING

to encourage purchases

SECURITY

for tamper and counterfeit

resistance

CONVENIENCE

in distribution, handling, stacking,

display, sale, opening, reclosing, use,

dispensing, reuse, recycling, and

disposal

PORTION CONTROL

for single serving or single dosage

WHY DON’T WE RECYCLE MORE?

USE HIGH PERCENTAGES OF

POST-CONSUMER RECYCLED

CONTENT

every tonne of recycled paper saves

over 400 gallons of oil due to the

significantly lower energy loads

required.

EXPLORE TREE-FREE

ALTERNATIVES

hemp, kenaf, switchgrass, and straw

grow rapidly, need littler or no chemi-

cals & have low water needs.

agricultural waste like palm-oil

processing ‘waste’ which naturally in

fibre which can serve as a laminate

and still biodegrades.

SUPPORT SUSTAINABLE

FORESTRY

$7.7 - 11.6 billion of illegal forestry in

developing nations annually

FSC ensures fair share of profit along

entire supply chain.

current sustainable packaging alternatives

6


RESEARCH:MATERIALS + PROCESSES

INSIST ON CHLORINE-FREE

PAPERSTOCK

process chlorine free (PCF) = recy-

cled paper > 30% PCC

FINISHING MATERIALS + MISC:

ASK FOR AQUEOUS VARNISHES

standard varnishes and adhesives

contain high levels of VOCs aqueous-

based varnished are water-based and

low-VOC can be recycled and re-

pulped without harmful by-products

USE WATER-BASED ADHESIVES

binding adhesives are often petrole-

um-based, emit high levels of VOCs

and are difficult to remove in the de-

inking process. water-based glues

to not use VOCs and dissolve during

de-inking

WATERLESS PRINTING

(DRYOGRAPHY)

no dampening solution needed to

prepare plates - fast & clean - re-

duces paper and energy use

COMPUTER-TO-PLATE (CTP) OR

DIRECT-TO-PLATE (DTP)

eliminates film production, reduces

both VOC-release and energy-use

UV INKS

do not requires high temperature to

dry, but binds to pulp strongly = hard

to remove for recycling

PLASTICS

USE POST-CONSUMER RECY-

CLED PLASTICS

virgin HDPE (#2 resin code) takes 7 x

more energy to make than recycled

HDPE by mixing virgin and recycled

content original quality is obtainable

DESIGN PACKAGES WITH RECY-

CLING IN MIND

design-for-recycling (DfR) design-

for-disassembly (DfD) design-for-en-

viroment (DfE) plastic waste streams

can be contaminated by other plastic,

paperboard, wire, adhesives, etc. A

lot of plastic with never be recycled

because this process has not been

considered in the design

SUPPORT BIOPLASTIC

INNOVATION

bioplastics = biodegradable plastics

from renewable sources farming

for 6 million people = a lot of left

over husks, stalks, leaves, shells,

starch residues, etc. corn-based PLA

(polylactic acid) can be reprocessed

and biodegrades in a few months.

cornstarch Plantic is water solu-

ble. biopolymers are in resin group

#7 “other,” should be in their own

category so resulting material can be

used


7



EXPLORE TREE-FREE

ALTERNATIVES

hemp, kenaf, switchgrass,

and straw grow rapidly, need

littler or no chemicals & have

low water needs agricultural

waste like palm-oil process-

ing ‘waste’ which naturally

in fibre which can serve as a

laminate still biodegrades.

SUPPORT SUSTAINABLE

FORESTRY

$7.7 - 11.6 billion of illegal forestry in

developing nations annually FSC en-

sures fair share of profit along entire

supply chain.

INSIST ON CHLORINE-FREE

PAPERSTOCK

process chlorine free (PCF)

= recycled paper > 30% PCC

PAPER & PAPERBOARD:

USE HIGH PERCENTAGES OF

POST-CONSUMER RECYCLED

CONTENT

every tonne of recycled paper saves

over 400 gallons of oil due to the

significantly lower energy loads

required.


8



SUSTAINABILITY SUGGESTIONS:

» eliminating toxic constituents

» using less material

» making packaging more reusable

» using more recycled content

» making packaging more readily

recyclable

INKS:

USE LESS INK COVERAGE

ink usage creates a more

intensive extraction and

manufacturing process more

post-industrial & post-con-

sumer waste to be de-inked if

recycled

USE ‘GOOD’ BLACK

black ink from recycled color ink.

20% of pantone colors contain harm-

ful chemicals, metallics = high levels

of zinc and copper, warm reds =

barium


9



SPECIFY SOY-BASED

INKS OR OTHER VEGETA-

BLE INKS

petroleum-based inks require

destructive extraction tech-

niques & non renewable

resources. they do not biode-

grade, but remain toxic - soy

beans are abundant and low-

maintenance. soy inks spread

20% further, can be cleaned

off with water-based solvents

for reuse/disposal. other vegetable

inks include: coren, walnut, coconut,

linseed, and canola

SPECIFY LOW-VOC INKS

Volatile Organic Compounds are

chemicals that vaporize contribut-

ing to smog, ozone, and greenhouse

gases.


10


RESEARCH:ADDITIONAL PACKAGING INSPIRATION


11


RESEARCH:ADDITIONAL PACKAGING INSPIRATION


12


RESEARCH:STORAGE

STORAGE:

Some inadequacies in pack-

aging appear when the

product comes off the shelves

of the store and into your

home pantry, cabinet, or

refrigerator. In the store, like

products are shelved close to

one another, and therefore fit

together and organize quite

nicely, bring all the items from sepa-

rate shelves home and this doesn’t

happen as smoothly. The shelves at

home tend to accumulate piles of

products ready to tumble out when

you pull out the can on the bottom. If

these packages better complimented

one another, or possessed some

sort of quality like that of the top and

bottom of tuperwear which allows for

easy stacking.

Packaging at home and in store

13


RESEARCH:CONSUMER + PACKAGE

INFLUENCES ON CONSUMER + PACKAGE:

Regardless of what kind of packag-

ing being produced, it’s important to

keep in mind some of the influences

acting on the consumer. These vary

from the consumer’s perception of

the product, to their attention to the

product on the shelf, to how others

respond to the product, and possible

barriers to action (or reasons not to

buy the product.) Ideally these influ-

ences with result in a purchase.

It’s equally, if not more important,

to keep in mind the influence of the

environment on the package when

redesigning. The packaging serves

as the protective layer between the

package harmful outside elements

which, dependent on the product,

may include moisture, oxygen, tem-

perature, etc. In many cases, if this

barrier is broken the package is now

garbage, and produced for noth-

ing. For this reason, it may become

essential to use some pre consumer

products, but these will be used only

in cases of need.

It’s also important to keep in mind

marketing, distribution, the design of

the package as a whole, the envi-

ronmental impact of the package,

the price level, and communication.

Together these ingredients make

for a difficult scale to balance. And

to make matters more complicated,

many of these environmental interac-

tions have inverse relationships, I.e. a

smaller environmental footprint, usu-

ally comes with increased production

costs, and therefore an increase in

price for the consumer. Raise this

price level too much and only a select

few can purchase your product,

re

process influencesheart, mind, perception, knowledge, attention, motivation, other people, barriers to action

package purchase

14


RESEARCH:SUSTAINABILITY

Some have also included the

term ‘ethics’ in their defini-

tions as an overriding rule

encompassing all previ-

ously described. Below are

three visual variations of the

definition of sustainability. You

will notice the bottom rep-

resentation replaces social,

environmental, and economic

responsibility for people, planet, and

profit, the three ps in a triple bottom

line company. The representation on

the right speaks to an ordered sys-

tem on importance, ethics governing

your entire process, then the environ-

ments, society, and finally economy.

Visualization of the th

pillars by autho

(adapted fr

Visualizations of sustainability by author (adapted fr om Wikipedia, Mar ch 2010 )

Visualization of th e

3Ps under consideration of

ethics by author (adapted fr om

Wikipedia, Mar ch 2010 )

THE SUSTAINABLE INTERSECTION:

The intersection of social, economic,

and environmental responsibility is

what many consider the definition

of sustainability. It must be bearable

both socially and environmentally. It

must be equitable (both socially and

economically) and it must be environ-

mentally and economically viable.

15


RESEARCH:PRODUCTION CYCLE

PRODUCT PRODUCTION:

These diagrams illustrate the pro-

cess of turning material into a

product, and what happens to that

product after use. Ideally this after-

use could be the production of an-

other generation of packaging for the

product. If this happens, the loop you

see on the lower diagram becomes

closed (following the recyclers arrow.)

As you can see, by moving only along

this inner loop far fewer materials

are disposed of and far fewer are

needed to be put into production.

Above, this inner loop has been sepa-

rated into two circles for comparison.

The left loop represents the biological

cycle of producing and recycling a

product in the earth, while the right

(For products for

consumptio n)( For products

for

service)

Visualization of the packaging pr oduct life cycle by author (adapted fr om the SPC , Sustainable Packaging Coalition, May 2010)

either is preferred to a line, or a cycle

not returning products to the begin-

ning of the system.

loop describes technical recycling

where technical nutrients are reused.

The biological cycle is preferred, but

16


MATERIAL SELECTION

EHENIS:Eius denducipis

volorepe pa do-

luptat quu


volorepe pa do-

luptat quu


volorepe pa do-

luptat quu


volorepe pa do-

luptat quu


volorepe pa

doluptat quu


volorepe pa

doluptat quu


volorepe pa

doluptat quu


volorepe pa

doluptat quu


volorepe pa

doluptat quu


volorepe pa

doluptat quu


volorepe pa

doluptat quu


volorepe pa

doluptat quu

EHENIS:Eius denducipis volorepe pa

doluptat quuEius dducipis

volorepe pa doluptakt quu Eius

dendkjh lkj

17


PROTOTYPES:INITIAL EXPLORATIONS

rectangular prism dimensions = 40 x 30 x 5 cmmaterial = 3100 cm2

+ lining bag, adhesives, & inkvolume = 6000 cm3

cube box dimensions = 17 x 17 x 17cmmaterial = 1754.46 cm2 of paper

+ lining bag, adhesives, & inkmaterial saved = 1345.54 cm2

cylindrical tube dimensions = 9.85r x 19.7 cmmaterial = 1524 cm2

+ lining bag, adhesives, ink & lidmaterial saved = 1576 cm2

pillow bag A dimensions = 35 x 31 cmvolume = 5891 cm3

material = 2175 cm2

+ ink & labelmaterial saved = 925 cm2 + lining bag or box

RECTANGULAR PRISM3100 CM 2

PILL OW BAG A2175 CM 2

CUBE1754 CM 2

cy li nd ri ca l tube1524 CM 2

pillow bag A dimensions = 35 x 31 cmvolume = 5891 cm3

material = 2175 cm2


pillow bag B dimensions = 45 x 28 cmvolume = 5689 cm3

material = 2520 cm2


pillow bag C dimensions = 45 x 29 cmvolume = 6093 cm3

material = 2610 cm2


block bottom bag A dimensions = 24.7 x 15 x 15 cm + 4 cm triangular topmaterial = 2022 cm2

+ adhesives, ink & labelmaterial saved = 1078 cm2 + lining bag or box

block bottom bag B dimensions = 38 x 30 x 5 cm + 4 cm triangular topmaterial = 3113 cm2

+ adhesives, ink & labelmaterial saved = -13 cm2 + lining bag or box

block bottom bag with clip would have similar material needs + extra material at closure & a clip

PILL OW BAG B2520 CM 2

BLOCK A2022 CM 2

PILL OW

BAG C2610 CM 2

BLOCK BO TTOM B3113 CM 2

18


PROTOTYPES: INITIAL EXPLORATIONS

19


PROTOTYPES:POLYHEDRAL ADVANTAGES

an assortment of polyhedrons

POLYHEDRA:

Because volume increases

with the number of sides

(keeping surface area con-

stant,) an important question

to answer seems, how many

sides can a well functioning

package have? And if the

answer is more than 6, can

we use these extra sides to

our advantage?

20


PROTOTYPES:MATERIAL INSPIRATION

package form + folding inspiration

21


PROTOTYPES:FOLDING + COLLAPSING INSPIRATION


22




23




24




26


CONTACT

email:

[email protected]

[email protected]

phone:

802.236.5724

mailing address:

Lily Campbell

439 W 51st Apt 1E

New York, NY 10019

repackage

Documents

layers of packaging

sustainable packaging

packaging shift

new line of packaging

cereal box

overall package volume

layers of box

shelfbound package