Session Task: Sustainable Packaging Case Studies

A research task was set which has led to my exploring another avenue in terms of materials. The case study I looked at was 'Twist' (http://www.twistclean.com/), a manufacturer of environmentally-friendly kitchen supplies based in Boulder, Colorado. They use renewable natural loofah and renewable pine cellulose to make their sponges, which will disappear completely when buried in the soil within seven weeks, and wanted equally environmentally-friendly packaging.

Designer Teresa Forrester used post-consumer waste and soy-based ink to create the packaging, but Twist wanted to include a second use to minimise landfill waste. Therefore, the inside of the packaging when folded out reveals a net which can be used to create a birdfeeder. Both the product and its packaging are miles ahead of the competition in terms of sustainability and have set the benchmark for the rest of the industry to follow.

Relevance to the Main Project

This inspired me to think of another use of my packaging, as I liked the idea of using materials to interact with nature and actively benefit the environment, instead of merely minimising pollution. I will look into compostable materials that will add nutrients to the soil, and perhaps wormeries or vegetable seeds.