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  • thedailywhat: Green Initiative of the Day: It was announced yesterday that PepsiCo will soon begin manufacturing a biodegradable bottle composed entirely of plant material — this despite Coca-Cola Co.’s recent assertion that it would be years before a 100% plant-based bottle could be produced. Materials used include switch grass, pine bark, and corn husks. PepsiCo plans to eventually begin incorporating organic leftovers from its food business. According to PepsiCo senior VP of advanced research Rocco Papalia, the way the new PET bottles feel and protect their contents is indistinguishable from their plastic siblings. “We’ve cracked the code,” he is quoted as saying. “It’s a beautiful thing to behold.” [ap via csm.] This is a huge deal. While it’s still a mass produced bottle, it’s evidence that a large corporation can innovate towards a direction where the product can have a complete life cycle that includes a natural degradation process. As most of what we produce, plastics take an un-natural lifespan to decay… and even then, what was decaying wasn’t anything the Earth’s natural biosystems could collect and re-use on it’s own (at least within a reasonable time frame). And if it’s true, that they’ve created something biodegradable, we are another small step towards becoming as efficient as our nature counterparts, a system that produces no un-usable waste. Now, my less optimistic nit-picky qualms: While named third in the list of the bottle’s manufactured contents, I predict that a large portion of the bottle’s contents is corn husks. Farm production of corn is amassing it’s own set of environmental problems… mostly to maintain our culture’s fast food bingeing. Perhaps, Pepsi’s next step could be lessening it’s use of corn in it’s product altogether, bottle and soda contents. And now the thing I’m stuck with is why isn’t all of the soda’s contents, the thing we ingest, as natural it’s container?

    thedailywhat:

    Green Initiative of the Day: It was announced yesterday that PepsiCo will soon begin manufacturing a biodegradable bottle composed entirely of plant material — this despite Coca-Cola Co.’s recent assertion that it would be years before a 100% plant-based bottle could be produced.

    Materials used include switch grass, pine bark, and corn husks. PepsiCo plans to eventually begin incorporating organic leftovers from its food business.

    According to PepsiCo senior VP of advanced research Rocco Papalia, the way the new PET bottles feel and protect their contents is indistinguishable from their plastic siblings. “We’ve cracked the code,” he is quoted as saying. “It’s a beautiful thing to behold.”

    [ap via csm.]

    This is a huge deal. While it’s still a mass produced bottle, it’s evidence that a large corporation can innovate towards a direction where the product can have a complete life cycle that includes a natural degradation process. As most of what we produce, plastics take an un-natural lifespan to decay… and even then, what was decaying wasn’t anything the Earth’s natural biosystems could collect and re-use on it’s own (at least within a reasonable time frame). And if it’s true, that they’ve created something biodegradable, we are another small step towards becoming as efficient as our nature counterparts, a system that produces no un-usable waste.

    Now, my less optimistic nit-picky qualms:

    While named third in the list of the bottle’s manufactured contents, I predict that a large portion of the bottle’s contents is corn husks. Farm production of corn is amassing it’s own set of environmental problems… mostly to maintain our culture’s fast food bingeing. Perhaps, Pepsi’s next step could be lessening it’s use of corn in it’s product altogether, bottle and soda contents.

    And now the thing I’m stuck with is why isn’t all of the soda’s contents, the thing we ingest, as natural it’s container?

    (Source: thedailywhat, via fuckyeahpackaging)

    1 year ago 1,254 notes →

  • via Re-Pack Yet another way to recycle packaging. It might not be biodegradable or super-compressible but it is re-using the same box twice. Simple. I’m looking forward to seeing a few flagship companies take on an initiative like this and set the standard for shipping. *Cough* Amazon.  Smallprint: “Recycling existing packaging is a way to produce and pollute less. The more you recycle, the less you have”. Edit: idroolinmysleep said: Amazon has actually just started a pilot program to ship stuff in reusable packaging. is.gd/gGH1a6 Awesome! Thanks for pointing this out. 

    via Re-Pack

    Yet another way to recycle packaging. It might not be biodegradable or super-compressible but it is re-using the same box twice. Simple. I’m looking forward to seeing a few flagship companies take on an initiative like this and set the standard for shipping. *Cough* Amazon. 

    Smallprint: “Recycling existing packaging is a way to produce and pollute less. The more you recycle, the less you have”.

    Edit: idroolinmysleep said: Amazon has actually just started a pilot program to ship stuff in reusable packaging. is.gd/gGH1a6

    Awesome! Thanks for pointing this out. 

    1 year ago 29 notes →

  • ctrlclick:

    Are mushrooms the new plastic? by Eben Baye on TED 

    Product designer Eben Bayer reveals his recipe for a new, fungus-based packaging material that protects fragile stuff like furniture, plasma screens — and the environment.

    Good news!

    1 year ago 7 notes →

  • I couldn’t help overhear my co-worker say “Seems counterintuitive that Quizno’s would remind me more than 4 times on 4 separate pieces of packaging on the way to my sub to “Be Green, Do Your Part”.”  A clever choice of words for their slogan “Eat Toasty, Be Green, Do Your Part.” The language seems to hint at their green-ness, but alleviates any possible criticism of their practices because they are telling us, the consumer, to be green.  The only thing you get about the “Green movement” is that it can monetized without making any changes to a business model. Worst of all, people will believe every inch of their “Green” stamped packaging. Hypocrisy. 

    I couldn’t help overhear my co-worker say “Seems counterintuitive that Quizno’s would remind me more than 4 times on 4 separate pieces of packaging on the way to my sub to “Be Green, Do Your Part”.” 

    A clever choice of words for their slogan “Eat Toasty, Be Green, Do Your Part.” The language seems to hint at their green-ness, but alleviates any possible criticism of their practices because they are telling us, the consumer, to be green. 

    The only thing you get about the “Green movement” is that it can monetized without making any changes to a business model. Worst of all, people will believe every inch of their “Green” stamped packaging.

    Hypocrisy. 

    1 year ago 8 notes →

  • Seed-infused cardboard ups the sustainability of shipping Fungi expert Paul Stamets’ Life Box infuses cardboard with seeds for a plantable shipping container. Simply tear up the box, bury it in the ground and water the area to get various forms of vegetation to sprout. Made from recycled paper and printed with soy-based inks, the box contains about 100 tree seeds that have mycorrhizal fungal spores. Trees and fungi live in a symbiotic relation, and as the trees begin to grow, the fungi can help nurture and protect the tree against drought and famine. This is exactly what I’d want every cardboard box I receive from now on to be. And there is really no excuse. Apparently, GOOD has pledged that ”If you run a company that could use these instead of normal cardboard, I will happily trade a public endorsement of your product in the Good blog for a pledge to switch to these things.” *Nudge* Any self respecting company should. *Cough*

    Seed-infused cardboard ups the sustainability of shipping

    Fungi expert Paul Stamets’ Life Box infuses cardboard with seeds for a plantable shipping container. Simply tear up the box, bury it in the ground and water the area to get various forms of vegetation to sprout. Made from recycled paper and printed with soy-based inks, the box contains about 100 tree seeds that have mycorrhizal fungal spores. Trees and fungi live in a symbiotic relation, and as the trees begin to grow, the fungi can help nurture and protect the tree against drought and famine.

    This is exactly what I’d want every cardboard box I receive from now on to be. And there is really no excuse. Apparently, GOOD has pledged that ”If you run a company that could use these instead of normal cardboard, I will happily trade a public endorsement of your product in the Good blog for a pledge to switch to these things.”

    *Nudge* Any self respecting company should. *Cough*

    1 year ago 12 notes →

  • nowthatsmint: I ❤ my KeepCup.  “Unsatisfied with the alternatives to replace disposable cups, we designed the KeepCup. KeepCup is the first barista standard reusable coffee cup. Many small acts will make a phenomenal difference”Yes they do. Color your own KeepCup.

    nowthatsmint:

    I ❤ my KeepCup. 

    “Unsatisfied with the alternatives to replace disposable cups, we designed the KeepCup. KeepCup is the first barista standard reusable coffee cup. Many small acts will make a phenomenal difference”

    Yes they do.

    Color your own KeepCup.

    2 years ago Notes →

  • Pencil Packaging Designed by Swann Marchon | Country: Austria A packaging concept for HB pencils which doubles as a container and is intended to be displayed on ones’ desk. Considering art and design supplies are largely geared towards creative people it is constantly surprising how dreadful their packaging solutions can be. We’d love to see more of this sort of simple, functional design hitting art store shelves in the future. To solve the problem of mandatory labeling, removable cardboard sleeves could be employed. environminimal:  packaging that is decorative and useful 

    Pencil Packaging

    Designed by Swann Marchon | Country: Austria

    A packaging concept for HB pencils which doubles as a container and is intended to be displayed on ones’ desk. Considering art and design supplies are largely geared towards creative people it is constantly surprising how dreadful their packaging solutions can be. We’d love to see more of this sort of simple, functional design hitting art store shelves in the future. To solve the problem of mandatory labeling, removable cardboard sleeves could be employed.

    environminimal:  packaging that is decorative and useful 

    2 years ago 1 note →

  • Gel & Moisturizer Package designed by Alexandre Michaud via lovelypackageStudent work for body gel and moisturizer created under professor Sylvain Allard at UQAM, who writes: “The simplistic thinking in eco-packaging would suggest that all it needs is to take recycled Kraft cardboard and the job is done. Unfortunately, it’s much more complicated than that and demonizing plastic over paper is another non-sense. In fact, there are as many solutions as there are different packages and each one should be developed taking into account production methods, materials, transportation and many other factors that ultimately determine the true lifecycle of the product. However, the reduction approach remains the most easily measurable element of ecodesign. Indeed, by reducing the amount of material, it reduces the weight of the interventions in upstream and downstream production because there will be less material to produce, to collect and to recycle.” environment:  re-fillable containers mean less packaging necessary. Most items in our household could be treated in this fashion - having one giant container of something and refilling a single container as it empties (I always try to take this cost effective route with soaps). minimalism:  one pouch-like container instead of a mess of little odd shaped bottles

    Gel & Moisturizer Package designed by Alexandre Michaud

    via lovelypackage

    Student work for body gel and moisturizer created under professor Sylvain Allard at UQAM, who writes:
    “The simplistic thinking in eco-packaging would suggest that all it needs is to take recycled Kraft cardboard and the job is done. Unfortunately, it’s much more complicated than that and demonizing plastic over paper is another non-sense. In fact, there are as many solutions as there are different packages and each one should be developed taking into account production methods, materials, transportation and many other factors that ultimately determine the true lifecycle of the product.
    However, the reduction approach remains the most easily measurable element of ecodesign. Indeed, by reducing the amount of material, it reduces the weight of the interventions in upstream and downstream production because there will be less material to produce, to collect and to recycle.”

    environment:  re-fillable containers mean less packaging necessary. Most items in our household could be treated in this fashion - having one giant container of something and refilling a single container as it empties (I always try to take this cost effective route with soaps).

    minimalism:  one pouch-like container instead of a mess of little odd shaped bottles

    2 years ago 0 notes →

  • fuckyeahpackaging: 321 Water Bottle | Design Milk I feel I’ve been looking/dreaming for this water bottle (or at least this concept) for the last 10 years of my life. 

    fuckyeahpackaging:

    321 Water Bottle | Design Milk

    I feel I’ve been looking/dreaming for this water bottle (or at least this concept) for the last 10 years of my life. 

    2 years ago 16 notes →

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