ECO-RESPONSIBLE PACKAGING: combining originality and ethics

How do you integrate the environmental issue into packaging design? At XMP, we have decided to focus on innovation and customisation in order to offer all our clients original and unique eco-responsible solutions!

Today, it is impossible to leave the environmental issue in the product design away. But how to promote ecology without sacrificing design?

At XMP, we combine ethical values and originality by offering you innovative and eco-friendly packaging. But innovation does not always mean new technology. Many of the improvements that can be made to packaging are simply the result of thought and subtle changes that, when put together, make a big difference.

Lightening the packaging, incorporating recycled materials, forgetting about glues and varnishes, looking at ancient techniques… There are many keys to making your packaging as original as it is eco-friendly.

Here are four of the most important ones:

LESS IS MORE

In packaging, simplicity is the trend. And that’s good news, because lightening a design generally means lightening its carbon footprint. To save money, empty spaces are also optimised and unnecessary components and over-packaging are removed. This will give your packaging a more sober, but also more modern look because reducing the pollution related to your product’s packaging.In addition, cutting out over-packaging often means cutting out plastic. This petrochemical material is as polluting as it is persona non grata and getting rid of it will give your packaging a cleaner and more luxurious look.

FOCUS ON RAW

In the same idea as “less is more”, it is now time to rethink the way we decorate packaging. Beyond the format, the material or the size of the box, it is also necessary to revisit the way we embellish it. In order to limit superfluous and often polluting decorations, the emphasis is on the raw aspect. Sometimes there is nothing nicer than FSC quality kraft paper. No more chemical inks, metals, glitter or holograms. Let’s concentrate on the natural and simple aspect of the materials that you select for their technical but also aesthetic properties.

LIMITED DAMAGE

If you still want to add colour and embellishment to your packaging, it is always possible to opt for techniques and products that are less harmful to the planet. Replace printing with pre-colored cardboard, for example. Go for materials with low absorption, which will require less ink. It is also advisable to opt for vegetable or mineral inks that will give your packaging a beautiful pigmentation. Et cela, sans passer par la case hyper-pollution. And this, without going through the hyper-pollution box. Finally, it is suggested that you avoid inking or decorating unnecessary surfaces as the bottom of a box for example, as well as technical parts- assembly areas, areas intended to be glued. This is a simple yet very effective way to reduce your product’s carbon impact.

SAME BUT BETTER 

Design does not always mean radical. Sometimes there are subtle changes that allow you to achieve a certain level of originality and modernity while being on the planet’s side. It is therefore important to make small changes even to existing packaging:

• Hollowing out the box to reduce the overall weight
• Recovering fabric scraps
• Opting for recycled or natural materials
• Protecting only the really fragile areas such as the bottom
• Working on closures without glue or metal, such as origami closures,….
• Etc…

By making these small changes, you will achieve more optimal packaging for your products and therefore reduce your carbon footprint. Limiting these polluting and expensive costs will  allow you to invest more in decoration and aesthetics of your packaging.

Good news, isn’t it?