Brands and individuals alike are always looking for new ways to decrease their carbon footprint and be responsible for their impacts on the environment. The main consideration is to ensure that the packaging is environmentally friendly: recyclable, reusable, or biodegradable, multipurpose, and functional.
- LEAF PLATES
Leaf Republic is a German company started by Pedram Zolgardi that focuses on making disposable tableware and food packaging designed to reduce plastic waste. It is inspired by leaf plates that are commonly used during social gatherings in India.
The plates themselves are made with leaf paper sandwiched between two layers of actual leaves, sourced from a wild creeper plant collected by villagers in Asia and South America, then pressed with machines. The leaves themselves are stitched using fibres from palm leaves and are biodegradable within 28 days in compost.
- TAKEOUT CONTAINER
This Chinese Take Out container was a student project by JoAnn Arello back in 2012.
It resembles a tiffin carrier, with its option for multiple levels. This design comes with a removable tray on top to place cutleries and dividers to separate food as desired. If there is more than one container of food, it is designed to be strung through with a carrying string, holding up to three packages.
- HAPPY EGGS
Happy Eggs is a design concept by Polish designer, Maja Szczypek, who created this packaging as a way to engage people through visual language and smell. The concept of it ties the product together with its packaging that is reminiscent of eggs in a chicken’s nest.
The package is made out of cut hay that is hot-pressed into its shape. Hay is a fast-growing, natural material and is ideal for maintaining environmental balance.
- CRAVE NASI LEMAK PACKAGING
CRAVE is a Singaporean company that specializes in serving nasi lemak, a traditional Malay dish familiar throughout Southeast Asia for decades. They partnered with TRIA Sustainable Packaging to come up with biodegradable and recyclable packaging that is similar to its traditional wrapping and secured by bamboo skewers rather than plastic tape.
- “THIS TOO SHALL PASS”
Tomorrow Machine is a Swedish Design Studio that introduced a biodegradable food packaging line called “This Too Shall Pass”.
Oil Package
This container is made out of caramelized sugar and coated with beeswax to hold oil. To use the oil, the package can be cracked like an egg. Once cracked, the wax will no longer protect the sugar and the package will melt and biodegrade once it comes into contact with water.
Smoothie Package
This smoothie package is made up of agar-agar and water. To consume its contents, just poke the top of the package with a straw. It is made to contain perishable drinks and food items that need to be refrigerated as it is only made to last as long as its contents.
Rice Package
The rice package by Tomorrow Machine is made out of biodegradable beeswax. It is opened by peeling it like an apple. It can be used to hold dried goods like grains and rice.
- Disappearing Package
Twinings is an English brand of tea & beverages that came up with the idea for a disappearing package. Instead of the commonly seen boxes, they designed the packaging to closely wrap the product. It was then folded and impermanently glued in the form of an accordion.
The function of the packaging aside from minimizing waste was also to provide a storybook-quality to it where the packaging was utilized to tell the story of its product. The Disappearing Package works as consumers tear away one segment at a time, and with the holder acting as a tag, the package itself is eliminated with the last teabag.