Together with ︎︎︎Rebekka Jochem
Material: Tyvek / cardboard
Work: Design and Prototype
Location: Wismar
Date: 2020
Awards:
German Packaging Award / Young Talents 2021
German Packaging Award /Winner in Gold 2021
Details:
This novel kind of package is made from tyvek, a sturdy and waterproof material. It can be reused repeatedly, which will help decrease the amount of paper waste generated by online shopping. After clients pick up their delivery they hand the package back to their local shop or post station. All packages will be collected and sent back to retailers, ready to be used again. The side elements of the box can be taken out, which makes for a reduced packing volume, thus reducing the logistic effort involved in transporting the empty packages.
After receiving an order in the new packaging the customers take out their goods and return the packaging to the nearest mailbox or parcel station. The boxes are collected from there and distributed to the nearest online retailers, who reuse them to package their next orders. A deposit system encourages customers to participate, similar to the German practice of returnable bottles.
The boxes are manufactured from biodegradable plastic which is tear-resistant, durable and can be recycled. The soft meterial is reinforced with recycled cardboard, which gives the box stability and protects the goods inside. When empty, the sheets can be taken out, folded and laid flat into the box, resulting in minimal dead volume. This ensures low costs and little energy use when the packaging travels in an empty state. Furthermore, when the cardboard has been removed the material can be washed effortlessly with a standard washing machine.
The packaging helps to make online shopping more eco-friendly by replacing single-use cardboard containers, saving large amounts of waste paper. Each box is designed to be used around 30 times, drastically saving energy in manufacturing and recycling compared to conventional packaging. It is easy to handle, with an intuitive, lightweight closing mechanism. The shipping label is used as a seal indicating clearly when the package was opened before it reaches the customer.
