Boxing clever

The green lobby has taught us all to recycle our leftover product packaging, and companies have done their part by increasingly using recyclable materials.

But even greater environmental benefits could be gained if those companies rethought their ideas about the shape and size of the boxes their products come in.
    
That’s according to Renee Wever, a researcher at the TU Delft Faculty of Industrial Design.

Smaller boxes are easier to handle and transport: it’s a seemingly obvious point, but one that tends to get overlooked.
“In thinking about packaging and the environment, most people exclusively consider the amount of material used, and waste material produced,” said Wever.

“This is what people try to reduce. But my research reveals that true gains can be made by concentrating on the transport aspect.”

If companies choose smaller-sized packaging or packages that come in a more easily stackable shape, they can get more products in a container or truck, significantly reducing transport costs and the associated impact on the environment.

Focusing on size will get us further than the usual preoccupation with recycling packaging materials, Wever believes. He wants companies to make environmental assessment an integral part of their packaging design process.

“Marketing considerations sometimes lead to large, flashy boxes,” he said. “People think this will help draw huge attention to their product on the shelves, and distinguish them from the competition, leading to better sales. If you then calculate that maybe as much as one euro per product could be saved in transport costs by choosing a slightly smaller or handier packaging size, now, that attracts some serious attention.”

Wever’s study specifically targets consumer electronics, such as TV sets – he performed part of his fieldwork at Philips, the Dutch electronics giant. But his supplemental research suggests that his conclusions about packaging apply in other areas too, such as consumer goods, including toys and furniture.

“In general, you could say that companies have paid too little attention, or too late, to their packaging,” he said.

“It’s remarkable, given the enormous sums of money involved. There is a real need for specialised packaging designers.

“These experts should understand design and styling as well as the underlying technical packaging and distribution aspects. Such people are now quite few and far between.”