Design next stop: design for the fuller, greener life

1 July 2010 | By Ruth Mortimer

With the UK facing a national debt of £770bn, businesses and consumers are more aware of the need to avoid wastefulness. Marketers, too, are playing their part and are turning to design to create more sustainable enterprises, campaigns, products and retail spaces. But this isn’t just about making design more “green”; it’s about making things last longer and work more efficiently.

This approach, sometimes called “cradle to cradle” (C2C), ensures that sustainability is designed into a business’ strategy, its products and its supply chains. As Puma chief executive Jochen Zeitz explained at an event run by agency Good (Beta) last month/ “Being sustainable isn’t just about being able to do what we do indefinitely.

“For me, sustainability is more than that. It’s doing things in a way that makes the world a better place than it was before, from an economic, social, environmental and cultural perspective.”

Puma is one of the brands leading this new way of thinking with its recently redesigned “clever little bag” packaging for its footwear. At first glance, the box, which has a divider down the centre and pulls out to create a bag for the purchase after sale, looks like a nicely designed piece of packaging.

But the design has an impact on Puma from its supply chain through to its marketing. For example, the shoes have to be kept stored in a certain way to be shipped across from its factories, with each piece of footwear separated to maintain its quality in very hot conditions.

James Wallman, editor of global lifestyle news and trend network LS:N Global, says: “By designing a barrier into the box - tissue paper was previously used to perform this function - it not only protects the goods during transport while saving on materials, but also saves Puma employees work, so more can be done in less time.”

Once the box reaches its end retailer, a bag pulls out of the box so that customers can take their new shoes away without needing a separate plastic carrier. Wallman adds: “This not only cuts down on plastic production but it’s a great piece of marketing because wherever you buy our footwear, you’re going to walk out of the store with a Puma-branded bag.”

For Puma’s Zeitz, this is not just an idea for one set of the brand’s products but part of understanding how the company will exist in future. He says: “We, corporations, are part of the problem. Our current economic model, which originated in the industrial revolution some hundred-odd years ago, is not working with us but against nature.”

Most brands fail to work sustainable design through their entire business lifecycle, suggests Andy Knowles, chairman of agency JKR. He points to retailer Marks & Spencer as an example. The shop has heavily publicised its charging scheme for plastic bags to cut down on these carriers being thrown away. But Knowles says the brand still has open chilled refrigerator units in stores, which are very energy intensive.

“It has managed to reduce energy in some high profile ways, but there is still an enormous amount of energy consumption designed into those stores,” warns Knowles.

For some businesses, sustainability is tricky because of the very nature of the company. Although they can try and design new processes into their operations, brands in sectors such as paper products and transport will continue to be seen as unsustainable. In this case, says Jason Smith, director of printed products at directory brand Yell, sustainability innovation becomes about changing consumer behaviour.

In February this year, Yell moved to a compact design format for its Yellow Pages directory, which has been published since 1966. Smith says the redesign is the most “fundamental change” for the brand in the past 44 years and it makes the product far more sustainable than before.

“The compact design makes it easier to store on bookshelves, which makes it more visible and keeps it front of mind,” says Smith. “The longevity of the product and the type of paper we use are constantly on our minds.”

Smith says the new version of the Yellow Pages is not just about being “green”, although all directories are 100% recyclable. By moving to the compact size, the directory should also become more sustainable through extra usage, with 85% of consumers reporting they prefer the new shape and 91% that they find it easier to use.

Another organisation attempting to take sustainability through its entire business from supply chain to production and eventual use is Transport for London (TfL). The organisation unveiled a new London Routemaster bus in May which has been redesigned to feature two staircases and a futuristic “glass swoop” along with hybrid engine technology.

TfL operations director for surface transport Mike Weston explains: “Obviously, as a transport provider, our biggest concern is cutting carbon emissions, but we are also very keen to make sure that our buses are produced using more sustainably sourced materials and we’re looking to use components that last as long as possible.”

As well as these new Routemasters, which start service in 2012, TfL already has nearly 60 hybrid buses in its fleet and aims to introduce a similar number next year. It will also roll out five hydrogen-powered buses later this year. Weston says all new vehicles have been designed with travel experience as well as look in mind.

The new hydrogen buses, for example, will bear design livery informing customers about the new sustainable technology that powers them, but Weston says even without this, passengers will notice a smoother and quieter ride. Bus fabrics are also being designed for the new fleets which are easier to maintain.

The Museum of Design in London says there are now so many C2C projects under way that it had difficulty choosing what to exhibit in its current Sustainable Futures exhibition. It whittled a shortlist of 500 design projects down to just 50.

“I think C2C thinking is going to become even more important now,” says Josephine Chanter, head of communications at the Museum of Design. She sees Puma’s “clever little bag” project as a sign of how forward-thinking brands will tap into this area, with Puma’s innovation offering “the potential to change how the whole shoe retail industry distributes its products”.

Broadly, she thinks architects and city planners are some of the most advanced in this area, but it’s not just those approaching design on a grand scale that need to think about C2C. Companies should consider sustainability even when approaching the design of single products.

One product that has been innovative with its design is sustainable DVD business EcoDisc. The brand has designed a new bendable disc that uses 50% less energy to produce, is 100% recyclable and produces 48% fewer CO2 emissions than traditional versions. Its lighter weight also saves on shipping costs, which EcoDisc director Ray Wheeler says can produce great savings for direct mail campaigns.

Francesca Sanders, an account manager at agency Coley Porter Bell and head of its green team, says even making very simple changes can have a “disproportionate” effect on consumption and sustainability.

For example, one of her drinks clients is currently selling a new beverage in “bladders” - or the inside sections of wine boxes. By cutting out traditional wine boxes, they are lighter to transport, easier to store and more convenient for consumers to dispose of when empty.

JKR’s Knowles agrees. His company recently redesigned the packaging for a natural cosmetics brand called Spiezia, which produces essential oils in glass jars. The new packaging involves a corrugated cardboard tube, which holds each jar tight and closes at each end using a pre-cut “pinch”, rather than glue or staples.

“In 10,000 of these posted out, there were no breakages and materials were reduced by 12%,” he claims. The solution might have been centred around packaging but it has made an impact on the company’s supply chain, posting costs and, given the brand’s positioning, a minimal look that reflects its own natural agenda.

“Brands are being more intelligent about sustainability these days. We could all go back to wearing raffia sandals and working the land, but that’s simply not practical for millions of people in Britain. So instead, brands need to find a way to minimise their specific impact,” says Knowles.

With the UK in so much debt and more governmental cuts on the horizon, this C2C philosophy is set to become more important to both consumers and the companies that serve them. While many brands are still exploring how this can work for them using their current systems, others are already pushing ahead by creating future sustainability concepts.

Toshiba TEC Imaging Systems marketing director Steve Hewson says: “I would like to think that the recession is forcing people to look at ’make do and mend’, but the reality in business is that getting the best out of your investments is just good buying practice.”

He says he is excited about the opportunities for designing sustainable features into multiple areas of Toshiba’s corporate practices, including carbon offsetting schemes and other reduction and reuse measures in the supply chain. He sees this as a vital way for his brand to differentiate itself in future.

Ultimately, Hewson warns, C2C design must not become an innovation at all. It needs to become an accepted part of any mainstream business strategy. He says: “This is really about long-term credibility rather than a short-term marketing campaign. Sustainability must become just that - sustainable.”