Source: inhabitat.com

 

 

 

Published: March 6, 2013

 

 

 

by Inhabitat Staff

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo courtesy of Aaron Mickelson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New York-based designer Aaron  Mickelson has developed a packaging design concept he calls “The Disappearing Package,” complete with a series of working  prototypes that illustrate how packaging waste might be eliminated by letting  the product itself be the packaging. Mickelson developed the “Disappearing Package” concept as his master’s thesis at Pratt Institute. For his project, he developed innovative methods for eliminating the packages that wrap five well-known household brands:  Tide PODS laundry detergent, OXO containers, Twinings Tea Bags, Nivea Bar Soap, and Glad Trash Bags.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Mickelson packages Glad trash bags in a roll, with the label printed on the outside bag.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Glad trash bag solution places the label on the outside bag. Bags are pulled out from the center.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When the customer uses the last bag, the label is gone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the Nivea packaging solution, there’s no need to open the box and throw it away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The water-soluble Nivea soap package dissolves in the shower.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The POP container label is printed on the outside of the box in soap-soluble ink.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The consumer is likely to want to wash the new container anyway. With Mickelson’s solution, that makes the packaging disappear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Disappearing Package doesn’t have to be ugly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PODs are packaged in a roll, with the label printed on the outside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Individual PODs are perforated together and printed directly with soap-soluble ink.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The customer tears off PODs one-by-one as they are needed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When the last POD is used, the package is gone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A food product has more critical packaging needs and presents a special challenge for packaging reduction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Twinings bags come together on a perforated fanfold and are torn off one-by-one and used.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Twinings solution doesn’t eliminate packaging altogether, but does reduce it to a minimum.