Metsä Board’s third Better with Less – Design Challenge highlights zero waste. Designers all over the world are invited to participate in finding innovative and smarter packaging solutions that support the circular economy.
The competition is open until December 1, 2022. You can enter the competition on the website www.betterwithless.org. This year’s categories are Zero Waste Convenience, Zero Waste Experience and Zero Waste Wildcard. The jury will award the three best zero waste packaging designs with prizes of EUR 10,000, EUR 3,000 and EUR 2,000.
The international jury includes renowned packaging design experts from various fields related to packaging, design, brand strategy and innovation. Here are some of their thoughts about what the future holds for designers.
The key is to think and act big
Change starts as an active decision, Brandi Parker, Head of Sustainability of the brand design agency Pearlfisher, believes:
“What we have to overcome as an industry is moving away from what’s easiest and cheapest, which is plastic, into something which does require more thought, more design, problem solving, and frankly, a change or shift in behavior across the population of the globe.”
“Designers must be the most informed people in the room and know more about the materials we are promoting to the client. A deep understanding of materials is key, but let’s also embrace our naiveties as designers: We have the ability to ask why not,” says Ben Parker, Co-Founder of the Made Thought creative design studio.
Things that leave the world better
For progress to occur, designers need to consider the whole life-cycle of the packages they are creating.
“Everything, everything, everything we do must be either circular or regenerative. What we put into the Earth and into the atmosphere now must improve the Earth and the atmosphere. Net Negative is too little. We must be Net Positive. We have to make things that leave the world better,” says Brian Collins, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Collins.
Packaging also plays a big role in this: We need to find ways to use less materials.
“To me, zero waste means challenging our designers to use the least amount of materials but still build inspiring packaging,” says Jennifer Patrick, Global Director of Packaging and Branding at Patagonia.
Educating consumers
The total impact of the package also includes what happens with it afterwards.
“We need to look on waste and trash more as a treasure. And we must include circularity in everything,” says Carin Blidholm Svensson, Creative Director & Founder at BVD.
Brands need to play an educational role—and communicate about their actions too. Can the consumer reuse the packaging or return it to the store where it was purchased?
“There is an urge to educate the consumer: ‘Please recycle this box or take it back, and we’ll make a new pair of shoes,’” Blidholm Svensson says.