For his masters thesis, recent Pratt Institute graduate Aaron Mickelson redesigned mainstream consumer packaging to eliminate waste. How? By creating a package that completely disappears by the time the product is finished. The Disappearing Project presents 5 different solutions in a hope to spark conversation and change.
Glad Bags: The package is made up of the last bag in the package itself, leaving no extra trash when it gets used. All the product information and logo are printed using traditional oil-based inks on the package in case you need a reminder of what you purchased.
Tide Pods: Instead of its traditional plastic bag packaging, a sheet of laundry pods will be stitched together, printed using soap-soluble ink. The individual pod packing for each pod is also water-soluble and dissolves in the wash.
OXO Pop Containers: OXO containers have a shiny, logo-ed paper inside the container. Instead of the normal printing methods, the instructions are printed directly onto the container using soap-soluble ink. Then, the label breaks down easily once the consumer washes it for the first time.
Nivea Bar Soap: A simple but effective solution—use a septic-safe, water-soluble paper to wrap the soap. The user will take the whole package into the shower with them, leaving the wrapper to dissolve.
Twining Tea Bags: As of now, tea packaging is lined with wax, preventing it from being composted. Mickelson’s solution is to glue together the sachets into a folded up, self-standing brick. While there still results in some packaging waste (as will likely always be the case with food packaging) but it has been diminished. However, when the product is gone, so is the packaging—which is the running theme for all of these new solutions.