One of the challenges of sustainability is how to engage the consumer into the process. For example, if we develop products that are recyclable but consumers don’t recycle it, we have got a broken system since it’s not circular. The main issue is that the consumer’s common thought is “sustainability is not my problem, it’s the brands’ problem”.Therefore it is important to get consumers to buy these new sustainable processes apart from the product. So, how can we trace this behaviour and engage the customer to be part of the sustainable process?

From a capitalistic perspective, designers actually created the consumer throw-away society: they made it exciting to throw away things through aesthetics and usability. So design has the power and responsibility to replace our throwaway consumer culture with new behaviours and lifestyles that match our best intentions and shape a better future for us all. 

Creating a sustainable brand through packaging

61% of consumers say that they’re likely to switch to a brand that is more environmentally friendly than their current brand. But how do they connect to the correct brands? Right now everyone is communicating sustainability the same way: using color green, the same eco-labels, arrows… So there is so much noise that the consumer is confused and it is very difficult to stand out. If we want to create a different brand and attract more customers, we have to appeal to people’s human nature. 

Human biases is the theory that studies human behaviour and it has to be a roadmap for designers to see how we can connect to human biases to make a difference with our design. If we apply human biases to design we can point out these main aspects to take into account:

EASY: Designing the path of least resistance by reducing complexity and making effortless products. 

ATTRACTIVE: Designing enhanced value through improved utility, experience and aesthetic. It often includes personalisation. 

SOCIAL: Design to build community, new social norms and positive peer pressure that encourage group commitments.

TIMELY: Designing products, activations and communications to prompt people when they are likely to be receptive and maximising immediate benefits. For example, designing packaging for masks during the COVID19. 

Using gamification to connect with our customers

Although coffee cups are a very useful design; easy to apply, no cleaning needed, cheap… 2.5b coffee cups are binned each year in the UK! This is an unsustainable amount of packaging. To solve this problem, CupClub created a social campaign to recycle these cups. They engaged with the consumer through visual and colorful communication in the streets of London. So they applied three of the main aspects of human bias: EASY, ATTRACTIVE and SOCIAL. They have created a strong identity and changed consumer behaviours. 

What do you need to take into account to design sustainable packaging?

It is important to know the human thoughts and perceptions before designing new sustainable solutions and creating our brand identity. Here are some of the key aspects you must know before choosing your ideal design: 

The power of value perception: usually big packages are associated with more quantity and therefore if we use a smaller package though it contains the same, we have to communicate it. 

Accepting small steps: if we are moving to RPET we need to reframe it to the consumer and let him know that it will take long to implement material changes in products. For example, LEGO wanted to move to bioplastics for their pieces so as a start they made a clever move and only changed their natural figures like forests, and created a proper storytelling about how nature is made of bioplastics. 

The danger of nature: Consumers have an image of how natural looks (usually represented with brown and green colours). There is an issue on how we automatically go for a design that looks natural but often the solution is something technical.

Rivers of thought: When we want to design something new, we have to take into account the social learnings and deep thoughts of consumers. For example, if we create a package to be used for the toilet we can’t also sell it to be used for the kitchen because it is against consumers normal perception of use, and therefore, it is likely to be rejected. 

The consequences of durable: we think about durable packaging as something that the consumer can keep and can become ownable and precious. But also we have to think that products will wear and a challenge for designers is how we design things that last and are at the same time appealing (an opposite thing of what we have been teaching and selling at the moment). 

The right tone: the way we talk to consumers is key in behavior changing. If we talk in an imperative way like “You have to recycle” the reaction will be negative and they will automatically think “Who are you to tell me what to do?” They have to feel involved with the brand to feel engaged. It’s good to use humor and more informal language. 

Using all senses: we have a lot of senses to play with so why not use them? A good example is how toothpaste brands use flavour to encourage the user to brush their teeth at least twice a day. If we didn’t get that mint fresh sensation, we probably wouldn’t wash our teeth everyday. Our sensorial feedback is really powerful to engage with a product. 

All in all, if we start with a sustainable win with consumers, you will have a sustainable win for your company. And not only from an ethical point of view, but also a sustainable one:

UNILEVER says that in 2018 sustainable brands grew 69% faster than the rest of business and delivered 75% of unilever’s turnover growth.