It was a busy year, yet there’s one trend in particular that grabbed my attention—the rise of smart packaging.

Puma's 'clever little bag' uses 65% less cardboard than a typical shoebox.

Today, discarded or once-used packaging makes up about a third of our landfills. This isn’t just bad news for our environment, it represents money down the drain for manufacturers as well. To combat this wastefulness, many manufacturers are using the philosophy of smart packaging to reduce the amount of resources used to ship goods and package products.

One of my favorite smart packaging designs this year came from Puma, who designed a clever little bag that uses 65% less cardboard than a typical cardboard shoebox. The design also reduces the typical water, energy and diesel consumption that goes into making a shoebox—saving 8,500 tons of paper, 20 million megajoules of electricity and 1 million liters of water. Not to mention, the box looks cool and is a huge hit with customers.

Perhaps because of the bag’s commercial success, some have wondered if the design is just a marketing tactic, or an actual investment in green packaging.

After hearing the doubts, Puma tweeted in response:

Well played, Puma.

Outdoor gear shop REI also embraces smart packaging

Eric Abraham, packaging engineering manager for REI, recently announced a “no packaging, simply product” philosophy for five of the company’s most popular products. The move is part of the company’s new goal to reduce packing materials by 35% by 2013.

Below is an example of REI’s “no packaging, simply product” philosophy in action.

The large, brown package in the back is REI’s old packaging method. It uses polylaminate to adhere the trekking pole tips to a recycled paper backing card. The new packaging is the smaller item in front. It’s the same product, but the new package uses 100% post-consumer recycled paper and a clay-coated newsback. The means a 36% lower packaging weight and no plastic waste.

For REI, green packaging has saved  millions of dollars a year, as well as improved customer engagement. Nothing builds loyalty like taking a stand for a common goal—in this case, a greener planet.

REI’s decision to move to more sustainable packaging wasn’t inspired by expensive surveys and case studies on consumer behavior—it came from simply observing shoppers. When REI started offering in-store recycling for the shipping boxes used to deliver boots, many customers discarded their box in the recycling bin immediately after buying the shoes. After all, people were buying the boots, not the box.

Does your product packaging need an IQ adjustment?

You might need to spend some creative energy and logistical brainpower to figure out how to implement smarter packaging for your product, but there are big payoffs for making the effort. Not only will you reduce packaging costs and eliminate excess waste, but you might also experience a surge in interest and customer loyalty.

Does your current packaging align with the values of your customers and your business?

For more information:

Lytro makes headlines with its light field photography camera

Adopting innovation as a winning philosophy: An Arena Customer Spotlight

Can sustainability help mitigate supply chain risk?

Lessons from Apple—what can small manufacturers learn from Apple’s success?

Aaron LeMieux, founder and CEO of Tremont Electric, invented the nPower PEG to convert kinetic energy into useable power.

It took ten years for Aaron LeMieux, founder and CEO of Tremont Electric, to turn his product idea into reality. LeMieux’s product—the nPower PEG (Personal Energy Generator)—is a universal charger powered by kinetic energy. The device fits into a backpack or clips onto a belt and uses the energy generated by a person’s movement to charge handheld mobile electronics.

Not surprisingly, once the prototype launched things began moving at an accelerated pace. And as Tremont Electric began to grow, LeMieux decided to make sustainability a central part of the nPower PEG manufacturing process.

While it makes a lot of sense that a manufacturer of sustainable energy would embrace sustainability as a company value, green manufacturing is seen by some as expensive and difficult to implement. However, LeMieux found that incorporating sustainability into Tremont Electric’s strategy was ultimately an important contributor to the organization’s success.

Local sourcing + a sustainable process = a winning combination

Roughly 90% of Tremont Electric components are sourced from local companies, a decision that was made to help maintain a small carbon footprint. Even non-local suppliers were chosen with a required distance in mind to ensure the supply chain was small and manageable.

Additionally, LeMieux’s strategy is made to scale. “From day one, I always viewed nPower as an industry-making technology rather than a company-making technology,” says LeMieux. “By being able to rely on vendors and suppliers that are close to us, we’re helping to build an ecosystem that’s going to be able to allow us to develop new products in the future from our technology.”

LeMieux’s commitment to a local supply chain quickly paid off. Soon after launching the nPower PEG, a glitch with a component on the circuit board forced the company to temporarily halt sales. Although this could have been a disaster, the company’s decision to work with local vendors allowed it to resolve the issue and get back to manufacturing as quickly as possible. “It’s a lot easier to be able to jump in the car, drive over there, and point to where the problem is and what needs to be fixed,” LeMieux says.

As Tremont Electric grows, so will its commitment to local vendors, and its focus on sustainability—future projects for nPower include a wave energy converter, which will upsize the current technology to the size of a car and encapsulate it in a buoy on the water to harvest wave energy, and other applications for the military, consumer and biomedical fields.

Don’t wait to consider sustainability

For startups looking to launch a first product, there is a lot to learn from Tremont Electric—namely, don’t wait until demand is through the roof to consider sustainability.

Although it can be tempting to focus solely on costs in the beginning, working out a sustainable manufacturing strategy upfront can save money and mitigate risk in the long run. By using suppliers across town you can more easily communicate concepts with manufacturers throughout the rapid product development process, and by taking the time to think strategically, you can be better prepared to mitigate problems when they inevitably arise.

For more information

• Rethinking renewable energy
• US manufacturing—alive, well, and local
• A story in every surface – Vetrazzo countertops
• Power play

Christoph Thetard's foot-pedal-powered kitchen appliance

As I get ready to start my Thanksgiving cooking, I can’t help but wonder if I’m missing out by not having Christoph Thetard’s foot-pedal-powered kitchen appliance at my disposal. A giant pedal-powered flywheel generates enough energy to operate assorted attachments: a blender, a coffee grinder and a “kitchen machine” (which appears to be approximately equivalent to a food processor). The flywheel is housed in a beautifully crafted wooden frame, which also includes compartments to store the attachments when they’re not in use.

Student designer Thetard’s objective for this product — which is still just a concept — is to reduce electricity use in the kitchen and therefore help us reduce our personal carbon footprint. John Pavlus, in his Co.Design blog post, asks interesting questions about whether the energy required to build and transport this heavy wood-and-metal appliance would cancel out the savings that would come from avoiding the use of plastic parts, eliminating the need for electric power and creating a product with some serious staying power.

A place for everything

I have to agree with his conclusion, though, in which he applauds Thetard for challenging us “to at least question the environmental impact of everyday products.” I know I will be, as I chop, measure, mix and bake for the next 24 hours.

Happy Thanksgiving!

See more photos of the pedal-powered kitchen appliance on Christoph Thetard’s website.

The article describes the five domains of sustainability covered by ULE 880 as:

Sustainability Governance: how an organization leads and manages itself in relation to its stakeholders, including its employees, investors, regulatory authorities, customers, and the communities in which it operates

Environment: an organization’s environmental footprint across its policies, operations, products and services, including its resource use and emissions

Workplace: issues related to employee working conditions, organization culture, and effectiveness

Customers and Suppliers: issues related to an organization’s policies and practices on product safety, quality, pricing, and marketing as well as its supply chain policies and practices

Social and Community Engagement: an organization’s impacts on its community in the areas of social equity, ethical conduct, and human rights

The next step for ULE 880 is a peer-reviewed response to feedback from 600+ commenters, followed by a trial period in which a small set of manufacturers will pilot the standard. You can read more about ULE 880 at GreenBiz.com and the Kinaxis Supply Chain Expert Community blog.

The Victor Bike is his answer to his own question.

By re-conceiving the shape of the frame, reducing the amount of metal used and carefully selecting greener materials and manufacturing processes, Robillard has set a new standard for eco-friendly bicycle design. But it’s about so much more than that, according to Robillard, himself:

Reducing the material weight, optimising the manufacturing process, using recyclable and recycled materials, simplifying the disassembling and the separation of materials at the end of life are technical points which have to be respected during the development of a sustainable product. I believe in Mr. Jonathan Chapman’s philosophy — EMOTIONALLY DURABLE DESIGN — where the object presenting the best environmental qualities are the ones that we love, to whom we become attached and the ones we preserve.

Victor is not only the result of a quantifiable analysis work following a protocol of green engineering, but an object that has an irreplaceable role to our everyday life.

I tried to show the elegance and the grace which a bicycle can have through everyday use. A companion to the everyday life that joins us in what I consider to be a respectable and admirable lifestyle. I created an object which harmonizes with the townscape while respecting the charisma and the dignity of the cyclist: such values I hold dearly.

Further reading:
Christophe Robillard’s blog
Flickr images of the Victor Bike
Co.Design coverage of the Victor Bike

• It is made of 42% recycled materials
• It is made with no PVC (read about PVC problems here)
• It is 96% recyclable
• It is Greenguard-certified and may qualify for LEED credits

It’s also $600 for the basic model, which leads one to ask, “Is it worth it?”

The philosophy behind the Mirra design is simple: You spend 10 hours a day in your office chair—an ultra-comfortable chair will improve your mood, improving your health, and you’ll produce more and better work. Theoretically, the chair will pay for itself in morale and productivity.

And you’re paying for some fancy design: “The one-piece, frameless backrest is a polymer pierced with 567 geometric shapes to create three flex zones. Each zone provides an appropriate level of flexibility for the right ergonomic support and natural adjustment.”

The Mirra chair also comes with a 12-year warranty. If you own the chair for 12 years, and don’t have to pay for any repairs, you’re spending around $50 a year.

A larger question: If something is built well, and made to last, and can be recycled at the end of its life, should you be willing to pay more for it? It’s an interesting question. Manufacturing green, like buying green, often demands a high cost of entry. But if you get something tangible back—like greater productivity for the Mirra chair owner or stronger brand loyalty for the company making green manufacturing choices—perhaps that changes everything.

The proposed solutions offer a range of great ideas for how to approach the problem, from the Karma Cup’s social engineering angle to Miller Creative’s Radial Fin Cup with an integrated insulating sleeve design.

The Karma Cup uses social engineering to increase the use of reusable cups and therefore reduce waste:

Miller Creative’s entry reduces waste by integrating the protective sleeve, using biodegradable and renewable resources for the rest of the cup and employing a manufacturing process that does not require glue:

The betacup contest was sponsored by jovoto, an organization that describes itself as “a marketplace for creative concepts [that connects] those who have ideas with those who need them, providing the necessary tools to make the process fun and fair.”

The betacup entry ranked #1 by the jovoto community is a 100% biodegradable cup made from rice husks and available in a disposable or reusable version. (The reusable one even comes with an RFID sleeve that would replace the prepaid payment card.)

See all betacup entries on the jovoto website.

According to UNICEF, in Ghana 25% of deaths in children under 5 are caused by diarrhea. In Northern Ghana, where more than half the population gets its water from wells, ponds and streams, this percentage is even higher. These water sources often contain disease-causing microorganisms because they’re too remote for centralized filtration and sanitation systems to reach.

Susan Murcott and Pure Home Water, the non-profit that she co-founded, are working on creating and distributing affordable ceramic filters in this region. The product has been well-received, but the organization is planning to go one step further: PHW is planning to build a factory to make the filters locally. Currently the organization buys filters from a factory 12 hours away. With its own local factory PHW will be able to drop the filters’ cost from $16 to $10. Since the filter will still cost more than most Northern Ghanaians can afford, PHW intends to use the factory to also make  profitable ceramic products, like bricks, that can subsidize the water filters.

In addition to cost reductions, PHW will gain tighter control over the design and quality of the filters and the manufacturing process. The PHW team has some MIT engineering and Sloan School of Management interns working with them to conduct product research, run consumer studies and test the unusual manufacturing process, which uses combustible materials like rice husks to create small voids that allow water to pass but trap bacteria and parasites. Murcott learned the technique for making the ceramic from the non-profit organization Potters for Peace in Nicaragua.

You can learn more about PHW’s ceramic manufacturing process, product research and business plan in an article on the MIT News website.

In contrast, please let me introduce you to an old-fashioned umbrella mechanism with style and superior utility. The umbrella in question was produced in 1957, by a company called PJK, and the mechanism patented. The umbrella line is called “Touch and Go.”   It looks like this:

Beautiful, isn’t it? And strong. This umbrella has never turned inside out in my experience, and it has been used in blustery New England weather. The spokes are thick, with a rectangular cross-section, and oriented such that the bending moment to flip the umbrella inside out acts through the long axis of the rectangle.

The true genius of this mechanism though, is the tensioning system. Rather than employ a spring inside the umbrella shaft, this umbrella uses the spokes themselves to generate tension. Look again at the detail picture. The spokes are aligned in pairs and when force is exerted on the tip of the umbrella, the pairs are compressed, bowing the two sides out to form the lovely petal shape you see in the photo. That petal shape is a pair of loaded leaf springs. The spring tension is then captured by a trigger-style mechanism at the loaded point.

The umbrella closure is the most impressive part of the mechanism operation. Upon hitting the button, the leaf springs are released, resulting in lightning-fast contraction of the canopy. The canopy snaps back so quickly that a majority of the water is left behind. The canopy is left damp but not dripping.

I found this umbrella in a thrift store 20 years ago – the handle you see here I machined myself, when the old one finally cracked. This umbrella is a product both hardy and beautiful enough to be worthy of reworking, enabling true “green” behavior – repairing rather than throwing away for a cheaper new version.

This old-fashioned mechanism is almost certainly more difficult and more costly to manufacture than the mechanism that has become the norm. But in this case, what we have given up in our quest for a cheaper utilitarian product is both beauty and superiority of function.

Vetrazzo, the name of both the company and the product, was invented in 1996 in Berkeley, California, by a glass scientist working on his PhD, who had a passion for the environment. He had the idea of adding recycled glass to a concrete-like material to create a new type of building supply. Demand for the product grew quickly from small, handmade batches for the local building community to an installation at the Ritz-Carlton South Beach in Miami Beach, Florida.

In 2006, armed with a new management team and some venture capital, Vetrazzo opened its doors in a brand-new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Richmond, California.

To manufacture the countertops, Vetrazzo combines recycled glass with cement, additives and pigments, pours the mixture into a flat tray and with its patented technology, vibrates the tray to spread glass evenly throughout the cement. The slab is then baked, hand-polished and examined by eye for any flaws that need mending before it’s ready for sale.

All of the glass used in Vetrazzo is recycled, and it makes up about 85% of the total material. Most of the glass comes from curbside recycling programs. Other glass comes from windows, dinnerware, stemware, windshields, stained glass, laboratory glass, reclaimed glass from building demolition, traffic lights and other unusual sources. Every Vetrazzo surface has its own history. We track that history, and after you purchase and register Vetrazzo, we provide a Certificate of Transformation that tells you where the glass in your Vetrazzo came from.

Some color choices are offered all the time because the materials come from a readily available supply. Other colors, like Firehouse Red and Traffic-Light Red, are limited editions only available when a collection of the appropriate glass can be acquired—anything from a manufacturing defect to a demolition project could provide it. One reason for the demise of Traffic-Light Red, for example, is that the source traffic lights are now made of plastic instead of glass.

While I find the company’s manufacturing batch process and unique supply chain cool, what makes Vetrazzo interesting to me is the company’s internal drive for sustainability. They practice what they preach. They are reutilizing an old Ford plant that uses existing daylight, has a ‘negative-pressure dust booth’ to minimize air pollution, and has a system to recycle water. In the company’s blog, Message in a Bottle, you can read about Vetrazzo’s victory garden, as well as its 4-Legged Waste Diversion Program (aka – Mama Goat).

Vetrazzo’s green process and philosophy has the company well-poised for the future. I recommend visiting its website to see samples of all the different stones and read about the colorful glass that’s in each one.