Have you heard of Poseidon? The king of the deep, the protector of the seas? He’s quite an example to live up to – however, it is the goal of the project Signify named after him. Robert Sloten, explains that plastic waste is a huge issue, as only 10% of the plastics we use get recycled. The rest is burned, left on landfills, or ends up in the ocean. To protect the great deep, we should step up against excess plastic waste production – or better yet, eliminate it completely.

We get a bit of an insight into how the plastic-free strategy of Signify came to be from Rowina Lee. She explains that making the decision to ditch plastics was a no-brainer. It’s good for the planet and people want it too. Elina Vives from the US expands on this: she describes sustainability as the “new cultural zeitgeist”. This means that current generations seek out brands that are environmentally conscious since people want their children to inherit a planet that’s livable.

Of course, no one says that going plastic-free is a simple undertaking – quite the opposite. Robert talks about the practical considerations of coordinating many departments towards this goal, and he mentions his newfound respect towards the packaging industry, before passing the metaphorical mic to Valentia Ericson, our packaging expert.

Valentina leads us behind the scenes of what we see as a simple package. She explains that the packaging process is not as simple as putting something in a box. There are 3 distinct areas. First, there is structural engineering of a package where the concept design is decided on, as well as quality assurance and testing is done. Second, there is the graphic design section, where colors, artworks, and product photographs are done. And finally, there is source selection, and contacting vendors.

To do all this without plastics, is indeed a challenge, explains Robert. Being plastic-free is a disruptive change, and such changes always encounter resistance. Other departments sometimes have differences in prioritization, and, though, Robert emphasizes that everyone is passionate about being sustainable, aligning all the priorities together can be a management challenge.

We also have to keep in mind the customer, and the consumer, he reminds us. We strive to keep the same pleasant unpacking experience and it is of utmost importance to keep our products safe, however, without plastics, it is not always straightforward. If the product is large or fragile, we may face extra challenges – but we’re on track to complete these without plastics.

Robert leaves us with 3 gems of knowledge about packaging: to know our customers and consumers, to prioritize beforehand, and to prepare generic packaging as well – packages that are not tailored to a single product, but used on many, have to be plastic-free too.

Finally, Rovina talks about the future beyond plastic-free packaging. She tells us that sustainability is more than an agenda – it is a responsibility. To make sure we are responsible, we have to keep our eyes open, and embrace a mindset -as well as make sure that costumers embrace it too- to position ourselves in a sustainable way.

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