Reusable Packaging — Creative Solutions for Your Package's Second Life

What makes great packaging? It depends who you ask. Ask a warehouse worker and they might say great packaging is easy to put together. The average consumer might gravitate toward visual appeal, and forward-thinking consumers might say recyclability is key.

All of these answers are valid, and crucial to think about when designing your package. But at Ernest we think packaging can do a lot more outside of that span of thinking. Just like we called earlier this year, we’re about to enter a new era of reusable packaging. Here are some creative ideas that give your package a second life.

REUSABLE PACKAGING AS A SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION

If you followed our guide to a sustainable holiday, you might already be considering reusable packaging as we enter the new year. There are tons of ways to go about this, but this simple solution from Amazon and Replenish takes a major step for sustainability.

Clean Revolution is a new cleaning system based on reusable packaging. When your cleaning solution runs out, you’ll hang onto the reusable bottle and order a refill pod from Amazon. Less plastic waste is a big win for the zero-waste movement, but it’s an even bigger one when you consider its implications on shipping.

Photo courtesy of Amazon and Replenish

When you ship traditional cleaning solutions, you’re shipping a bunch of water and burning a lot of fuel. Clean Revolution takes that water out of the equation. Each refill pod is small and lightweight, and contains enough formula to make six full bottles of cleaning solution — just add water at home. Less plastic waste, less wasted fuel, less strain on Mother Earth!

REUSABLE PACKAGING AS A PRODUCT

Reusability doesn’t have to mean that your packaging sticks around your customer’s house forever. Ending up in the recycling bin is fine, but with a little bit of creativity you can remove disposal from the process entirely.

SOAPBOTTLE is a clever shampoo bottle that ditches the plastic bottle in favor of one made completely from soap. Once the shampoo is gone, the consumer uses the bottle like any traditional bar of soap. Voilà, disappearing packaging!

Photo courtesy of Jonna Breitenhuber

SOAPBOTTLE doesn’t just settle for reusable packaging, it combines two products in one. It’s not the first time we’ve seen reusable packaging try to keep consumers clean, but it’s a great example of pushing the market into the new decade.

When great packaging starts in the design phase, it truly takes on a life of its own. Check out our package design services and see what Ernest can do for you.