A quick, second draft of my essay for hand in for next Monday for it's primary assessment- only a few small changes made- largely linguistically or grammatically- a few mistypes in the original draft that I managed proofread and edit within the text- as well as adding my editional (but unusued as direct quotes within the text) sources and now also correctly formatted in terms of line spacing (1.5pt bulk text, 1pt block quotes).
Still afraid that it might be a little bit repetitive- but unfortunately there's not a great deal of time to make changes with a busy Uni schedule- hopefully after feedback from the initial essay hand in I'll be able to make any necessary ammendments or additions with the help of tutor assessment.
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“How has evolving global and environmental awareness
in contemporary society affected sustainable design within the
food industry?”
The last ten years in global society have seen great
change, growth, development, and upheaval- be it economically, socially, or
psychologically, but- perhaps most evident in these behavioural mannerisms is
the new millennium of environmental awareness- a behaviour that has swept
across the globe- in what some may perceive to be an necessary, fundamental
manner, others perhaps more influenced by guilt from politics and the media.
From council campaigns to Nobel Peace Prize winner (and former Presidential
candidate) Al Gore’s 2006 documentary, ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, which
highlighted and campaigned to bring awareness of the threats of global warming
upon our planet. From every day awareness and increased energy efficiency, to
actively purchase sustainable or recyclable goods- the past ten years have seen
a great shift in the responsibility felt by consumers.
One sector, which has particularly evolved to meet the
standards of the decade’s desires for sustainability and environmental needs,
is the food industry- both the branding and identity of a company, along with
packaging design (which work alongside one another in terms of visual
communication)
- “People are increasing concerned about their impact
on the environment and the conditions under which the goods that they have
purchased have been produced” (Ambrose, A & Harris, P, 2011, p. 172).
The role of packaging, and graphic designers as visual
communicators, has become more important than ever- to establish the brand and
identity to appeal not only to those whom become a company’s loyal customers,
but also the impulse or needs-based consumer. The role of the designer, and the
company themselves, is to deliver a promise of the brand in it’s ethos, it’s
personality, and increasingly so, in this past decade, it’s sustainability
credentials. In a market of ever-increasing numbers of products with the
promise of environmentally- friendly packaging and ethically- sourced goods,
brands strive to meet appropriate, on-trend, or in alignment with the current
consumer mind-set, and to be the one product on the shelf that stands out as
unique- the “need-to-buy” product.
“The successful development of an attractive brand
personality can differentiate a product from its competitors, particularly in
the highly competitive food sector where brands compete with generic, ‘me-too’
products, own brands and national brands. Brand personalities are developed to
help establish a bond of trust with consumers and have the ability to transform
a product into something that people develop an emotional relationship
towards…” (Ambrose, A & Harris, P, 2011,
p. 112).
However organically or naturally we aim to purchase
products, packaging is an inevitable addition in supermarkets and chain store
food and drink retailers- be in vacuum-packed fruit, or plastic bottles-
packaging is a requirement in product distribution for the security and
prevention of damage to the product itself. To be truly sustainable, companies
would not produce packaging for it’s products, however, as previously
mentioned, this is near unavoidable- as well as physical damage, this would
also damage the brand in terms of the recognition of it’s identity on a
commercial scale in comparison to the other goods in which it competes, for
which branding is
a necessity.
Along with the developments in aesthetic design and
branding, print considerations are now perceived as a far greater priority with
consumers than ever before. “The ethics of packaging concerns both what
packaging is made from, and the statements that it makes about the products
that we buy” (Ambrose, A & Harris, P, 2011, p. 190). Many brands now
competing in the “sustainable” market actively re-brand or sought materials
that are environmentally- friendly, biodegradable, and recyclable- one of the
key “buzzwords” of the past decade. The pressured demands of innovation are
prominent in contemporary packaging design- ensuring that it serves its purpose
as both a protection and communication tool as well as reducing it’s impact (in
production and disposal) upon the environment.
“Consumer markets are becoming increasingly aware of
the social, environmental, and personal implications of their purchasing
decisions. Research carried out by ES Magazine in 2000 shows that a massive 75%
of customers claim to favour products with tangible environmental advantages
over competitive products” (Chapman, J, 2005, p. 7).
In the hierarchy of waste diagram (featured in the
publication ‘Packaging the Brand’, Ambrose, A & Harris, P, 2011, p.187) the
possibilities for companies and their packaging design is displayed in a
triangular diagram from least preferable to the most preferable options in dealing
with the waste production of their products: “Disposal- Energy Recovery-
Recycling- Reuse- Minimisation- Prevention.” Although the production of
packaging may be unavoidable, many companies now strive to prevent
over-packaging goods, or, at the most primitive level, to produce packaging
which is recyclable- to reuse the energy used to create the design, and to
meets the needs of it’s increasingly environmentally- aware market.
“Pollution problems and ecological threats were first
recognized during the sixties and seventies were often solved with quick
“technological fixes”. Now, a decade or two later, we have realized that many
of the solutions only masked and intensified the problems” (Papanek, V, 1985,
p. 253).
The development of environmental and sustainable packaging
has become particularly apparent in the past decade- perhaps now due to
technological advancements of product and packaging design, such as the
development of new materials such as the promotion and introduction of the
aseptically processed ‘Tetra Pak’ design, in which
“Cartons protect taste and nutritional content with
three basic materials that work together to produce very efficient, safe, and
light-weight package…paper…polyethylene…aluminum”, (Aseptic Solutions, 2012, http://www.tetrapak.com/us/packaging/aseptic_solutions/pages/default.aspx),
now available to recycle throughout many council
borough locations in the United Kingdom, as well as the development of natural
dyes used in the printing process- reducing landfill waste, and, therefore,
being more “environmentally friendly”- it is the entire process of re-design
that increases the sustainability credentials of a company, to work with natural
materials to ensure the lowest possible rates of waste pollution and disposal,
“sustainability is not about one limited range of thought or interaction.
Instead, it is a holistic attempt to mimic the best behaviours or the natural
environment” (Boylston, S, 2009, p. 36).
However, it is not only the companies that now face
responsibility for the development of sustainability within their packaging
design, as well as waste disposal responsibilities. With the increased pressure
of environmental awareness, consumers themselves are now being targeted- with
advertisements from Government campaigns, and council schemes- “You may be
referred to as a consumer, but there is very little that you actually consume-
some food, some liquids. Everything else is designed for you to throw away when
you’re finished with it” (McDonough, W & Braungart, M, 2000, p.27). Not
only do companies within the food industry have the responsibility of their own
environmental conscience, but now that of the consumer also- and must develop a
way to promote their brand as well as to make it function simply as recyclable
product- ensuring that consumers way of life is effected and disturbed as
little as possible, whilst still maintaining their manifested feelings of
altruistic tendencies.
One company in the food industry that has been
particularly prevalent in the past decade is the ‘Innocent’ brand. Founded in
1999, with it’s first year turnover at a modest £200,000, in just eight years
the annual turnover grew to £114 million (Innocent drinks : join the family.
2012. innocent drinks : join the family, http://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk/AGM/annual_report/).
An undoubted commercial success, Innocent’s popularity
has grown in a time of cultural change as well as the development of both
health and sustainability awareness- tapping into consumer need and
consciousness- not only developing a brand to meet the environmental and
sociological changes, but creating an optimistic, refreshing outlook and
approach
to business-
"Before I even stepped through the door of Fruit
Towers I liked the feel of this company; not from the sweeping success story
that the company has evidently been but from all of my communications from
'fellow fruiters' in setting up the interview. In today's rather overly PC
professional world, it was lovely to receive; it made me smile, it reminded me
I was human and also said, we can be professional but we can also be fun…” (The
City Magazine, 2010, innocent drinks : press. http://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk/press/press_clippings/)
In the case of the Innocent brand, meeting the needs
of sustainable awareness within consumers was never enough- and their
consequent branding and promotion has led to one of the most successful company
start-ups of the past decade- along with their sustainable packaging, they
create the notion of a “sustainable lifestyle”, to engage and interact with
it’s customers, adapting and utilizing new technologies such as social
networking sites- a fantastic tool for self-promotion with customers in a new
age of sustainability. This technology has provided them with a means of
interactive communication- providing low-cost (and subtle) advertising and
promotion for the company, as well as being able to keep costs low in terms of
materials (where key information from their online sources may have otherwise
of had to have been printed on their product packaging).
In Innocent’s published book ‘A book about Innocent:
Our story & some things we’ve learned’ (Germain, D & Reed, R, 2009, p.
166-169) they discuss the brand’s “mission statement” in the form of a five
point plan : “… 1. Make it healthy… 2. Use responsible ingredients…3. Develop sustainable
packaging… 4. Become a resource- efficient business… 5. Share the profits…”-
five distinct points which have helped the brand become as established in the
food and drinks industry as it is now more than a decade on from it’s
establishment.
The two key elements of Innocent’s sustainability and
branding success can be found within it’s two key ambitions, first- to use both
ethically sourced packaging materials (as well as their ingredients), and
secondly- to actively pursue their ambitions for profit sharing, and charity
support.
In regards to it’s use of sustainable and
environmentally-friendly packaging materials, the Innocent website states:
“We've done lots to make our packaging better. We've
been pioneering the use of food grade recycled plastic in our little bottles
since 2003, in 2009 we saved over 300 tonnes of packaging by making things
lighter, and all our Kids cartons and our 750ml cartons are now made from 100%
Forest Stewardship Council certified material.” (Innocent drinks: all about us,
2012,
The company are (currently)
actively using recyclable materials within their packaging designs such as
Cartonboard, PET (Polyethylene terephthalate), HDPE (High-density polyethylene),
PP (Polypropylene) -all of which support their ambitions of a sustainable
future in packaging design.
Since their establishment in
1999, the Innocent brand has shown significant evidence that sustainable design
is about more than just packaging and recyclable materials, but creating a
brand that people “buy into”, that people support, and, in the case of
Innocent, a brand in which they can “join the family”- and feel as if they can
truly make a difference. Be it on a bold, profound level or a subtle,
day-to-day change to an individual’s way of life- it is design in both visual
communication and environmental awareness on part of both the company and the
Graphic Designer which go towards making a sustainable brand. “Graphic design
is a powerful tool because it is crucial in the communication of messages. It
has a role in the persuading, educating, and delighting others…design can make
you think and smile…” (Roberts, L, 2006, p. 192), and that is perhaps
Innocent’s key to success- that “design can make you think and smile”. The
company maintain their ethically- sourced approach to their business throughout
an association and developed relationship with the Rainforest Alliance
certification scheme, which helps to campaign against deforestation and to
promote global environmental awareness in ecological support and
sustainability, supported by data and statistics such as: “The Rainforest
Alliance estimates that 40 hectares (100 acres) of tropical rainforest are lost
every minute” (Boylston, S, 2009, p. 31). The scheme covers a great deal of
their product ranges (not all fruits used in their products are currently
covered by the Rainforest Alliance certification territory), along with the
‘Innocent Foundation’ charity, founded by the company itself, where their fruit
is primarily sourced, and to which the a majority of their 10% profit share is
donated to help support farmers and suppliers globally with crop growth and
land development.
Including the Innocent
Foundation, the brand works alongside, the brand has created many other charity
events, including ‘Taste Not Waste’ (where fruit is recycled into
smoothies at school workshops and similar events), ‘Buy one get one bee’ (where
purchasing a special edition lemon, honey and ginger smoothie helps fund the
introduction of more bees into the UK), and, most famously, ‘The Big Knit’- a
scheme which, once again, promotes itself to actively engage the product’s
consumers with charity-based events which help to promote one of the company’s
core aims in which they “consider active participation another important facet
of maintaining a good relationship with our customers” (Germain, D & Reed,
R, 2009, p. 194). To Innocent, developing relationships with its consumers
is the first step to sustainability- to promote it’s products, and consequently
to help support charities, and the methods of recycling and re-development of
it’s packaging design for a more environmentally- committed future.
Most importantly, perhaps, is the tone of voice in
which the brand’s sustainability ambitions and awareness is spread- “humour has
been used as a learning aid for a very long time and is used in advertising to
establish a connection with people” (Ambrose, A & Harris, P, 2011, p. 118),
as is the case with Innocent, in it’s playful, tongue-in-cheek illustrative
style of design, it’s use of language, and, of course, it’s charities.
All too often messages of, and campaigns to promote
environmental awareness- the affects of deforestation and ecological threats,
are presented in a somewhat pessimistic or patronizing manner- a way to evoke
the “shock factor” though stark images of the results of global warming in Al
Gore’s (previously mentioned) documentary ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, or a
“punishment” enforced upon residents by local councils for those unwilling or
unable to meet their standards in sustainable living and waste disposal
measures, but these effects rarely last- becoming built into the consumer
awareness, and, over time, loosing the “shock factor” to become another
mundane, repetitive demand or order.
The success or failure of a company is hugely
dependent on it’s brand and identity- what it stands for, and the projected
vision and goals it’s company maintains- through message and media, promotion,
and, of course, it’s endorsement of sustainable packaging and methods of
product development.
Throughout the last ten years, an increasing number of
products and companies within the food industry have competed within the
difficult, over- crowded market with the promise of sustainable packaging and
ethically- sourced and produced products. However, this alone is not enough-
society has changed, it demands more- companies must work harder to tap into
consumer psyche in a positive, productive, and aspiration way- to create an
ambition and inspiration for change- to see longevity for not only their brand,
and their range of products, but for the longevity of a sustainable future into
the research, development and utilization of sustainable materials in both the
food and drinks industry, and, most profoundly, within packaging design.
APPENDIX
//PRINTED PUBLICATION
- Ambrose, A &
Harris, P (2011), ‘Packaging the Brand’, Lausanne, AVA Publishing
- Chapman, J
(2005), ‘Emotionally Durable Design’, London/Washington, Earthscan.
- Papanek, V
(1985), ‘Design for the real world’, London, Thames & Hudson.
- McDonough, W
& Braungart, M (2000), ‘Cradle to Cradle’, New York, North Point Press.
- Boylston, S
(2009), ‘Designing Sustainable Packaging’, London, Laurence and King Publishing
Ltd.
- Germain, D &
Reed, R (2009), ‘A book about Innocent: Our story & some things we’ve
learned’, London, Penguin Books Ltd.
//ONLINE RESOURCES
- Aseptic
Solutions (2012). [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.tetrapak.com/us/packaging/aseptic_solutions/pages/default.aspx. [Accessed 15
January 2012].
- Innocent drinks
: join the family. 2012. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk/AGM/annual_report/. [Accessed 15
January 2012].
- Innocent
drinks : press. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk/press/press_clippings/. [Accessed 15
January 2012].
- Innocent drinks
: all about us. 2012. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk/us/ethics/sustainable_packaging/recycling/. [Accessed 15
January 2012].
//UNUSED SOURCES
-
Reis, D (2010), ‘Production design in the sustainable area’,
Germany, Taschen.
-
Siegle, L (2006), ‘Recycle: The Essential Guide’,
Canada, Black Dog Publishing.
-
Layard, A, Davoudi, S, & Batty, S (2001),
‘Planning for a sustainable future’, London, Spoon Press.
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