* Final essay submission for OUGD205 module hand-in//
“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 is the behavioural developments within the new millennium of in
terms of environmental awareness. This being a behaviour that has swept across
the globe, in what some may perceive to be a necessary, fundamental manner,
others perhaps more influenced by guilt from politics and the media, whether
this be from a subconscious or pessimistic standpoint. This increased awareness
can be found in National council promotions to Nobel Peace Prize winner (and former
Presidential candidate) Al Gore’s 2006 high budget 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), and the designer’s
responsibility to promote and produce sustainable products and reproduction.
‘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
& Harris, 2011, p. 172).
The role of
packaging, and graphic designers as visual communicators, has become more
important than ever.
“It is
ultimately the designer who creates the interface between the consumer and the
technology underlying the shell or surface of a manufactured product. Thus the
designer’s ability to play the role of environmental champion is unequalled
compared with others.” (Lewis & Gertsakis, 2001, p.15).
Along with
the more recent concerns of product sustainability, designers have the
responsibility 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, therefore attempting to create a balance between environmentalism and
aesthetics, but can it ever truly be achieved? 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 & Harris,
2011, p. 112).
With this
increased environmental awareness, as previously referenced, branding and
identity, the aesthetics of a brand is more important than ever, and,
communicating the brand or products environmental dedication and aims being a
major priority. However, despite the consumers attempts to live a more sustainable,
organic or natural lifestyle in terms of product and consumption choices,
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. 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. To
be truly sustainable, realistically, companies would not produce packaging for
it’s products, and to ensure that methods of production are carbon neutral, in
which the energy that is produced to make the product is reproduced through
recyclable materials, sustainable harvesting, and through intensive and
monitored environmental commitment.
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 & Harris,
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 & Harris, 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).
As discussed
in Victor Papanek’s 1985 publication, ‘Design for the Real World’, referenced
above, despite decades of awareness, the development of environmental and
sustainable packaging has only 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)
, which is
now possible 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 & Braungart, 2000, p.27). Not only do companies within
the food industry have the responsibility of their own environmental
conscience, but now also that of the consumer- 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. An online review from The City Magazine states (The City
Magazine, 2010, innocent drinks :
press. http://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk/press/press_clippings/):
‘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…’
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, which has proved 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 & Reed, 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 Design team that 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 & Reed, 2009, p. 194). To Innocent, developing
relationships with its consumers is the first step to sustainability, to
promote its 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, & Harris, 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, losing
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.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
PRINTED PUBLICATION
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Ambrose, A & Harris, P (2011), ‘Packaging the Brand’, Lausanne, AVA
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Papanek, V (1985), ‘Design for the real world’, London, Thames & Hudson.
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McDonough, W & Braungart, M (2000), ‘Cradle to Cradle’, New York, North
Point Press.
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Boylston, S (2009), ‘Designing Sustainable Packaging’, London, Laurence and
King Publishing Ltd.
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Germain, D & Reed, R (2009), ‘A book about Innocent: Our story & some
things we’ve learned’, London, Penguin Books Ltd.
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UNUSED SOURCES
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