The environmental impact of packaging is a well-known problem that demands urgent measures and new ways of designing, producing, and consuming. According to the European Environment Agency, the volume of packaging waste in EU Member States increased by 15% between 2013 and 2020, reaching nearly 80 million tonnes. Currently, it is estimated that around 64% of this waste is recycled, according to official data, although recycling rates vary significantly by material type.

Here you can see the video of the talk-debate of our director, Àlex Jiménez, with Albert Fuster, the academic director of the Elisava design school, about circular design, where does this concept come from, what situation is it currently in and how It can help us project ourselves into the future in a more sustainable way.

Surely it is still too early to analyze what is happening these days, we have neither the perspective nor the cool head that a few months of routine will give us. Even so, and at the risk of being wrong for not waiting a couple of months, we have some thoughts that we want to share. These thoughts completely go beyond the field of design - although they may be related to it - but they do have a direct relationship with sustainability and our model of society.

Formaldehyde is a chemical compound widely used in building materials, paints, adhesives, furniture, fabrics, and even cosmetics. One of its most common uses – around 64% of the applications of formaldehyde according to TURI - and the one that hits closest to home for designers, is in composite or pressed woods such as particleboards, fibreboards, and plywood. Most commonly in the form of urea-formaldehyde resin, this compound is found within adhesives used to join wood laminates or particles. Formaldehyde was first introduced for this purpose in the 1950s, but its usage has been regulated since then due to the negative impact on human health.

A really popular swedish brand presented few months ago a new set of curtains produced with a fabric that absorbs co2 thanks to a process comparable to photosynthesis. We have no idea about the exact amount of co2 that this material is capable to absorb, but it seems a great idea. Anything that contributes to improve wellbeing in our homes must be considered a step forward. We also appreciate and admire innovation and novelty, and new materials are one of the most important areas of learning, because to be aware of a new one and to apply it properly can make better any project. Many of the advances that have been made in our history have been thanks to new materials, and you only have to look at the age of bronze, the iron one, or the so-called age of silicon to realize, so well done guys!

What can design do to solve the problem we presented in our previous post? A lot. Like we always say, design alone can just take small steps, we need companies (our clients) scientists and engineers (our colleagues) and specially consumers to make a real impactful change. Nevertheless, design has a strategic role which can show the way to the other actors in the scene.

We are not the first to say that in a global reality where there are increasingly more competitors, the image of a company is a key factor that must be controlled to send the right message in the intended tone. Consumers want to be identified with the brands they buy, so companies better care about how they present their products.

But packaging is not only a question of image, it is what protects what you want to sell, what the consumer sees in the store, what helps you to use the product in the right way and which completes its -generally short- life cycle by being recycled in the best of cases, or what ends up in a landfill or the sea being eaten by a fish or creating islands of waste in the worst of them.

Last week we had an interview about sustainable packaging for BeOK, a program in la Ser, one of the most important radio stations in Spain. In it Àlex Jiménez talks about how design can improve the environmental impact of packaging, materials, the process to design a more sustainable packaging, consumer behaviour,  etc.  In this link you can listen to it, do it and tell us what you think!

A couple of months ago we had to write a critical article about our vision about the design sector and the design teaching in the following years for an university of Italy, and we want to share with you the parts that were not specifically written for them! Without going as far as the 2049, because things happen every day faster, we want to show you our vision about the close future of our profession. We hope you take it as an open opinion, that it stimulates yours and of course that you share with us what you think about it!