Summary

Minimizing Consumables is a package design that addresses the excessive consumables people use in their everyday life. With a focus on personal hygiene, I carefully selected materials and contents that meet the basic needs for a person’s wash-bag while still being completely recyclable.

A consumable is a product that a person purchases on a regular basis because they run out of it. Personal hygiene needs are usually addressed by the many products that people use to clean, and maintain themselves. These include consumables like shampoo, soap, toothpaste, deodorant, etc. There are many consumable products available to purchase with a large variety. We are told we need more based on gender, age, attractiveness creating and perpetuating a lifestyle of excess.

There is a large cost associated with an excess of consumable products, both financially to the consumer but also environmentally. The amount of waste that gets built up with the many products individuals use contributes to landfills and pollution. The “minimal approach” to the package embodies a philosophy that if we can reduce our consumables in life, we can achieve financial stability, spend less time working, and live more sustainably. I was interested in products that would reduce waste involved in consumable products to further explore sustainability.

Process

I began the project by researching the kinds of personal hygiene and personal care products both men and women were likely to be using. I compared this to the kinds of items hotels provided guests with to increase the hospitality of their stay. I had considered a potential use of this package as a
Sample of sketches. complimentary hotel care package, seeking to provide guest with everything they needed to complete the common morning ritual of having coffee and a shower that most adult Canadians partake in. When I finally had a list of items I considered reasonable for the minimum requirements of needs, I tried it out myself. I also researched the best way to store the items, coming up with a package that also functioned as the vessel. My package is a hybrid of the roll out box and the rolling tool kit. I chose materials that were easily recyclable, and could have a second use. By choosing cork, and a way for the package to hang open the user could turn the package into a message board for themselves when they no longer require the package. I made many prototypes of a smaller size, and with a thicker paper stock than my proposed materials, so the final product was not as structurally sound as I had anticipated. Interestingly, it changed how others closed the package, changing the hexagon into a pentagon, thus solving the structural issue and making the package easier to handle at full size.

Solution

The booklet that accompanies the package includes information about the products within and how to best use the package. The booklet aims to educate the consumer in sustainable buying with information about all the research that has gone into product selection within the package. It introduces itself to the user saying; “Bongiorno. This wash bag of morning ablutions has a minimalist mission in mind. We have carefully stripped down toiletries to the most basic of consumables. By reducing consumables we can reduce waste, put cost towards quality, and save time without sacrificing luxury. Inside you will find all you need for the ritual of having a morning shower and coffee to fuel your get go. The package doubles as a storage device, hang it up or keep folded in a drawer. The cork shell can become a message board when you have used up, and recycled the contents. The coffee section can be detached and turned into a wallet. All of the materials are renewable, reusable, or recyclable and we have gone hunting for products that satisfy some serious earth love.

Included within the package is a shampoo-soap bar, moisturizer, toothpaste, toothbrush, dental floss, a razor, washcloth, deodorant and a detachable wallet with coffee, sugar, and whitener. The shampoo-soap bar does triple duty to clear hair face and body. Bar soap does not require a wrapping and has no waste. The moisturizer is suitable for all extremities, and is packaged in a metal tube that is fully recyclable. The toothpaste would be in a metal tube just like the moisturizer. The toothbrush is made entirely of bamboo and thus 100% biodegradable. The dental floss is made of silk fibres coated with beeswax and spearmint oil in a card box. The razor is made from recycled plastic that is also recyclable, the blades wrapped in a water activated moisturizer to eliminate the need for shaving cream. A metal razor is the only other option that is more eco-friendly. The facecloth is a multi function tool, for both wet and dry purposes. It can be used on the face, and body. This face cloth is made from 100% bamboo, so it is a renewable resource and entirely biodegradable. Bamboo fibres are resistant to bacteria and can withstand 5x more use and abuse than cotton could. Although I used a deodorant with a plastic container, it is possible to get them made of glass or cardboard. Our coffee is ground and self packaged in a filter like a tea bag. This way you can choose any coffee brewing method, from pour over to percolator. It is ethically produced and grown in an environmentally friendly fashion.

The products, the package, and the information system help address the problem by following through with the minimal philosophy. There are less products overall, and all of the products reduce or eliminate landfill waste by being made of recyclable materials, and/or having no wasteful packaging.