As consumers we throw things away continually. The Cradle to Cradle reading mentioned that today most durables are tossed and that throwing away products has become a daily routine. From a retail prospective I am creating a concept that focuses on packaging waste reduction. We need to implement the usage of cardboard boxes, freight carts, and paper and plastic wrappers used to ship merchandise to retail stores. When unloading boxes upon boxes of fright in the retail world, you are left with trashcans full of plastic wrappers that were used once- for the purpose of shipping the garment to the store, then throwing it away. The reading, Cradle to Cradle, the concept of how to eliminate waste was mentioned and in order to approach this method in an effective way we must go about designing things from the beginning and determine that their lifespan will end with the outcome of not becoming waste. The video Rhoener Textiles stated that our goal is to ultimately end the concept of waste. The video and reading both mentioned two lifecycles: Biological and Technical. The Cradle to Cradle metabolism that would apply to my concept would be technical metabolism. In this cycle, the wrapping materials would constantly circulate as valuable aspects to the environment as well as the industry. The service of the product is what is being provided with the Technical cycle. By shipping items packaged tightly, enabling them to be delivered to their sore destination without harm is why packaging and wrapping individual items separately is important. Giving the shipping essentials a chance to be reusable is what needs to happen. The freight carts always get delivered back, so why can’t the shipping materials have the same opportunity? After unloading freight, cutting down boxes, and removing plastic from garments, each store should not throw away these items; rather they should automatically be taken back as well for the next shipment. This will ultimately give these materials an opportunity to grow and be used multiple times, eliminating the concept of waste. Friday, March 30, 2012
The Retail World- Reusable Packaging
As consumers we throw things away continually. The Cradle to Cradle reading mentioned that today most durables are tossed and that throwing away products has become a daily routine. From a retail prospective I am creating a concept that focuses on packaging waste reduction. We need to implement the usage of cardboard boxes, freight carts, and paper and plastic wrappers used to ship merchandise to retail stores. When unloading boxes upon boxes of fright in the retail world, you are left with trashcans full of plastic wrappers that were used once- for the purpose of shipping the garment to the store, then throwing it away. The reading, Cradle to Cradle, the concept of how to eliminate waste was mentioned and in order to approach this method in an effective way we must go about designing things from the beginning and determine that their lifespan will end with the outcome of not becoming waste. The video Rhoener Textiles stated that our goal is to ultimately end the concept of waste. The video and reading both mentioned two lifecycles: Biological and Technical. The Cradle to Cradle metabolism that would apply to my concept would be technical metabolism. In this cycle, the wrapping materials would constantly circulate as valuable aspects to the environment as well as the industry. The service of the product is what is being provided with the Technical cycle. By shipping items packaged tightly, enabling them to be delivered to their sore destination without harm is why packaging and wrapping individual items separately is important. Giving the shipping essentials a chance to be reusable is what needs to happen. The freight carts always get delivered back, so why can’t the shipping materials have the same opportunity? After unloading freight, cutting down boxes, and removing plastic from garments, each store should not throw away these items; rather they should automatically be taken back as well for the next shipment. This will ultimately give these materials an opportunity to grow and be used multiple times, eliminating the concept of waste. 
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Hi, Amanda;
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting idea. Consider the weight and contents of these materials and the implications of transportation of these items back to the distribution center. Is this reducing an environmental footprint significantly? What would these packaging materials need to be made of? At what point would these materials not be usable any more, and therefore, not C2C? Just some things to consider that might refine this concept. I think your discussion of C2C could be enhanced. Give this a shot next week. Have a great weekend!
Dr. Armstrong, thank you for the feedback! C2C mentioned in the biological metabolism that packaging takes up 50% of the volume in the waste cycle and these package items can be designed as “biological nutrients.” The idea that the packaging items can be reusable for decades is the goal. However, since the plastic wrappings are so thinly made currently they would need to be more durable for this concept to work. When reusing or recycling plastic; different processing mechanisms and materials will have to be taken into place in this process as well. I’ll definitely try to enhance my blog for this week’s post. Thank you.
DeleteI think you have a very good idea Amanda! This could reduce the waste dramatically. I do agree with you that the plastic would need to be stronger to last longer. Great job on your blog!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Andrea!
DeleteHey Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI think that this is an excellent idea. I have worked in the shipping area of a retail store, preparing merchandise to be floor ready and all of the plastic materials used for shipping products may seem small, but can add up really quickly. I think the idea of reusing these materials is great and if we used more environmentally friendly materials, as you suggested, then they could be easily biodegraded in our environment once they have been worn down.