Nicole - Sustainable Packaging - Clever Little Bag

Puma's Clever Little Bag
Boxes are everywhere we look, we live in them, our food is in them and we even drive in them.  They have been around longer than the wheel.  However, shoe boxes are now accountable for millions of tons of waste.  Puma decided to research this area in order to produce a sustainable alternative to the shoe box that would reduce their environmental impact on the world.

They spent 21 months working on materials and fabrication methods to reduce material and shipping costs.  Their initial 2000 ideas resulted in over 40 packaging prototypes concluding with an idea which they named the 'Clever Little Bag'.

On production of the Clever Little Bag they calculated that their carbon emissions related to manufacturing and packaging design would be reduced by approximately 10,000 tons of CO2 equivalent.

The Clever Little Bag saves 8500 tons of paper as it now uses 65% less cardboard than a standard shoe box.   It also uses 20 million less mega joules of electricity, 1 million litres less of water, 1 million litres less of fuel oil, 500,000 litres less of diesel oil and 275 tons less of plastic.  There is also no laminated printing and no tissue paper used.  The bag is non-woven which means less work and waste in production.

Puma can still transport and store the Clever Little Bag whilst continuing to satisfy consumer needs as the customer can now transport their shoes home without the need for any further packaging.  They can then re-cycle the cardboard and re-use the branded bag at a later date for storage or shopping etc.

The name Clever Little Bag attracts attention and therefore highlights the efforts Puma have made in the area of sustainable packaging.  The result of all their research and design is a product that is much more sustainable than its predecessor and unique to Puma.  They have broken the mould of the traditional shoe box and hopefully set a precedent for other companies both within and out of the industry to aspire to.

Manifesto points covered: 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 11, 12, 14.

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