A Short Presentation on Base Materials: Metal - by Mair, Keely and Paulo

The Story of Stuff

The Story of Stuff (2008) by Annie Leonard is a short, mostly animated, documentary highlighting the root issues in our economy. With growing "greedy" corporations and extraction ("trashing the planet") taking place, it is no wonder we are running ourselves into the ground. Along with this video came some pretty shocking and eye-opening facts. For example, the USA population is approximately 5% of the entire world's population, however, shockingly, they use 30% of the world's resources. But it begs the question, is this just simply put down to greed? Or are products being "designed for the dumps"?

With media having a massive affect on our lives, advertisement is being pushed at us left, right and centre. We can't walk down the street, watch television, or sit on a train or bus without being told what we need to buy in order to lead a more fulfilling and "happier" lifestyle. As Annie Leonard talks about, it's a " Work, watch, spend" treadmill - we work to earn money, come home tired and watch television where we're told to buy things, so we go and buy them, go back to work so we can pay of debts and afford more things, then come back tired so we watch television again, where we are told to by more things..." it's a vicious - perceived obsolescence - cycle.

But it is just this? Or are these items we are buying designed for the dump? As 99% of items going through the production system are being thrown away as rubbish within only 6 months - a shockingly short amount of time. Poor quality items, for a low currency cost with only a short lifespan. These items may not be costing us, but they are costing others. These are externalised costs. The charge is going to those working in the production or near the manufacturing of these items. They lose out on their share of the pay (going to big corporations) and even on their environment, as our rubbish is being dumped on their land and their natural resources are being extracted. For example, 2000 trees in the Amazon are lost every minute due to this.

Although Annie states that even if we all were to recycle 100% of our household rubbish it would work towards stopping this out-of-control downward spiral, there is something we can do. We must work to stop consuming. Instead of buying and recycling - stop buying. Make suitable choices in what we purchase and if we don't need it, make do or decide on an eco-friendly alternative. For example, in this video (also by Annie Leonard) instead of purchasing bottled water, fill a bottle of our own and reuse it instead of throwing away empty plastic bottle after plastic bottle of water. This wouldn't make a difference to us, as, according to this video, some specific brands of water are filtered tap water anyway, regardless of their "make them scared to drink tap water" marketing techniques.

So, in conclusion, instead of buying into these big corporations, we must stop and evaluate. Do we really need this product in our lives? Would finding an alternative work just as well, if not, better? Can we reuse it instead of throwing it out? If we make these positive changes in our own lives, maybe then might we see a difference.

Theoretical Prototype

For my initial theoretical prototype concept/s, I have taken inspiration from my research into sustainable, recyclable and eco-friendly packaging to design a suitable shoe box. My shoe box design would be used in the transportation of (preferably, but not limited to) canvas shoes. Using a similar approach to a use after its primary use as 'Toms - One for One', where for every shoe purchased, the consumer would then use the same box they received their shoes in, to send an old pair of shoes back to the company. The consumers new shoes would come wrapped in recycled paper which has, printed upon it, a nautical-style map of where their old shoes/materials from their old shoes that are sent back to the company end up.

 1) A 100% recyclable cardboard box held together tight with string (shoes accessible on small side of box as shown in diagram 2). This is sustainable as no material used would go to waste.

 2) A set layout of the recyclable box in which the old and new shoes would be transported in.

3) (Use of a smaller box-shape in photograph so the design is visible) the 'nautical style' wrapping for the shoes inside the box, for protection of the shoes, and to inform the consumer where their old shoes will be sent.

4) The three final designs for my theoretical prototype (not drawn to scale).

Box Designs Research

Although initially designed as chocolate packaging with a rugged military ration feel and old typewritten forms, This particular aesthetic, simple 'box and string' design would certainly work as a potential shoe box.

Originally designed as a 'cutting board package' for bread, this particular box layout set would work in perfect conjunction with the above chocolate box design.

As a variation on the simple box, this design for Incase offers a simple and clean design with a more innovative way to open and close the package, with a flip lid that resembles a satchel bag.

 Why use cardboard when you can use durable, softer materials? As customers today are in seem to need of reassurance of where their product can be sourced, this design for Phil Bowditch Fishmonger shows exactly where their product has come from by displaying it on the nautical maps in which their product is wrapped in, then it is placed in a recyclable bag. A win-win design.

This design for Vim Popcorn may be a little different to previous designs, however this design would work for shoes resembling 'Toms' and softer, canvas shoes - giving a more exciting take on a simple shoe box.

Toms Case Study

Toms are not only a shoe company, but a growing organisation (One for One). Their movement is simple, for every pair of Toms purchased, they give another pair of new Toms to children in need. Toms has thus far given 2,000,000 pairs of shows to children all around the world.

Awareness days have also been set up, such as "One Day Without Shoes" to help understand the impact a pair of shoes can have on a child's life, as without them, many children are exposed to injury and disease each day, whether at play, doing chores or going to school.

Set up by Blake Mycoskie in 2006 (the year in which 10,000 pairs of shoes were personally delivered by himself, family and friends to children in need) as a company, Toms aims to help minimise the amount of children who have to go without shoes, by encouraging others to purchase a pair of their shoes.

Traditional Packaging Prototype

Task: Using as few new resources as possible, produce a working prototype pack design that safely transports 3 tangerines - displayed attractively, with the tangerines visible.


For this task, we were given only string and cardboard in which to create a suitable form of packaging to transport the three tangerines.

To create strength in our packaging, we used layers of folded cardboard, held firm by tight string to keep the box together and to use as a 'carry handle'. We were given cardboard already pre-cut into a specific shape, so we used the shape as a part of our final prototype design. We used cardboard inside the outer shell of the design to keep the fruit from rolling around and being damaged.

If I could design this with my group again, I would design it with similarities to the traditional Japanese rice straw design for eggs and fruit, as our design may not have been suitable had the design been tipped on to its side or upside-down. However, for the most part, our prototype would have kept the fruit safe, and is an easily transportable design for smaller distances.

An Introduction to Traditional Japanese Packaging

The Utilitarian Logic/Lineage

 1) Magnolia Leaf Wrap

Used for wrapping rice cakes (alike bamboo and oak leaves, which are used to wrap rice dumplings)

2) Rural Rope Wrapping 

 Used for the preservation and protection of fish

 3) Rice Straw

Used for easy transport and protection of food such as eggs and fruit

Utilitarian Lineage packaging is made from entirely natural materials and is appropriate for storing, protection, preservation and is a sustainable solution to minimal (free of excess), beautiful, simplistic packaging.





The Handicraft

Handicraft packaging is a more conscious set of designs which were created by craftsmen to design more "art-based" packaging. These designs were considered more sophisticated.