Packaging Design and Environmental Awareness

Summary of contents: In the packaging design process, designers should constantly strengthen their awareness of environmental protection, curb "excessive packaging" from the source, and advocate "appropriate packaging." This paper proposes to implement a scientific development concept of comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development, actively promote the development of circular economy, update design concepts and design methods, and rely on scientific and technological innovation and design innovation to improve the level of packaging design.

Keywords: packaging design, environmental awareness, excessive packaging, moderate packaging.

I. Containing "over-packaging" from the source - relevant government departments formulate and improve regulations on packaging

As an emerging industry in China, the packaging industry occupies an important position in the national economy. Among the 40 major industries in the country, the packaging industry ranks 12th, and bears a large number of domestic and international commodity packaging tasks each year. After more than 20 years of rapid development, China's packaging has made remarkable achievements. However, it has not yet been free from the traditional extensive economic growth mode of “high input, high consumption, high pollution, and low efficiency”. According to relevant statistical data, the waste caused by packaging accounted for about 30% of the total amount of waste in the cities of China.

In the increasingly fierce market competition, some packaging companies in China are currently pursuing profit maximization and using "unexcessive packaging" or "luxury packaging" as a means of occupying the market by making use of regulations or loopholes in the existing regulations that are not perfect. In terms of value composition, the cost of packaging far exceeds the cost of using the value of the product. For example: a small brooch trim piece must be packaged in three layers and three layers outside, ignoring the packing volume and parameters of the inner space; 4 small moon cakes with more than 10 kinds of gifts, but with side lengths 60 cm, 20 cm thick box for packaging and so on. No wonder consumers are questioning whether they are selling goods or selling packaging. "Excessive packaging" not only consumes a lot of wealth, it causes great waste of resources and environmental pollution, but it also seriously damages the interests of consumers and ruin the social atmosphere. Some alienated goods (such as “metal mooncakes” with prices of thousands or even tens of thousands of yuan, foods inlaid with natural gemstones, etc.) are used for “rewards and salvation” and have become an alternative type of corruption. These shocking phenomena have long attracted the attention of the relevant government departments, the public and designers.

Faced with the "excessive packaging" and alienated products that have emerged, if the "end governance" is implemented, it will not only have a large number of products, but will also have poor governance results, and the cost of governance will also be very high. In order to curb "excessive packaging" from the source, to combat and prevent unhealthy practices, and to standardize the market order and the management of the packaging industry, it is necessary for the relevant government departments to formulate or improve relevant packaging management regulations and laws. For example: "Product Quality Law", "Anti-unfair Competition Law", "Product Labeling Regulations", "Rules for Detection of Net Content of Prepackaged Commodities," "Parameter Criteria for Various Cost Ratios of Packaging," "Environmental Protection of Solid Waste Pollution "Law", "Administrative Measures for Compulsory Recycling of Packaging," and "Appropriate Packaging Management Program". For enterprises that have no orders or regulations, they must resolutely punish severely according to law. Among these regulations and laws, some define the responsibilities and obligations of production companies, such as grasping the source of production of product packaging, and insisting on the principle of who is responsible for production, and stipulating that production companies have the responsibility to recycle various types of packaging waste. , improve resource utilization, reduce packaging costs, promote good faith management, etc.; some based on daily necessities and non-daily necessities packaging, respectively, a reasonable limit on the ratio of goods packaging and commodity value and volume, volume ratio, and developed Limit the "misleading packaging" of quantitative standards. These laws and programs that have been or are being revised, formulated, and under consideration have brought China's packaging industry into the orbit of legalization and standardization management. They have played a key role in advocating "moderate packaging" and environmental protection, and have further promoted our country. The healthy development of the packaging industry and recycling economy.

2. Advocating "moderate packaging" from the source - Continuously strengthening designers' environmental awareness in the packaging design process

With the development of the market economy and the increase in people's multi-level consumer demand, the function of modern packaging has also undergone great changes in terms of connotation and extension. The main ones are: to protect the goods, to facilitate storage and transportation, to facilitate the use, to beautify the goods, and to convey information. Promote sales, shape product image, enhance brand image, develop corporate image, and protect the environment. Packaging is one of the important means of competition in the modern commodity market. Packaging design is the source of product packaging production. The appearance of "excessive packaging" is a dereliction of duty for packaging manufacturers and designers. The evils caused by it cause serious problems for humans and the natural environment. The hazards. Therefore, a competent packaging designer must not only have the ability to grasp the overall design of the package, and the ability to comprehensively use multi-disciplinary knowledge, but also must have good professional ethics and a strong sense of social responsibility. It should be based on human survival and development. From the point of departure, in the packaging design process, we follow the national regulations on packaging and continuously strengthen environmental awareness. We advocate "moderate packaging," which is "scientific, economical, beautiful, reasonable, and marketable" from the source, namely: perfect packaging function, proper use of packaging materials, It meets the requirements of safety, sanitation, and economy, and is conducive to environmental protection and human health. The volume and capacity of the packaging are moderate, the cost and cost are reasonable, and the interests of consumers are safeguarded. Various labels, labels, and signs conform to the packaging regulations.

The correct packaging design process should be the simultaneous development of product development and packaging design, market research and planning activities in advance, from the perspective of environmental protection, combined with the market and consumer demand, the design of the target market, product and packaging, product development and Production process, packaging production process, selection and recycling of packaging materials, packaging modeling and structural design, packaging visual communication design, packaging protection technology processing and packaging cost accounting, etc., are included in the overall system design of packaging The final product is formed and sold in the market. Through market inspection and consumption information feedback, we continuously improve product and product packaging design to form a virtuous circle and continuously promote system engineering.

In the packaging design process, the designer should check the various links with the “reduction, regeneration, and recycling” social and economic activity standards to improve the utilization of resources. For packaging materials, reasonable selection should be made according to the packaging function and the nature of the product. Under the premise of meeting the packaging function, the packaging materials should be easily reused, recycled, and naturally degraded, without causing any harm to the human body and the ecological environment. Try to use traditional environmental protection materials based on natural materials such as shellfish, bamboo, rattan, wood, earth, stone, cotton, hemp, palm grass, plant stems and leaves, etc., in accordance with local conditions and the use of materials. In terms of package shape and structure, we should proceed from the packaging function, take people as the basis, rationally design the packaging's shape, structure, and buffer, reasonably calculate the size and volume of the packaging, reduce the resource consumption, save the cost, and study the display and sales effect of the packaging and storage. Scientifically, the packaging materials should be compatible with the structural requirements and morphological changes of the overall design and be compatible with the mass production process of the packaging.

Third, the conclusion

The realization of the principle of “best production, best design, best consumption, and least disposal” of commodity packaging requires the full cooperation of governments, enterprises, designers, and consumers, and requires the understanding and support of the entire society. “Environmental protection is actually a public undertaking... Public opinion is the driving force for environmental protection and progress.” Under the background of economic globalization, the Chinese packaging industry must completely get rid of the current extensive economic growth mode, and only implement comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development. The concept of scientific development, actively promote the development of circular economy, strengthen environmental awareness, strengthen market awareness of competition, update design concepts and design methods, rely on scientific and technological innovation, design innovation to improve the level of packaging design. China is an emerging large-scale packaging industry, but it should have become a strong packaging industry as soon as possible.