London-based “innovation and design agency” Echo Brand Design has announced its involvement in a European Union-backed, reusable plastic packaging project titled BUDDIE-PACK.
Echo says that a “significant” solution to plastic pollution is to consider a durable returnable plastic system that works to keep plastic out of our environment and ecosystems.
The new initiative, BUDDIE-PACK, works to implement a systemic approach for the large-scale deployment of reusable plastic packaging (RPP) to cut down the production of single-use plastic packaging, reduce water and energy consumption and avoid the release of microplastics into the oceans, Echo says.
Echo says sustainable design is a key pillar of its project work and the agency is offering its expertise on renewable packaging, sustainable communication and product solutions alongside an “in-depth knowledge” of their application to encourage more sustainable consumer behaviours.
Circular packaging and systems are the future but it’s challenging for brands to make a fundamental switch.
The 19 businesses involved in the project, spanning six countries, enter the partnership with the shared goal of meeting the EU’s sustainability targets, Echo says.
Based on “innovative” designs, recyclable material use, and a multidisciplinary approach combining social, technological, and economic innovations, Echo says BUDDIE-PACK will develop manufactured packaging fulfilling the demanding requirements of RPP.
The project will focus on cleaning solutions to guarantee the safety of consumers against the possible contamination and ageing of RPP during their repeated use, and the durability of their functional properties to avoid food spoilage up to 300 cycles, Echo says.
Co-founder and Creative Director of Echo, Andy Capper, said: “Circular packaging and systems are the future but it’s challenging for brands to make a fundamental switch after a hundred years of perfecting one-way packaging.
“Being part of this amazing programme offers an opportunity to make a big impact on the future of packaging, using our design, insight and technical understanding, builds a deep knowledge of all the challenges that we can apply to our commercial work going forward.”