Wine Bottle sustainable design

Now in full production - the global re-design of wine bottles. 
The Lean and green wine bottle is designed to reduce the carbon footprint of glass bottles. They have been  designed to create durable, yet lighter weight bottles that are thinner but still appear the same to consumers. These bottles are upt to 28% lighter and made from 90% recycled glass!

This is more sustainable for the following reasons:

• Less glass per bottle
• Less energy and water used during manufacturing
• More bottles per pallet
• Cheaper to transport
• Less material to dispose of or recycle

It's interesting that the research shows that the main design asthetic is the height of the bottle not the width.  Therefore these bottles are the same height but are a little slimmer to give the same appearance but using less material.
Next time you pick up a bottle of plonk - look around to see if you can spot the Lean and Green logo.

Going Digital - is it more sustainable than print?

If you're a regular to this blog then you'll know that the paper industry is a big contributor to CO2 emissions, uses huge quantities of water and has petroleum inputs all along the product life-cycle.  It would seem that going digital is the sustainable option; Websites, eBooks and digital magazines don't use paper - Bingo problem solved!

But is that all there is to this equation?

Is buying and reading a magazine, newspaper or book more of less energy efficient than accessing the same information online?

To answer this we would need to do a full LCA (life cycle analysis) so let me throw a few general questions out there for you to consider:

• How many articles are read on an electronic device before it's disposed of?
• What percentage of a newspaper is actually read?
• How recyclable are tablets, eBook readers and computers? And what are their usable life span?
• How do newspapers and magazines add up in terms of recyclability and transport miles? 
• What heavy metals and toxic byproducts come from electronic goods?
• What is the impact of forestry, paper making, and ink production?
• What about the data centres that host the online versions; the aircon costs and the equipment?
• Can print on demand at regional centres reduce waste and transport costs?

Not so simple after all.. many competing factors, complex relationships and lack of information.

Case study:

Over at the guardian newspaper in the UK they are asking a similar question.  They acknowledge climate change and the economic, social and environmental challenges ahead, and are exploring their environmental footprint.
In response they have started a two year academic study to look at various scenarios know as the Sympact project. For more info - check out the this link.

Answers?
This doesn't get us any closer to answering the question, "Is digital more sustainable?" so let's make some sweeping assumptions and try and draw some sort of conclusion (un-scentifically).

• People will have computers and tablets whether I/you publish online or not. The contribution of my/your publication to the environmental cost of electronic manufacture and disposal is nearly negligible.
• Using virgin-wood paper, petroleum ink, transporting newsprint miles and dumping in landfills is not the most sustainable option.
• Using post-consumer recycled paper, vegetable-based ink and regional printing with household recycling pickups is more sustainable than the previous option.

Conclusion:
Looks like digital publishing is more sustainable if you pass the blame of production, use and disposal of all the electronic stuff onto "someone else".  The question we now have to ask is - who picks up the environmental tab for all this electronic stuff?


Find out more about the story of stuff here.
If you're interested in the sustainability of paper, ink or glue check out the sustainable graphic design quick guides here.

Why have sustainable graphic design?

Graphic design is the skill of using text, graphics and colour to communicate a message.  Traditional mediums for graphic design are business cards, brochures, flyers, posters, billboards and signs.

A primary goal of graphic design is to enhance, advertise or market this message to a specific audience.
This is where graphic design runs into the real world of "stuff".

As graphic designers we are at the forefront of stuff production and marketing - and that makes sustainability very much our business.

Here is a great animated introduction into the Story of Stuff and a good place to start this blog.



We can take this as an invitation to see what we can do, as graphic designers, to find out more about the processes and end products of our design decisions.

Stay tuned as we venture into the world of sustainable graphic design.

If you want to find out more about the sustainable graphic design blog visit this page.