Amicitia
Amicitia - rethinking the coffee bean packaging.
Case
Plastic has an immense impact on the environment, from the use of nonrenewable resources to the packaging being structured in such a way that the different materials obstruct the recycling. For a sustainable future, rethinking packaging by using design is essential. In a packaging design assignment, Anna Engren and I made a case for eliminating plastic in coffee bean packagings.
Coffee bean packaging serves a particular challenge since coffee beans demand very specific attributes of the packaging material. To ensure the quality the packaging needs to be resistant to grease, air and humidity. It also demands a vent to let air out, but not let any air in.
Solution
The fictional company amicitia uses carton and paper to substitute plastic in their packaging. The materials are biodegradable while still protecting the coffee beans from grease, air and humidity with a bio-coat of the carton packaging and glassine lining of the paper package.
Let’s get technical
Removing the vent would damage the quality and decrease shelf life too dramatically, so instead a new function of the vent was introduced through the design. To open the packaging you simply push the vent out to separate the plastic from the other materials. This facilitates the recycling. The packaging is then easily resealable by folding it, the paper packaging has carton clasps in its sides to secure it.