Digital disruption has become common in the past decade, with the consumer move to shopping online, forcing a shift with many products and industries. The Tide Eco-Box is the perfect example of this.
We are now beginning to also see a sustainability disruption, with consumers demanding a greater focus, and understanding, of the environmental impact of a product. This sustainability trend is likely to increase in the coming years exponentially.
When both these digital and sustainability initiatives come together, the joint disruption offers a substantial benefit for both business and the environment.
And what could be a more exciting product than Tide laundry detergent, and the Tide Eco-Box, to be a leading example of this joint disruption!
The Problem with Product Packaging
Tide laundry detergent bottles are a flagship example of traditional product marketing for a retail environment. A big, brightly coloured plastic bottle, designed to grab the attention of consumers on a crowded supermarket aisle.
The big plastic bottle is an issue in itself. However, with the growth in eCommerce, the environmental impact of this plastic bottle is doubled down by the extra Packaging required to ship this oddly shaped piece of plastic.
Proctor and Gamble, the manufacturers of Tide, have therefore joined forces with Amazon to reinvent this iconic design. The Tide Eco-Box has been developed as a packaging solution specifically for both the online and growing sustainability focused consumers.
Tide Eco-Box
The primary aim of the Tide Eco-Box was to create product packaging focused on servicing the growing online market. The goal was to make the product more straightforward and economical to ship, both for the business and the environment.
With online customer acquisition influenced by data and not Packaging, the size or shelf impression of a product’s Packaging becomes irrelevant. This allows packaging designers to focus solely on the functional requirements for selling online, with the size of Packaging reduced by using a higher concentration liquid.
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“As a consumer, when I’m unboxing packages and I’m taking out the layers of bubble wrap and the packaging it feels wasteful. So to design that out of the product and start with something that doesn’t require a secondary package and it ships in its own container, that’s a huge win for the environment.”
Elizabeth Kinney, Senior Communications Manager, Procter & Gamble
This packaging optimisation is a commercial win for the business with reduced cost and ease of shipping. There is also a significant upside for the environment.
Key benefits of Tide Eco-Box vs Plastic Bottle:
- 60 percent less plastic
- 30 percent less water
- 4 pounds lighter
- Doesn’t require secondary protective Packaging
Amazon Sustainable Packaging Initiatives
It is very much in Amazon’s interest to make products easier to sell online. With consumers already rapidly moving towards online shopping, by making the process even more seamless for both brand and consumer, Amazon further strengthen their market domination.
This, in turn, has considerable upside for the environment and the Tide Eco Box is not the first initiative launched by Amazon. Frustration-Free Packaging was launched 11 years ago, a sustainable packaging initiative that has eliminated 458,000 tons of packaging materials, and 1 billion shipping boxes.
“This is a very important topic for our customers. They expect us to collaborate with selling partners like Procter & Gamble to innovate on their behalf. And ultimately, it’s around reducing packaging waste.”
Brent Nelson, Engineer, Amazon
Read more on the Tide Eco-Box and ongoing Amazon sustainable packaging initiatives.
Further Reading: Water-soluble packaging: A new plastic alternative. Read More