Analysis of Green Packaging Design Patterns

Abstract : This paper discusses the ecological balance relationship between human and nature in green packaging design, and how to improve the market competitiveness of its products at home and abroad. Facilitate people to face a basic problem again: what kind of product packaging market demand, how to design these product packaging. Based on the strategic thinking of sustainable development, we propose to explore new packaging design patterns, communicate green information and guide green consumption.

Keywords: design pattern green design cycle cycle regeneration or degradation material characteristics

Saving natural resources and protecting the ecological environment are the basic contents of the sustainable development strategy. As an important part of social and economic activities, commodity packaging will inevitably embark on the road to sustainable development—green packaging. People are aware that different design patterns must be adopted in dealing with two different concepts: industrial society and a sustainable development society. The environmentally friendly packaging design model is to put environmental protection safety first in the design of product packaging. It is the increasingly serious environmental pollution in the process of modern industrial development. It is based on the strategic thinking of sustainable development and begins to explore new ones. The new concept proposed by the design model, and China has also adopted the corresponding legislative work and countermeasures, and constantly enhance the public's awareness of environmental protection, eliminating those directly or indirectly caused by the environmental pollution in the design, production, consumption of the material products. These general development trends cause packaging designers and related industries to face new challenges in the market competition for product innovation design. It prompts people to face a fundamental problem again: What kind of product packaging does the market demand, how to design these product packaging products, The use of the process determines the people's lifestyle, so people often say that product design is the design of lifestyle, especially the concept of daily necessities, such as daily necessities, which are closely related to life. It can thus be seen that the reality of the challenges associated with the environment and the relationship between pollution and consumption will enable designers and engineers to work towards the long-term goal of protecting energy and resources. It can be predicted that green packaging will become the mainstream of packaging design in the future. Both companies and designers should have a farsighted vision to engage in green products, and green packaging design will improve the competitiveness of their products at home and abroad.

1 External factors of green packaging design

Packaging is the beautification of products, and the concept of “green” makes this beautification process more environmentally friendly, so that the packaging does not have environmental pollution after it has played a role in the product life cycle. It refers to the design of the product and packaging life cycle combined. For a long time, people's understanding and practice of packaging design is based on market demand and product promotion. Its design and innovation focus on the two areas of product and sales considerations, and rarely involves environmental issues. The challenges of the environment have made people realize that two different ways of thinking must be taken in dealing with two different concepts: an industrial society and a sustainable society. The packaging design model is to promote the change from waste control to green products. If a product can only be used once, the next fate of this product is definitely garbage, which is a product that can be reused many times. When it is used up for the last time, it means that the product's lifespan is over and it becomes garbage. Therefore, the product life cycle becomes an indicator to determine the degree of environmental pollution of this or this type of product. Green packaging design regards packaging products as the elements of human survival, designing product packaging with materials that are non-polluting to the human body and the environment, and that can be recycled or recycled. The requirements are from the market demand for packaging products, design, development and production. The cycle of recycling after discarding after transportation, sales, and use, and the interaction of packaging design products with people and the environment at each stage of the cycle. At the same time, it emphasizes that human beings follow the laws of ecology and social aesthetics, and use scientific tactics and methods to make artificial articles conform to natural humanistic characteristics. What it brings to people is not a transient visual shock but a lasting material and spiritual enjoyment. . Green packaging design mainly involves the following aspects.

1.1 Use of environmentally friendly packaging materials

Environmental packaging has a clear definition of the recycling of packaging materials, duplication of renewable packaging materials, edible packaging materials, soluble materials and natural paper materials. Environmental packaging is reflected in: First, the use of materials, the least waste, optimize the packaging structure, reduce the consumption of packaging materials, and strive to reduce packaging. The second is that it is easy to recycle and re-use, research and develop non-toxic, non-polluting (including the material's own production process), recyclable, renewable or degradable packaging raw materials. The third is the packaging of waste materials, no longer produce secondary pollution. The fourth is to use natural materials or renewable resources as much as possible, such as paper, wood, bamboo weaving materials, wicker, reeds, etc., which can be easily decomposed in the natural environment, do not pollute the ecological environment, and can be renewable resources, the cost is low.

1.2 The green packaging design is to determine the target design stage from the various stages of the packaging product cycle. According to market research and material information, the company fully proposed a green packaging design program, analyzed the production process of packaging materials, determined the design parameters, and ensured that the basic functions of product packaging were ensured to avoid excessive packaging. Design performance, including form, structure of the style, graphics, text, color, etc. to meet the aesthetic needs of green products, strict visual pollution.

Production stage. It is necessary to fully consider how to improve the manufacturing process, and focus on the selection of lightweight, thin, non-toxic, high-performance packaging materials, reduce packaging costs as much as possible, save packaging material resources, and reduce the amount of waste generated packaging materials. Transport (sales) stage. The design improvement of transport packaging, that is, according to the hidden dangers of the goods in the transportation process, consider the attributes, characteristics, uses, and modes of transportation of different commodities, reduce the energy consumption, and consider how to reduce the load of the product packaging on the environment.

Consumer stage. The use of products determines the lifestyle of people, so people often say that product design is the design of lifestyle. Since 1997, the International Consumers Association has carried out a series of activities on the subject of “sustainable development and green consumption”, which has attracted great attention from governments and green environmental organizations. Many consumers now regard buying green products as a fashion, as a pursuit of a higher level of product quality, and the era of green consumption has arrived.

Recovery stage. One is that when designing, it is necessary to consider how easy it is for product packaging to be recycled. Any packaging container that can be reused is itself not only a packaging attached to the commodity, but also an independent commodity or container outside the commodity. It has high Values ​​or functions other than the packaging value, and through the design of the structure and material, preset the disassembly and classification after use. The second is to consider how easily the packaging material can be recycled, because it is difficult to extract the pure material from the mixture, and the mixing of some materials cannot be separated. Therefore, the green rational allocation of materials must be considered in the design.

2 Green Packaging Design Material Selection

2.1 vigorously develop paper packaging

At present, paper packaging is recognized as a good packaging for recycling and processing. Paper packaging has many advantages, such as relatively abundant resources, easy recycling, and no pollution. Western developed countries have long been using paper packaging to package hamburgers, fast food, beverages, etc., and have the potential to replace plastic flexible packaging.

2.2 Selection of composite materials

Pure natural environmental protection packaging materials have no pollution, but they have high commercial costs and are a serious waste of the earth's resources. On the basis of following the basic principles, composite environmental protection packaging materials are more cost-effective, non-polluting, and easy to recycle. , will become the mainstream of environmental protection packaging in the future. For example, the new metal-plastic composite plate produced in China is made of a metal plate as the surface layer, a thermoplastic modified polyphenylene oxide as the intermediate layer, and a proprietary technology of catalytic fusion. It is light weight, strong and easy to process and shape. Particularly suitable for decorative exterior walls.

3 Traditional natural packaging materials

Our ancestors began to use existing materials directly around the world and packaged their work and life. The packaging not only stores and protects, transports, uses, but also has long-term In the application process, packaging is used as a means of survival in close connection with the living environment. For example, during primitive society, people invented pottery and weaving technology in long-term labor practices to store food and daily necessities. This is one of the earliest forms of packaging using traditional natural materials. With the development of production technology, raw materials have been processed through technology to produce paper, fabrics, ceramics, etc. After countless choices and discards, unique green packaging quality connotations and ethnic packaging styles have been created. Value and environmental protection are still glorious. As a new design idea and method, green packaging design has attracted wide recognition and attention from all countries in the world. People’s pursuit of quality of life is the origin of human creative activities. Green packaging products are developed based on the strong need of humans to improve their living styles and improve their quality of life. Design plays a pivotal role in it, and it conforms to people’s Demand J, at the same time, stimulated the attention of the natural environment at all stages of the green packaging product cycle, and formed a green packaging project with green packaging product design as a leader. In 1998, China promulgated the Provisional Management Measures for the Recycling of Packaging Resources, which stipulated the disposal of waste.

Experts called for the establishment and improvement of the “Resources and Utilization Law” as soon as possible, which is of great significance for the realization of China’s sustainable development strategy. Therefore, it is necessary and urgent that green environmental protection packaging design is proposed as a strategy. It will promote our country’s art and design. The packaging industry has developed better and faster to the direction of humanistic survival, prompting China to make series of researches and reflections on green packaging, form breakthroughs, and material revolutions, as well as exploring new ideas.

Shi Jun Xiangfan College Source: "Packaging Engineering"