Get the facts: Eco Boxes

Our eco box fact sheets can help you get started choosing the right box for your product.

Need help deciding? Whether it’s food packaging, or beauty product packaging, takeaway containers, or general product packaging –  our experienced design team can help you make the right decision.

Recycled Eco Product Box using post consumer waste

We offer 100% post-consumer waste boxes suitable as a presentation box. With few eco box options in the current market, we’ve made sure to source only the best options available. With a 285GSM paperboard, it is the ideal brand box.

The recycled box has full print options. Match it with your custom design or brand identity, and get ready to send out to customers.

Design features:
• 100% post-consumer waste box
• Ideal presentation box to show off your product
• Full print options
• 285GSM paperboard

View more details…

 

Moulded Pulp Clamshell box with sleeve

Moulded pulp is traditionally made from recycled paperboards or newspaper. Mostly used as a protective packaging for food or storage trays, such as egg boxes, it has quickly become a popular choice as an eco-package for a wide variety of products.

Design features:
• 100% recyclable
• Reusable packaging
• Contains no toxins or chemicals
• With a custom designed sleeve, embossed lettering, stickers and/or labels, it is the perfect addition to any brand packaging

View more details…

 

Sustainable graphic design methods to invest in

Sustainable graphic design methods to invest in

As package designers, we are always looking for ways to improve our sustainable graphic design methods. Whether it be to improve how our offices function to the way we print our products. In addition to educating our clients and suppliers, we also want to offer them the very best of every product and service. For us, this means aiming for a 100% eco-friendly environment.

Are you a design company? We’ve got a couple of easy steps to boost your sustainability measures and create a real difference in your business.

Sustainable office space

We are big fans of eco-friendly measures in the office that encourage everybody to participate and make a difference. While there are many measures to take, for instance recycling, composting and re-use, how about tackling some of the bigger issues. Are you a big AC fan? There are more effective and sustainable methods to cool down or heat up your office space. Consider swapping to solar heating, which is a great and easy option to fuel your household or office space.

Printing processes

Whether it be cutting down on your printing needs, the processes of printing can become more eco-friendly. Many inks and solvents can be toxic to the environmental as a polluter. Others can contain heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and barium., which can have consequences on health, as well as the environment. It might be wise to invest in eco-friendly printing ink and solvents, which will be well received from clients and suppliers.

Giving back

Here at RooCreate, we want to emphasise on giving back to our community. There are some great community efforts and organisations that can help you reduce your carbon footprint. Fifteen Trees plants a tree in your name to offset your emissions. We are also big supporters of Clean Up Australia and their yearly clean up day, as well as Keep Australia Beautiful for their efforts to educate communities.

Sources:

http://www.business.vic.gov.au/marketing-sales-and-online/business-sustainability/sustainability-in-graphic-and-web-design

http://www.sonjameyer.com.au/4-practices-sustainable-graphic-design
https://15trees.com.au/about/

The secret behind great branding

Ideas

The secret behind great branding

Great design creates great brands, one impossible without the other. Your brand is the face of your business, the book cover that echoes your values and purposes. What makes a brand recognisable or memorable is the design process behind it. There is a science behind well-known brands. They offer an immediate impression and often bring back a fond memory, connecting to consumers on an emotional and personal level.

A brand has three aspects to it. The first aspect is the emotional connection that deals with the way a consumer considers a particular brand. The second is the visual aspect, which signifies how well the consumer identifies with the company. The third part is accompanies by the logo, where all aspects intersect and form an image identified to the brand.

The Starbucks Coffee Company is the perfect example of a brand that epitomises the commercial use of their logo. It is recognised around the world and immediately brings a certain “feeling” with consumers. The secret behind their success is their brand identity.

The first step to a successful brand is creating a logo that represents the brand identity inside and out. The logo needs to resonate not only to the company itself, but to its customer. If you lack a connection with your consumers, you will struggle to achieve a consumer basis. Before you start your brand journey, carefully consider all of the elements that come together to form your brand. For most businesses, the struggle is finding out where to start. Having access to expert design advice will assist you with this journey and get you on the right path.

The fundamentals of design

Fundamentals of Design

The fundamentals of design

Milton Glaser once said, “good design doesn’t date, bad design does”.

Glaser was not mistaken. Not only do we see bad design go as quickly as it comes, we are reminded that good design is a staple of our every day life, becoming a memorable identity. Fundamentals of design come down to the smallest of elements. Dots, lines, shapes and forms come together to create elemental design, however an understanding of how these elements coincide with each other is essential. A dot can have an underlying meaning, while a shape can be playful and whimsical, all depending on the desired outcome.

Fundamentals of design within packaging

Adding patterns, textures and colours contributes to an entirely new dimension to a design. Patterns and textures represent depth and help differentiate between elements, while colours express emotions and feelings, altering the way the viewer perceived and interprets the design.

Further more, package design requires unity, which can be achieved through laws of interactions.

These are a series of tools that gives designers the power to alter visual elements of a design, which plays a vital role in how a viewer recognises certain components and comprehends the information relayed. This may include contrasting points, item position, depth, dimensions and perspectives.

Great design evolves around understanding the fundamental principles of design. It becomes living and transcends trends. It may take years for a designer to fully understand and successfully apply fundamental principles of design. At RooCreate, we track down the great design thinkers to provide you with only the best design capabilities available for your brand.

Eco design in the beauty industry

RooCreate labels

The latest beauty trend is nothing you have seen before. It doesn’t involve a new colour palette, a bold lipstick or a rejuvenating face mask, but rather all about eco design. Beauty has rarely focused on sustainability issues with either product ingredients or packaging. However, with a growing demand for eco design and beauty, companies have discovered the benefits of becoming eco-friendly, and brands are jumping on board.

Eco design on the rise

The use of plastic is the main culprit in the industry. Most of the products you see in stores are wrapped in plastics, tubes and bottles made from plastic, and quickly thrown in the trash once used up. A bottle you might use for 6 months will then take 1000 years to break down!  (http://www.postconsumers.com/2011/10/31/how-long-does-it-take-a-plastic-bottle-to-biodegrade/).

Recently, Estee Lauder set up guidelines to implement sustainable packaging across some of their most popular brands. The company believes that eco design throughout their packaging can meet the requirements of design and usability, and that this shift in material is not a hindrance, but an opportunity of responsibility. (https://www.elcompanies.com/our-commitments/sustainability/product-and-packaging-innovation#packaging-design)

Making a difference

With a surge of “green” beauty brands coming on the market, there is a clear indication that the public likes what they see, and believe in the sustainability that they purchase. Not only is this a great factor for boosting sales, but also the public’s impression of the brand itself. Consumers care about the planet more than ever, which makes it the perfect time for brands to make a difference.

At RooCreate, we can help your beauty products reach the market in a sustainable and progressive matter, addressing environmental issues whilst giving the public what they want.

Sources:

https://www.allure.com/story/eco-friendly-beauty-packaging-trend-2017 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/fashion/25skin.html

Breaking the cycle of business waste

Breaking the cycle of business waste

At RooCreate, we’re dedicated to help people adopt eco-friendly practices in order to break the cycle of business waste. More and more businesses are discovering ways to make a difference, whether it’s in their own office or across an entire company. The easiest way to start is cutting down on office waste.

The first step to reducing waste in businesses is knowing exactly how much waste is produced. More than half of businesses in Australia don’t record how much they waste, which is something that needs to be addressed. And while some businesses have taken steps to minimise their waste, there is still a long way to go.

We’ve gathered some easy solutions to start cutting down on your waste, but also encouraging others to follow suit. While not all of these might apply to your business, we suggest creating your own initiatives and goals to cutting down waste.

1. Get educated

Know what waste is and where to throw it. More than half of businesses don’t keep a record of their waste, meaning that they have no indication of possible improvements. While most people see it as common knowledge to recycle and compost, it is never bad practice to educate staff about the importance of doing it correctly.

2. Introduce change

About 93% of leftover coffee and coffee cups end up in the landfill, which means that there is a long way to go for businesses. If your office or building has a coffee machine or coffee shop, consider implementing reusable cups and mugs instead of take-away cups. Giving discounts to reusable cup holders can also be a great incentive to customers.

3. Eco Actions

Set up protocols in your office that aim to limit waste, such as reusing folders, clips and covers, reduce printing on paper, and switching to eco-friendly paper, materials and office equipment.

You can find a handy how-to sheet on your local government’s website.

Adopting sustainable business policies will help improve public perception of your company, but also motivate staff members, making them feel that they are working towards a worthy cause. Need help? Contact RooCreate or check out our handy eco factsheets to get going.

Sources:

http://businessrecycling.com.au/documents/doc-1383-what-s-the-deal-br-report-final.pdf
http://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/resources/managewaste/120341-offices.pdf

Introduction to eco-package design


About Eco Packaging
Introduction to eco-package design

RooCreate is passionate about the environment and eco package design, and we are proud to convert that passion into action. Through our unique online platform, we are proud to offer businesses around the world the opportunity to invest in the environment, as well as boost their business.

What is eco package design?

Sustainable packaging can be confusing, particularly seeing that there is no strict definition or criteria to what sustainable packaging is.

Our aim is to simplify this process, making it easy, affordable and accessible to everyone. We want to ensure that while we tackle sustainability issues, businesses are not suffering, which is why our solution is extraordinary.

RooCreate strongly believes that design does not have to be sacrificed for the sake of the environment, and that both can go hand-in-hand.

Our eco process

The process is simple. Take our interactive quiz to narrow down your project requirements, which also gives us an insight into your business and brand identity. From there, we collaborate together to create the ideal design for your product packaging, whilst utilising the perfect eco-material. At RooCreate, you’ll have the choice between several eco-materials, meaning you won’t be stuck with a boring, brown box. We will work with you throughout the way, ensuring that the end result is impeccable. Following the final design, we will even assist with the entire printing and supply process from our chosen manufacturers.

Eco package design is vital for products and RooCreate understands the tight timeline and small budgets of companies. Our belief is that all businesses can change their habits and start adopting sustainable methods to not only save the planet, but also grow their business.

Take a leap into eco-package design and discover what it can do for your business and products.

In the media…

RooCreate founder awarded ‘Entrepreneur With Purpose’

From Starbucks to Nike to RooCreate – A Sustainable Business for Wollongong

Scenes from the RooCreate launch party

About Eco Boxes and Bags

Here at RooCreate we have several types of non-plastic bags available – from cassiva starch (non-plastic) to hessian bags to cotton (or calico) bags.

Our boxes come in several different styles too – depending on your needs.   We have thin lightweight cardboard product boxes and thicker style boxes that you can send in the mail.

View our products.