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Goodbye Shoebox, Hello Clever Little Bag
by Alison Zingaro
 Some people use them to stash old photos, others fashion them into dioramas for school projects, but once they have served their purpose of protecting our shoes during the trip home from the store, the vast majority of us simply throw our old shoeboxes away.
In search of an alternative to this wasteful packaging dilemma, German sport-lifestyle leader Puma recently collaborated with world-renowned industrial designer Yves Béhar to rethink the way millions of shoes, apparel, and accessories it sells each year are packaged and distributed –from material sourcing and shipping, to in-store display, purchase, disposal and re-use. As Puma’s materials partner on the project, Material ConneXion’s consulting team was enlisted to advise the company on its materials usage, fabrication methods and sustainable processes.
After three years in development, the results of this effort were unveiled in the spring of 2010 with the release of Puma’s groundbreaking new sustainable and packaging distribution system – a pioneering program that sets new standards for the consumer packaging industry. For footwear, this was achieved with Béhar’s Clever Little Bag, an ingenious solution that reduces the amount of cardboard used in traditional shoebox packaging by 65%. Made of recycled PET, the reusable non-woven bag is fitted with a cardboard insert that provides strength and structure, protecting each pair of shoes from damage from the point of purchase until the consumer takes it home.
Altogether, Puma’s new system will help the company save annually approximately 8,500 tons of paper, 20 million megajoules of electricity, 1 million liters of fuel oil, 1 million liters of water, and over $2.5 million in cardboard in the first year alone. Set to rollout in stores in early 2011, the groundbreaking packaging initiative is proof that companies can achieve significant savings both in environmental as well as financial terms. M
Check out this video to learn more about the project
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