Eco-friendly, plastic-free laundry pods.
Wilton London have recently launched their eco-friendly, plastic-free laundry pods into Sainsburys, all encased in an innovative board pack from the Alexir Creative studio.
The unique powdered format in two variants – Patchouli and Jasmine – use biodegradable and plant-derived ingredients in a PVOH film so are more eco-friendly than other liquid counterparts.
As well as being plastic-free, the brand team at Wilton were also seeking a safer pack solution as laundry capsules can be very attractive to children and cause injury. This was a primary driver in the pack development process.
Secondary to the safety issues, the pack design required materials that would lock-out moisture to prevent the capsules from sticking together.
In the first instance the CAD designers recommended a hard-sized folding box board which means that a substance has been applied to the middle plies of the board to increase its resistance to water-absorption.
Having chosen the board material the CAD designers began to look at pack options that incorporated the crucial safety measures. In the recent past, Alexir Design has patented an opening mechanism which called for the consumer to tear a strip on the back of the pack to release the opening of the inner tray holding the contents. This clever concept would be the first step in making it more difficult for children to open.
Once the strip has been torn the consumer is able to pull out the inner tray to a certain point when sliding locking devices prevent the tray from being extracted any further. This is the second step, designed to prevent the whole inner tray from falling out in its entirety.
Pulling out the inner tray the consumer will then have to open a perforated panel to finally access the laundry pods. This would be the third and final step in a 3-step secure-opening pack design. Safer for children but also highly tamper-evident on a retail shelf.
In tandem with the pack security deliverables, the CAD designers also took into account the graphic design elements and created an attractive swirling aperture on the front of the pack revealing the words “You Smell Nice”. A nice extra touch to the opening experience. The packs were printed on the reverse of the material to further enhance its eco-friendly messaging.
