Feel good package design that hooks consumers where it matters most: in the shower.

When you found your perfect shower gel, was it love at first sniff? Probably not. When it comes to shower products – be it for cleansing your body or eradicating mildew – packaging is everything. You’d think that social responsibility starts with a good scrub down, but the eco innards are almost secondary to a product’s efficient, streamlined, biodegradable, recyclable, reusable or otherwise feel-good skin.

Take, for example, the German brand Stop the Water While Using Me!, designed by award-winning agency KOREFE. The brief was: “develop a brand for a high-quality range of cosmetics that meet the increasing requirements of an ecologically aware society and set new standards in environmental protection.” The innovation being, “the message is the brand.”

Clean black and white packaging with a casual font (Ana Regular), plus clever copy about not wasting water equals one tempting purchase. Never mind that the product range does, in fact, require water for use and that the country of origin does not actually have a water issue. It’s an international branding exercise at the source – and the package is all that counts.

Two other eco, organic or otherwise “feel good” shower products that rely on a similarly sleek sell?

Philosophy, “a brand that approaches personal care from a skin care point of view, while celebrating the beauty of the human spirit.” they also employ the use of lowercase letters, exclusively, to drive their point into your homes and bathrooms. the point being: there is no “i” in buy me.

And the Estée Lauder eco-brand Origins, founded in 1990 as a botanical treatment line designed for the environmentally conscious consumer who doesn’t mind spending $13 on a bar of bath soap. The company also owns Prescriptives and Clinique demonstrating that personal care relies not only on fabulous packaging, but on a really good name – and potential medical intervention, too.

That’s not to say that the shower and beauty products mentioned above aren’t what they portend to be, or that their core messages aren’t good for humanity. Simply consider their inclusion here as another branding exercise, one that proves eco is still a big sell and that altruism reigns when we’re at our most vulnerable: naked and dirty.

That being said, we really like this vegan, handmade, cold-pressed soap operation run out of Oregon – and their excellent packaging.

Perhaps it’s just a matter of time before Prunella gets picked up by eco-branding company extraordinaire Hain Celestial Group and marketed on the shelves of a Whole Foods near you.

The post Saving the Planet One Package At a Time? appeared first on EcoSalon.

The naked truth?

About 70 percent of LUSH Cosmetics’s products are sold naked without packaging (even their shampoo)! By reducing their dependence on virgin plastics, LUSH is helping to reduce landfill waste and CO2 emissions – all without compromising the quality of their products.

Their lust-worthy line of solid bath products are hand-made with gentle, natural ingredients that use aromatic properties to soothe and smooth. What’s more, the compact little slices of Heaven are a long-lasting and economical alternative to pricier liquid options.

Wanna learn how you can get naked?

In celebration of Earth Week, EcoSalon is giving away three sets of LUSH’s most popular naked products. Each set includes one Therapy Massage Bar, Buffy Body Butter, Solid Sugar Scrub, Godiva Shampoo Bar, and Vanilla in the Mist Soap. The sets come neatly packaged in LUSH’s eco-conscious Knot-Wraps, which are gorgeous scarves made from vintage or vegan fabrics that can be re-used for any number of purposes (think purse, grocery bag, decor, you name it).

The total packaging-free package retails for $40, but three lucky EcoSalon readers will score them for free.

Excited?

For complete giveaway rules go here, and you’ll find FTC guidelines here. Good luck!

The post LUSH Cosmetics’s Knotty Giveaway appeared first on EcoSalon.

360 Paper Bottle

We can’t tell what’s cooler about this bottle: the neat detachable cap, the clever design, or the fact that it’s made from 100 percent renewable resources and fully recyclable. The company says it can stand up to any kind of liquid, so imagine the possibilities. Tea, organic juice, soy milk – these bad boys can be used to package all kinds of beverages. They’re also designed to be sold in six or 16 count packages, so they’re perfect for keeping water on hand in disaster kits or in the fridge for those grab-something-and-run hectic mornings.

Volute Wine Bottles

We’re not wine snobs, but we do love, love, love sipping a good Bordeaux from a pretty single serve bottle. Volute amps up the class factor with their gorgeous line of wine bottles made from 100 percent recyclable aluminum. At around $4 each, they won’t break the bank and they add a touch more luxury to a long soak in the tub with a good book. Sure, you can open a full size bottle the next time you want a little tipple, but if you don’t drink it all you’ll be pouring grapey goodness down the drain.

Andrew Kim’s Coke Bottle Redesign

If sneaking a soda now and then is your guilty pleasure, you’ll at least look like a million buck swigging from this fancy Coke bottle redesign concept. Chucking the curvy bottle we all know and love, Kim went with a square shape for better stacking on store shelves. The bottom has a recessed area to accommodate the cap from the bottle underneath. And when you’re done drinking, the bottle’s built-in ribbing lets you quickly collapse it before chucking it into the nearest recycling bin. Shrinking the bottle size before disposal means less space is taken up in the recycling truck – just another thing you can feel good about while indulging in a tall, cold one.

1800 Tequila

Yeah, so we’re circling back to the booze again. What can we say, we like a good cocktail, especially a frosty margarita or cool mojito from 1800 Tequila poured from eco-friendly containers. Each pre-made beverage mix package is chillable, lightweight, and crunchable when empty so you can flatten it before it hits your recycling bin.

Vapur Reusable Flexible Water Bottle

Speaking of crushable, Ampac Packaging company has developed a water bottle that you can smash flat to stash in a purse or gym bag, then perks back to life when you fill it with water. It holds up to 16 oz. of liquid and rolls up to the size of a compact mirror. The BPA-free co-polyester bottles come in a set of four and can be cleaned in the dishwasher between uses.

The post 5 Bottle Designs We Love appeared first on EcoSalon.

Oh, this is way too cute. The “Help, I Need Help” folks are at it again.

First they charmed us with clever little (eco-friendly!) packages labeled “Help, I have a headache,” and “Help, I’ve cut myself,” containing acetaminophen and bandages.

Now they’ve expanded their product line – or rather their packaging line. After all, they’re really just selling ibuprofen, but in a Zen little package labeled “Help, I have an aching body,” just to make sure you don’t forget what ibuprofen is for.

Fully compostable corn-based packages, did I forget to mention?

And even though I avoid OTC medications and prefer natural remedies for my aches and pains, I can’t help but be delighted by their wide-eyed faux-naivete. Take yourself on a visit to their Help, I’m Bored page for some McSweeney’s kind of fun.

The post Help, I Need Help: Revisited appeared first on EcoSalon.