What do you do with the packaging after receiving your product bought on the net? Is it true or not that once you have received the goods online, you throw away boxes and so on? Almost all of us do this, not least because most packaging is not designed for reuse.
Ecommerce platforms have exploded in popularity over the past couple of years due to the fact that they provide consumers with unmatched alternatives and assortment. With the growth of online shopping, however, landfills are piling up with every package and material you pack in plastic bags which must be disposed of. Multiply by 100 billion deliveries (the current annual estimate) and you will understand that the problem is very serious.
INFLATE, reusable (and flexible) packaging
With INFLATE the designer Simon Chantrell presents a very practical solution to this problem. INFLATE is an alternative to single-use packaging made to be reused many times, so you don't have to retire after your one trip from an e-commerce warehouse to our home. More than a product, it is a paradigm: it is returned and another delivery will be made. And then another. And then another. And so on.
From the renders, I understand that the packaging is in a sort of recyclable oilcloth (or polyethylene?). It looks like a flexible sack that can take the shape of the object it will carry. It has a valve that allows you to inflate one of its cavities with air, to protect what's inside from impact. Once the products have been delivered, these packages can be deflated and rolled up. INFLATE can then be placed in an external collection point, or returned to the same courier when it comes to bring the next delivery.
Getting around the linear economy
Is the packaging used only once and then disposed of? Ugly. Does the packaging economy enter a circular economy to make the whole e-commerce sector greener? Handsome. You don't have to think about it much, it's easy.
