I have been working on some sketches of very plain reusable, multifunctional packaging which I will post when I have time to scan, but here are some things that came up in my mind in the meantime:
*People only keep packaging if it is EXTREMELY useful or beautiful, or both.
*I mean EXTREMELY. They’ll BUY something based on how pretty the packaging is, but it occurs to very few people (besides my roommate, who keeps stuff like rice and popcorn in her beloved Pom bottles) to keep the packaging they loved so much. There is a huge gulf in the average consumer’s mind between the packaging their food comes in and the packaging they store stuff in.
*Therefore. The packaging in question has got to be extraordinarily versatile. It also has to be easily “brandable”/label-able, but that label must be easy to remove. Each package also must include information about reuse and emphasis that it’s just as useful as something you might buy. (“Dishwasher safe! Microwave safe!”) Basically the package has to scream “KEEP ME! I’M JUST AS GOOD AS TUPPERWARE” and people have got to hear it lots and lots and lots of times before it sinks in.
The containers should be easy to label, and recognizable in the store as a particular brand, but they should also look simple and non-commercial in one’s own home. Maybe the label takes the form of a cardboard sleeve, as in the margarine tub example, which can just be slipped off and recycled (and of course, on the back of the sleeve, there’s a coupon for your next purchase and instructions about reusing the container). Or maybe it’s printed with washable ink (though this could be troublesome for transport and storage). Or maybe it’s shrinkwrapped with some of that lovely “edible” polymer which you can toss and compost.
Final thought: I am either not thinking broad enough (maybe the food packaging doesn’t get reused as food packaging, after all: maybe it becomes a modular bookshelf for cds or books; maybe it can be used as a building material; maybe each package comes with an instruction kit for turning it into a beautiful cheap light, etc. I think the garden chair project has made the point that DIY is taking over the world, so maybe reusing food packaging as food packaging is not taking a broad enough tack…)
OR
I am being way too broad and need to narrow it down to a particular food item/packaging that annoys me.