While thinking riding my bike or in the shower, came to the conculsion that they could be many avenues for this so thought I should touch upon seval of them…well 3. So I split my hour in to 3 20 minute periods and came up with 3 concepts ranging from the very simple to the very over kill.
Note:
I ain’t looked at any of the submissions yet so if its similar to yours…shucks we must think the same.
I allocated 1 A3 page person concept…so its a bit messy & quick but I’m sure you will get the drift.
Concept 1: Fold away over the shoulder bag made of Tyvek
Concept 2: Delivery food service where food comes in boxes which fit in your kitchen and your return your box after you have ate the contains…aka like milkbottles used to be
Concept 3: Forget moving stuff around and just download some build code and rapid manufacturer your own food…(ok very conceptual but give it 10-20 years and it will be out there. Just look at RM in sugar here)
People have thought about re-using bags, but they don’t have one when they end up shopping, so I thought It’d be perfect if bags were stitched in to clothes/ accessories such as ipod covers/wallets etc… that you might carry around almost all the time. The 3 items in the picture are examples for the concept…
So, if you are wearing or carrying any of the items, you can avoid some plastic!
With awareness of environmental hazards growing everyday, I think this idea would be well received by customers and I think there is huge scope for marketing it…
This is my idea for replacing shoping bags… in less than an hour!
This design is meant as a replacement for the plastic bag that would allow people to transfer their goods from the cart to the car and from the car to the end location. Using one bag that is more durable and still flexible, we can load and unload our goods, and later we can reuse the bag.
Problem solving not only through product design but also through service design.
I propose a three step process to avoid use of plastic at every stage og shopping.use of tapes, and Nylon bags of different sizes which can be ultimately folded up into very small pouches u can carry any where.
The Store should provide bags at the cash counter and along with the produce as well. A person can buy bags the first time which can be waived if he buys more than a certain amount.
With RFID tags the bag is not charged the next time…and thats the service.
Problem solving not only through product design but also through service design.
I propose a three step process to avoid use of plastic at every stage og shopping.use of tapes, and Nylon bags of different sizes which can be ultimately folded up into very small pouches u can carry any where.
The Store should provide bags at the cash counter and along with the produce as well. A person can buy bags the first time which can be waived if he buys more than a certain amount.
With RFID tags the bag is not charged the next time…and thats the service.
My solution involves creating a durable woven bag made from the very bags we are trying to eliminate. We take the disposable and allow it to transcend it’s manufactured intent, becoming an iconic shopping item through a simple weaving process.
Until a solution is developed to environmentally deteriorate current plastic bags we have to look at down cycling solutions. This thought is looking at using the essence of the plastic bag to intermix with a natural insulator. The product could be heated to allow for the plastic to bond it together. This would make the panel / roll/ sheet more usable for the construction industry. It could also be cut using standard tools to make installation easier.
A super comfy but sleek backpack system that is made of heavy duty recycled material. The colors/graphics could be specific to each unit and would help to create an emotional connection with the bag and its user. The bag construction would be more similar to a satchel then a backpack, and would feature removable insulated lining to help keep items cold and also serve as extra padding between the groceries and the user.
This system is meant to interact with the consumer on various levels to try to entice them to get into a system that offers a benefit to all the parties involved. (It’s a little Utopian sounding but thats the idea.) A person brings in old plastic bags and a shirt (or large enough piece of fabric) and gets a new bag out of it.
Recycle- How do you take care of the bags that are already out and about? Get people to bring them back! Step one is to offer the user an incentive (in this case a personal durable reusable fabric bag and a discount opportunity) to bring back plastic bags that have already been used.
Personalize- A fundamental flaw in the whole environmental point of view is that the average person does not have a strong enough personal bond with the environment. By allowing the person to bring in their own fabric/shirt/whatever you introduce a personal aspect. That shirt you love so much but can’t bear to wear in public can have a new life. Lessen habitual consumption- Finally you need to keep new plastic bags from getting used. Replace an old habit with a new one. People already have rebate cards. Make the bag a rebate card and people will remember to bring it, and not use new plastic bags. In conjunction charge for new plastic bags. That way those people without their own fabric bags will bring back some plastic bags and join the club.
I wasn’t planning on entering the design contest well because, I really had no good idea, but I decided to design a bag anyway, but something clicked in my head when I started doing the renderings…I’ve rendered tires before…why not make this bag out of recycled rubber tires…!!..Eureka!!
Here are some facts to back up the feasibility:
What is the current status of tire recycling and disposal in the US?*
Number of scrap tires generated annually: 290 million
Percentage of total solid waste generated: 2.0 percent
Number of scrap tires going to a market: 233 million
Number of scrap tires used for fuel: 130 million
Number of scrap tires used in civil engineering projects: 56 million
Number of scrap tires used in ground rubber applications: 28 million
Number of scrap tires punched/stamped into new products: 7 million
Number of tires exported: 9 million
Number of tires in stockpiles: 265 million
*2003 statistics, Rubber Manufacturers Association
At the end of 2003, the U.S. generated approximately 290 million scrap tires. Historically, these scrap tires took up space in landfills or provided breeding grounds for mosquitoes and rodents when stockpiled or illegally dumped. Fortunately, markets now exist for 80.4% of these scrap tires-up from 17% in 1990. These markets-both recycling and beneficial use-continue to grow. The remaining scrap tires are still stockpiled or landfilled, however
The problem with reusable bags is that it’s easy to forget to bring them, or you may do unplanned shopping, such as walking or driving by a big sale.
There are 2 places where shopping bags are used:
Shopping for sundries items such as clothing and books in the store
and shopping for groceries.
In the first case, If you are in a standalone store, you can just take your items out unbagged and leave, but if you are in a mall, you have to put them in in a shopping bag of some kind or you will look like a shoplifter.
Stores in malls get free advertisement from people lugging the shopping bags with their names on it,so they may not mind the cash expense of giving out bags.
I think a rolling tote bag - similar to a shopping cart can be used in a mall environment. The tote bag will have advertisement printed on it by the sponsoring stores. A tote bag is used instead of a cart because the aisles are usually too narrow for a cart. Malls are large and flat so a rolling tote is easier to use than a bunch of bags. Since they don’t have to carry the weight. Shoppers won’t tire out as easily.
It can be used to carry anything that fits into it for any of the stores, so if you buy 10 items from 10 stores, you don’t have to turn down 10 plastic bags which they foist on you automatically. It will have clear side pockets for receipts, discount cards, coupons and such. When you are done, you can transfer all of your shopping to your own bag, if you didn’t have one, a bag which will be given with a small deposit. These bags can be returned to the store for the deposit, just like soda cans or bottles. Alternatively, you can take all your new stuff home without a bag. The totebags don’t leave the mall, so there is little chance of theft of the bags.
As for grocery shopping, walkers and bikers tend to think in advance before they go shopping because of the logistics of having to carry the groceries home. Those driving in cars tend to buy more and have less forethought before going shopping. It is common to go home with more than 10 bags full of stuff, packers also tend to double bag in large stores. It is common practice in large warehouse chains, such as Cosco where people buy way too much, for the products to end up in bags that are carried only on 2 trips - from store to car and from car to house. Most volume shoppers live in the suburbs or in single or two story homes. For those short trips, carrying the items in a sturdy box is easier than lots of flimsy plastic bags. I think a collapsible plastic crate that could be stored in the trunk normally would be very handy for such shopping trips. It doesn’t take up much space when collapsed.
The shopper can have the option of bringing in the crate while shopping as well and leave the crates in the collapsed form until checkout, at which point the checker places paid for items into the crates. Or the store would put all the shopping back into the shopping cart after checkout and the shopper would roll it out to the car and put everything in the crates or just in the trunk themselves.
The collapsible crates can be bought from the store at a discount (just like composting bins) or rented if you forgot your own bin or need extra. Rental becomes sales if you don’t bring them back.
Collapsible crates are already available from moving companies.
If the shopper still need shopping bags, they can get them as in the mall situation with a small deposit.
I don’t think that old habits can be changed without a financial incentive.
My approach to this challenge is a tangible and cost-effective solution using and combining the resources that we have today.
This solution doesn’t impose nor expect unrealistically for all people to become ethical & conscious at once or technology to leap a few decades forward all of a sudden.
Rather, it offers a subtle incentive to consumers while generating a significantly positive impact on the environment and subconsciously awakening the awareness in people while they go about their everyday chores such as grocery shopping and doing their laundry.
Remind people that they are poisoning the world every time they take a plastic bag. Publicise the sin with big and bold letters, making it uncool to use, ‘forcing’ them to consider alternatives or reuse previous bags.
(Inspired by warning labels on cigarette packs; why not apply it to plastic bags?)
It’s all about convinience, u won’t bring your bag becouse it’s to much hazzle to carry it with you. It needs to be easier, it needs to be sustainable it needs to be not ugly, , it needs to be Sustainable Clothing:another level. It is fashion function and sustainability combined.
Change the style of the jacket instantly by getting a new bag!
Be sustainable, be functional, express yourself, take it to another level!
i guess there are two ways to approach the “get rid of the ubiquitous plastic bag” task. 1, what to do with the current bags? 2, what to use instead of the current bags?
choosing number 2 still leaves the problem of the current plastic bags still in existance! So i approached the task by thinking of how to use existing bags without requiring too much of a manufacturing process and yet increasing the use of the product.
One such item thought about was a bike seat / saddle. The bags can be layered and stamped into a profile. A simple heated probe could seal the layers together and then the whole object can be profiled into shape. Bags could also potentially be used to vacuum form the outer layer of skin for the seat.
