Packaging can be the final deciding factor in a purchase decision when it comes to tangible products. Traditionally, a product’s packaging serves only as a presentation with no utility to the product itself. Pratt Institute alumni, Aaron Mickelson has imagined packaging that “disappears;” the products incorporate the packaging themselves. These packaging solutions are a clear nod to the innovation we value in our sustainability efforts for a greener world.

GLAD brand trash bags are currently packaging on a heavyweight cardboard box. Utilizing a box-less design, product information would be printed on the outer bag of the roll. Bags are pulled upwards from the inside out, until the printed bag remains.

Tide detergent PODS are single water-soluble detergent packets that currently come in a printed plastic bag. Instead of using the printed plastic bag, the reimagined package would contain tearable packets stitched together with the product information printed on the pods themselves using water-soluble ink.

Soap bars traditionally come in printed cardboard boxes that immediately get thrown out before use. For Nivea’s “milkbars”, the revised packaging would utilize septic-safe, water-soluble paper that dissolves completely.

These packaging ideas are revolutionary because they reduce great amounts of waste from everyday household items. By implementing soluble ink and paper packaging into other products, the waste generated by households would reduce significantly, in return reducing the energy and footprint created by landfill waste.

Images and information courtesy of The Disappearing Package