HOW TO
For many years, the world of sustainable branding found itself firmly stuck in the eco-cliché trap, where environmentally friendly brands – be they health food shops or beauty ranges – typically conjured up images of green rolling hills, earthy tones, and the obligatory leaf motif. But this is changing, writes Aimée McLaughlin
BRAND
Thankfully for eco-brand enthusiasts, as well as the health of the planet, attitudes towards climate change are finally on the move. As green initiatives and organisations such as Extinction Rebellion and Greta Thunberg’s Fridays for Future movement continue to gain traction around the world, consumers are looking at how they can contribute to the fight against climate change through their lifestyle choices.
The success of startups such as reusable bottle brand Chilly’s in turning an eco-friendly product into a fashion statement have helped fast-track the demise of the single-use plastic water bottle, while plant-based food and drink brands such as Oatly – which is known for its witty tone of voice rooted in Swedish humility – have proven that planet-positive brands don’t need to take themselves too seriously.
Along with thinking about its behaviour as consumers and individuals, the design community has also been considering how it can use its creative talents to make a difference. This isn’t an entirely new concept – the term ecological design has been around since the 19th century – but over the past few years it has been reimagined for the heightened state of climate consciousness we are living in today, with initiatives such as creative collective Climate Designers leading the way.
Founded by designer strategist Marc O’Brien and UX designer Sarah Harrison, Climate Designers started out as a website for anxious creatives who wanted to take action but has quickly grown into a collective of like-minded individuals and studios, acting as a kind of social network for those who want to integrate climateconsciousness into their practice.
One of the first studios to sign up to Climate Designers was Cast Iron Design. The Colorado-based studio was founded by Richard Roche and Jonny Black in
2010 and has since carved out a niche for itself, practicing sustainable graphic design. “Jonny had a lightbulb moment after reading Brian Dougherty’s Green Graphic Design, realising that his passion for sustainability and design could not only overlap but merge entirely,” say Roche and Black.
“The mission was to prove that you can have a successful, profitable and sustainable studio while still producing great work that isn’t the leaf motif, crunchy granola, everything the brown and green status quo of sustainable design. Our hope was that we’d influence others to do the same.”
Look over the studio’s projects from the past decade and you’ll notice a distinct lack of green design stereotypes. Some of its recent commissions include a colourful and playful brand for healthy snack range Byte Bars, which centres around a fluoro tongue graphic, and a printed pocket guide to the studio’s hometown of Boulder for Patagonia, which also features one of the world’s first uses of algae offset ink developed by biomaterials company Living Ink.
“Algae is a promising pigment for many reasons, chiefly because algae, like plants, eats sunshine and carbon dioxide and produces oxygen. Since Living Ink was still developing the ink, and had only perfected the recipe for black ink, we designed around this constraint by using coloured paper. We were able to pool together all of our knowledge, experience and connections into a finished product we’re very proud of,” say Roche and Black.
The past few years have also seen the growth of an eco-minded design community in the UK. Undo-Undo-Undo is a planet-positive brand and packaging agency that officially launched on Earth Day in April this year. The agency is the brainchild of twins Benny and Mat Lyon, and fellow designer Steph Hardy, the team behind Sheffield-based studio b
RIGHT, FROM TOP: Cast Iron Design’s printed guide to Boulder, Colorado for Patagonia; the studio’s design for Soil, a book published by Slow Money, a non-profit dedicated to catalysing the flow of capital to local food systems
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