The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is using packaging made from TerraSkin, an innovative paper-like material made from stone. More info here.

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(via Print Magazine’s Tips for Green Printing: Part 1 & Part 2)

Understanding FSC

Neenah Paper had a nice presentation on the Forest Stewardship Council, the organization that promotes responsible forest management throughout the world. For a quick overview of the presentation, click here to grab a PDF.

You should also find the FSC certified printers in your area.

ChariTea & Lemonaid

This is some really nice looking packaging for a German beverage company. The drinks are all organic and fair trade, and most of the profits will be used for social purposes. Labels were avoided by having the graphics silkscreened directly onto the bottles.

I just picked up one of these new guidebooks for Denver Mountain Parks and must say it’s pretty fucking cool. Definitely one of the finest print pieces I’ve held in a while. It’s not a huge brochure, but it has plenty of information to get you started on your next outdoor adventure around the Denver area. The design by Jim Hargreaves of Barnhart, Denver was completed with amazing illustration work by Roger Beerworth to help give it the nostalgic look of park advertising from the early 1900s.

True to wilderness park values, the brochure is printed on FSC certified, 100% post-consumer paper. You can pick up a copy by going down to the Denver Parks and Recreation office, or you can simply download it as a PDF.

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This is a fantastic piece by Denver agency Barnhart to seduce a local burger joint into working with them. Highlighting the restaurant’s competition, designer Jim Hargreaves used fast-food bags, sandwich wrappers, and various junk mail to produce a one-of-a-kind mailer printed on their own laser printer and hand-stitched. With sustainable production methods in mind, they came up with a piece that has great visual impact with very minimal environmental or economic impact.

The restaurant they were going after was Larkburger, a Colorado-based company opening their first location in Denver. The reclaimed design of the piece makes sense considering Larkburger claims to be an eco-friendly restaurant using “natural” ingredients, biodegradable containers, and sustainable building materials. But I can’t help noticing the irony of a burger place claiming to be environmentally friendly. If a person is trying to eat healthily and sustainably, beef is one of the worst possible options. Especially when the cattle are not grass-fed. I appreciate the steps Larkburger has taken, but since the term “grass-fed” is glaringly absent from their list of eco-credentials, it appears they have a lot more to do.

Whatever the cattle are fed, it does not take away from the creativity of this original print piece. More photos and production insight at FPO.

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This is some sweet packaging for the Boulder, CO based Newton Running shoes. The boxes are made of the same 100% post-consumer recycled material that egg cartons are made out of, and the shoes themselves also use recycled materials.

Design by TDA of Boulder.

SustainAble: a handbook of materials and applications for graphic designers and their clients

Whether graphic designers like it or not, our profession is not the most environmentally friendly. Aside from all the excess consumerism we may be contributing to, our print work can eat up a shit-ton of paper. And as much as we may push for recycled papers, our clients may not go for it. The key to sustainable print design is to educate yourself and your clients, and to understand how it can be environmentally and economically beneficial. This book can help us get there.

Available at: Amazon / Better World Books