Clif Bar - Litter Leash
July 31st, 2007
Here’s some food for thought as we go into the 3rd week of my look into packaging: What if packaging design was just a little more considered?
Could our sidewalks and road-sides be free of bottle caps and cigarette packs? Maybe our gutters wouldn’t be clogged with plastic bags and blister packs. Perhaps our oceans might have one less gigantic garbage patch.
I’m a fan of Clif Bar’s recent effort to keep litter in its place. The Litter Leash is a pretty clever little piece of design (it’s covered by two utility patents).
Its elegant design inspires me. It’s so simple, effective and “obvious,” yet unmatched. Now, it’s by no means perfect, but in essence, the litter leash takes a step to build a mental connection between litter and the environment and makes the user take responsibility for this tiny piece of trash.
Futureproofed might be a good word for it… What inspires you?
Patent 6,702,462
Patent 6,244,467
Popularity: 9% [?]
August 2nd, 2007 at 9:01 pm
I would be interested to know how much more it costs to manufacture this package compared to their old package.
I also wonder if this is something that you would pay more money for? And if so, how much more?
August 6th, 2007 at 8:03 am
This is a wonderful bit of design that I’ve been a fan of for a while now.
Laura’s question got me thinking (“would you pay more?”). My answer is yes. As a cyclist, I eat this stuff while riding – and these things make life easier. While riding you can rip it open, and not have to worry about what to do with the little piece of packaging you just removed. You just let it hang, eat the goop, and stuff the whole package back in your jersey pocket. So a) it does prevent littering and b) it’s actually easier to use in the practical sense. So, for my use, I’d absolutely be willing to pay a bit more for this “feature”.
Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone would design for the confluence of practical improvement and care for the environment!