Responding to growing environmental concerns, companies across industries are searching for ways to make their products more sustainable.
Many factors come into play when determining whether a product is eco-friendly, from the materials and production processes involved, to the distance it travels and the type of packaging used. Especially when it comes to packaging, sustainable options are within reach.
During the fall semester, students in Graduate Communications Design and Industrial Design explored the issues of packaging and waste management, and worked to develop sustainable alternatives. Many of the proposed solutions make innovative use of biomaterials to minimize plastic and other forms of pollution, support ecologically regenerative industries, and reduce reliance on non-recyclable materials. These designs aim to not only address environmental concerns but also inspire a shift toward a more circular and responsible consumer culture.
“Sustainability is a culture of care—care for materials, for systems, and for the world we share,” said Gaia Hwang, chairperson of Graduate Communications Design. “Packaging, then, becomes more than protection; it becomes a gesture of respect and a reflection of what we value.”
Here are some examples of how students reimagined packaging for different products over the course of the semester.
Loose Tea Leaves
Manojna Vuppalapati, MFA Communications Design ’26, observed that packaging for loose tea often contains plastic and other materials that are prone to releasing toxins and are difficult to separate for recycling, composting, and disposal. During the “Transmaterial Lab” course, taught by Visiting Assistant Professor of Graduate Communications Design Shuyi Cao, Vuppalapati developed light-weight, compostable packaging for loose tea made from gelatin as a way to reduce the environmental impact of tea consumption from production to disposal.
“Tea packaging that biodegrades or composts after use aligns perfectly with the organic nature of tea itself,” Vuppalapati wrote in a project description. “The idea is not just to reduce waste, but to prompt consumers to rethink the entire lifecycle of a product—from manufacturing to disposal or return to the earth.”
Indoor and Outdoor Plants
The flimsy plastic containers holding plants at grocery stores struck Ran Tao, MS Packaging, Identities and Systems Design ’26, as unnecessarily wasteful so she set about developing a sustainable alternative in Cao’s “Transmaterial Lab” course. Her design embeds seeds on a paper disc that allows plants to germinate and grow into a seedling before being easily transferred to existing gardens and pots.
“I hope to design a new plant packaging that does not contain plastic components, has a decorative and multifunctional appearance, and can continue to be used or naturally degrade after the plant grows and ends its life cycle, thereby reducing waste and improving environmental protection,” Tao wrote in a project description.
Gift and Storage Boxes
For Visiting Instructor of Industrial Design Andre Dettler’s “Structural Packaging” course, several students reimagined direct-to-customer gift boxes using corrugated cardboard, which has one of the highest recycling rates of any packaging material in the United States.
Chihchia Chen, MID ’25 , developed a packaging design for ceramics. Since ceramics are often wrapped in plastic or surrounded by styrofoam beads, using only paper for the packaging has significant environmental benefits.
“Sustainability was a key focus throughout the development of my project,” Chen said. “The design emphasizes material efficiency, using a compact structure that minimizes the amount of material required while still effectively protecting the ceramic cup and coaster.”
Kyeungjin Min, MS Packaging, Identities and Systems Design ’26, developed a concept for a traditional Korean gift box set with a stylish cover and decorative finishes that contains sesame oil, perilla oil, and red chili paste.
“The use of corrugated paper as the primary material is a significant consideration,” Min said. “This material is composed of 70 percent to 100 percent recycled content, supporting eco-friendly practices.”
As someone who illustrates, Ming Chang, MS in Packaging, Identities and Systems Design ’26, wanted to redesign felt tip marker packaging to become more sustainable, while also improving functionality. She developed a durable paperboard box that can contain the markers on store shelves and also be used for storage at home. This solution offers an intelligent second life for the packaging and removes it from the waste stream.
Students in Visiting Professor of Packaging, Identity and Systems Design Carson Ahlman’s “Structural Packaging” course also used corrugated cardboard to improve the sustainability of packaging for different products.
Carlisle Ross, MS in Packaging, Identities and Systems Design ’26, created a clever, hexagonal box that provides a visually appealing alternative to plastic six-pack rings for beverage cans. The structure of the box allows for impactful store display, efficient stacking, and easy transportation.
Jiaqi An, MS in Packaging, Identities and Systems Design ’26, designed a sleek and durable candle box that prioritizes sustainability by reducing the amount of materials used. Thoughtfully crafted for functionality, the box doubles as a reusable display stand for both the candle and matches, extending its life beyond its initial purpose.
Fresh Fruit and Produce
Non-recyclable plastic wrappers and containers pervade the fresh produce section of most grocery stores, a norm that Maria Mansfield and Carlisle Ross, both MS in Packaging, Identities and Systems Design ’26, set out to address in the “Sustainability and Design” course taught by Karen Dunn, adjunct associate professor of graduate communications design. They came up with a campaign for a sustainable packaging concept using bagasse, a fibrous sugarcane waste material that is a byproduct of sugar production.
“Food spoils faster in the plastic bags that grocery stores provide, as the produce is suffocated within the Bag,” they wrote as part of their project statement. “The plastic bags also release microplastics and carcinogens into produce, which is terrible for consumer health.
“The way that our bagasse cartons are created make for easy organization and fridge storage, extending their useful life farther than the plastic bags,” they wrote.
Beauty Products
Burak Eceral and Kaitlyn Chen, both MS in Packaging, Identities and Systems Design ’26, wanted to tackle the waste problem within the beauty industry, which creates 120 billion units of packaging each year, most of which goes unrecycled, for Adjunct Associate Professor-CCE of Graduate Communications Design Katya Moorman’s class “Sustainability and Design.” They focused on improving the recyclability of pump dispenser bottles by devising a way for a disposable seaweed bulb to contain cosmetics so that the bottle itself doesn’t get contaminated. When the product is finished, the seaweed bulb can either be refilled or removed and the dispenser bottle reused or recycled.