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In recent years, smartphone manufacturers have been taking measures to try to reduce their environmental impact. Some have been unpopular or questionable, such as removing the charger from the retail box. Google has taken this further by also opting for plastic-free packaging for its Pixel devices.
Now, Google has published a packaging design guide. The company describes what it has been doing to achieve plastic-free packaging on its Pixel devices. The company says the guide is a “resource for others aiming to reduce their reliance on mixed material formats and adopt fiber-based solutions.”
Pixel 8 series has plastic-free packaging; all Google products will have it by 2025
The guide indicates the packaging components that were replaced. This is all in favor of reducing its carbon footprint. It’s noteworthy that Google achieved this plastic-free packaging starting with the Pixel 8 series. The company hopes to apply these principles to the packaging of all its products by 2025. With this, it wants to facilitate recycling and reusability.
One of the challenges was finding viable alternatives for all the packaging components. After all, it is necessary that the packaging continues to keep the products safe during transportation. As Google indicates, “replacing damaged products carries a significant environmental impact.”
The list of replaced components that made recycling difficult includes up to seven items. Google replaced them in different ways, such as by applying alternative coating solutions, shrink wrap removal strategies, closure labels, paper tapes, molded fiber hang tabs, protective product wraps, and molded fiber trays. So, Google turned heavily to fiber-based materials for this. There is a lot of paper and cardboard among the new used materials.
Currently, Google products have three types of packaging. There is a “Telescoping box” that reveals the product immediately after opening it. This has a “simple opening and closing mechanism” to make the task easier. Then there is the “Roll end lock front box” whose front panel is “interlocking tabs for closure.” The latter seeks to offer a higher level of protection. Lastly, there’s the “Tuck top box” for accessories and small gadgets.
