Think Inside the Box

Online shopping is easy, but it comes with a lot of boxes. A 2024 United Nations report found that buying online creates nearly five times the packaging waste of buying in a store. That is why packaging engineers at Amazon slam, shake, drop, and stack boxes in test labs, looking for the least packaging that still gets a product home safe.

Lenovo took on the same problem with its own laptop boxes. For its ThinkPad laptops, it swapped out plastic and foam for bamboo and sugarcane fiber, plants that grow back fast. That change cut 548 metric tons of plastic. Its bamboo box even won a Good Design Award in 2022, proving a box can look great without the plastic.

Your Task: Imagine you are a packaging designer. A company has hired you to redo the box for one product, using far less waste and making it even cooler to open, the way Lenovo did it.

1. The Gift
Think of something you would love to get as a gift, like new shoes, a video game, or something else. Say what it is. (1 sentence.)

2. How It Comes Now
Think about how that gift usually arrives, from the shipping box to what is inside. Say which parts are wasteful and which part, if any, makes opening it fun. (3 sentences.)

3. The New Box
Redesign the packaging with less material and renewable materials, like bamboo, paper, or something that grows back. Say what you cut, what you use instead, and what makes your box cooler to open than the old one. (4 to 5 sentences.)

Want to win up to $5,000? Check out the current KnoPro Challenge: Second Life, Smarter Tech. It runs from Nov. 2nd through Nov. 6th.