Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"Packaging today is a potent visual symbol of our 'throw-away' culture; a culture which likes its fresh fruit shrink-wrapped and every product presented in a shiny new package. Towering landfill sites, decimated forests and the ever present hole in the ozone layer, all attest to the destructive effects of the modern world's insatiable consumerist appetites. Our attitudes to packaging need to change, and to aid this process, it must be the responsibility of the designer to recognise, through a systemic approach, environmental issues at the very inception of the design idea." "This resource book explains the systems by which improvements can be made in the pre-production, manufacture and distribution of a packaging product - illustrating the results of these improvements with a collection of superb packs, the quality and efficiency of which are enough to encourage any design professional or student to start 'thinking green'."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Introduction (p. 7)
• The Rise of Ecological Consumerism (p. 9)
• The Call for an Evolutionary Systems Perspective (p. 12)
• The Role of Design (p. 15)
• Packaging Systems (p. 18)
• Aluminium and Steel Recycling (p. 18)
• Glass Recycling (p. 19)
• Plastic Recycling (p. 21)
• Paper Recycling (p. 22)
• Returnable Packaging (p. 23)
• Refilling (p. 25)
• Composting (p. 26)
• Reconstitution (p. 27)
• Examples of Redesigning Packaging (p. 28)
• Case Studies (p. 34)
• Materials and Icon Keys (p. 45)
• The Designs (p. 47)
• Green Checklist (p. 149)
• Bibliography (p. 150)
• Legislation (p. 152)
• Acknowledgements (p. 153)
• Useful Addresses (p. 154)
• Index (p. 158)