Case study: Haberdashery eliminate plastic and reduce costs by 70%

When launching its first commercial lighting product, Haberdashery approached GWP Packaging to create an eCommerce pack that would protect its fragile and expensive (£1000+ RRP) products during transit.

However, the business was keen that no plastics or foam be used in the solution, while the overall (volumetric) size needed to be kept to a minimum to assist with shipping costs.

The resulting design process enabled GWP to create a solution entirely from corrugated cardboard, which not only protected the products during transit but was also incredibly cost-effective, earning an award for its innovation.

Haberdashery decided to launch its first commercial lighting product, known as Canopy. This product is an LED pendant light that casts a dappled light reminiscent of sunshine filtering through leaves.

The company needed a new packaging solution for shipping eCommerce orders of this highly fragile and expensive glass pendant, with protection throughout the supply chain being essential. Returns caused by damage during transit could have a significant impact on the business, with each product costing approximately £1,000.

However, to reflect their brand ethos and environmental policies, Haberdashery also requested that the solution only use recyclable materials. With the obvious choice being to use foam to provide the required performance, but with this option ruled out, any structural design and inserts had to offer a similar level of protection.

Finally, as with all eCommerce orders of valuable items, “unboxing” was also important. Therefore, customer experience when revealing the product was a key consideration.

Following an initial consultation and design meetings, GWP Packaging’s design team, led by Mike Poynter, engineered a structural design utilising interlocking fittings from recyclable EB and B flute cardboard.

The design of the cardboard insert mimics how foam would encase the item (in this case, with empty space instead) to insulate it from any potential forces it would encounter. Locating and housing all parts, and minimising contact with fragile elements, added further protection. The design ensured the product made no contact with the internal walls of the outer carton.

This approach also allowed us to keep the overall size of the pack to a minimum.

Following real-life transit tests to prove the performance of the packaging and inserts, GWP Packaging manufactured the solution at our production facility in Wiltshire. The case-maker and die-cutting processes used to manufacture the components helped to minimise both material use and waste.

The packaging that GWP created for Haberdashery provided the company with several benefits.

At the time of writing, there have been zero returns due to damage. This factor has been vital considering the expensive nature of the products Haberdashery ships.

The design also met the requirement for no plastics or foam in the pack, aligning with Haberdashery’s brand values and enabling easy disposal and recycling of the packaging by their customers. The space created around the product also provided a wow factor for customers when they unboxed it.

Remarkably, not only did the corrugated packs provide the required protection, but they also offered a 70% cost saving compared with foam alternatives.

Finally, despite the complexity of the design, the pack helped keep assembly and packing times to a minimum thanks to the simple roll-up fittings and interlocking locations. The overall volumetric size did not increase compared to the foam alternative and was in line with transit requirements.

Julie Aparicio, Graphics and Service Designer at Haberdashery, who worked on the project with GWP, commented:

The pack has worked remarkably well. There was some concern that using corrugated alone would protect such a high-value and fragile item, but to date, we have had zero returns due to transit damage. GWP has done a great job.

The pack proved to be such a success that GWP proposed to Haberdashery the potential of entering it into the Starpack Awards. Following an extensive judging process, the judges awarded the packaging a Silver Award at a glittering ceremony held in London.

Mike Poynter,  Design Manager at GWP Packaging, commented:

It was great to work on a project where the clients also placed a high emphasis on design – both in terms of usability and aesthetics. Haberdashery was very receptive to our ideas, and it was a pleasure working with them. I’m delighted the design achieved a Starpack Award.

The design expertise of the team at GWP, combined with a commercial focus and in-house manufacturing, enabled us to exceed the already challenging brief and provide Haberdashery with packaging that offered protection, customer satisfaction, and environmental benefits.

If your business could benefit from a fresh approach to your packaging, please speak with one of our team members today.