WOW! WHAT A PACKAGE!

This Bold Eco Idea Came Close to Being the Ultimate 'Package' Package

No unwrapping necessary--just throw the whole package in the wash.

Look under there.

Under where?

Ha-ha, made you say underwear! But can I make you say "underwear in bio-based, wash-away packaging"? We'll see.

While most men (real men, that is) are conditioned to simply rip open and toss aside the poly bag our new skivvies come in, micro-retailer Devo Underwear thought a more environmentally sensitive approach was necessary. Hence, they engaged San Francisco-based industrial design and brand strategist Fuseproject to develop a bio-based underwear packaging material designed to disintegrate in the washer.

Devo's theory, according to Fuseproject's Catherine O'Connor, was: Rather than introduce more packaging into the waste stream, why not wash away the evidence? What Fuseproject designers Johan Liden, Angie Tadao, and Yves Behar came up with was a 3 millimeter corn-starch-based, semi-rigid Styrofoam-like packaging material. The bio wrap was also impregnated with trace amounts of laundry detergent.

The impetus of the project was that consumers--and more specifically, sensitive men--would buy the underwear and then toss the entire package into the washer. The water would dissolve the package and the detergent would soften the cotton undergarment.

O'Connor says Devo's intention with the bio package was twofold. First, the wrap would simply melt away, eliminating the need to landfill or even recycle the packaging. Second, the detergent would soften the cotton undergarment, leaving consumers confident to go about their business sans fear of chafing from their recent purchase.

Though conceptually a great idea (even one deserving of some type of eco-packaging award), the wedgie in the entire equation is this: The whole notion of men--even the most environmentally conscious among us--washing underwear before they wear it is just silly. It nearly takes an act of Congress to get the more Neanderthal among our gender to wash it after we wear it. The inside-out double-the-wear-time theory has worked flawlessly for decades. It is also eco-friendly in its own right (half the washings conserves water, you know).

One would hope the recent comment by I/IDSA design consultant Poonam Bir Kasturi was made in jest. Kasturi declared that this package demonstrates "a clear, intelligent way out of the looming threat of being engulfed by our [packaging] waste." How else could you explain the fact that Devo's better mousetrap concept for bio-based underwear packaging put them out of business?

Perhaps the only saving grace of the entire endeavor was the package design genius demonstrated by Fuseproject, who created two distinct designs--one in the shape of boxers, the other resembling tightie-whities--thus eliminating any point-of-purchase confusion. Kudos to Fuseproject for having the you-know-whats to handle such a delicate package (no pun intended there).

While the demise of Devo Underwear leaves grunting men everywhere in a commando state, we still stand together (though not too closely) and chant (but not to each other): "Wow! What A Package.