Better with Less Design Challenge 2019–2020 opens for entries

Innovative, sustainable and recyclable packaging for everyday goods

September 3, 2019

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Ilkka Harju, Packaging Services director, EMEA and APAC at Metsä Board.

The Better with Less Design Challenge, organized by Metsä Board, the European producer of premium fresh fiber paperboards and part of Metsä Group, is now in its second year. Its aim is to inspire designers to create environmentally friendly packaging solutions for eCommerce, cosmetics and food.

Submissions in four categories—cosmetics, eCommerce, food packaging and a ‘wild card’ category—are open now until 5 January 2020 at www.betterwithless.org. The competition is open to professional packaging designers and packaging design students from all over the world to submit entries.

The first prize for the Better with Less Design Challenge is € 7,000, with the second prize € 2,000 and the third prize € 1,000. Additionally, Metsä Board will award one design student with the opportunity for an internship with its packaging design team at its Excellence Centre in Äänekoski, Finland. The winners will be announced in Spring 2020.

The huge amount of plastic used in packaging is a global concern, partly because global plastic waste input into the oceans annually amounts to almost nine million tons. The Better with Less Design Challenge is looking for innovative, sustainable and recyclable packaging solutions for everyday goods.

The jury of the challenge consists of renowned packaging design experts, including Alissa Demorest, chief editor of luxury packaging magazine, Formes de Luxe; Andrew Gibbs, founder, chief executive officer and chief editor of The Dieline; Charles Ng, founder and chief brand consultant of MCL Group Hong Kong/China; Clark Goolsby, chief creative officer of Chase Design Group; and Stefan Junge, professor in Packaging Technology at Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin. The chairman, and member of the competition jury, is Ilkka Harju, Packaging Services director, EMEA and APAC at Metsä Board.

“We need to challenge the packaging world with new solutions—new ways of thinking and new innovations. This competition is all about reducing environmental impact without compromising brand experiences. We aim to help advance innovative and sustainable packaging design throughout the world,” Harju stated.

The competition can be followed on social media with the hashtag #betterwithless

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