Case Studies

Designing Plastic-free Packaging for an Innovative New Product

Wilson Sporting Goods encountered a challenge: they needed to develop an environmentally-friendly container to match their innovative new tennis balls.

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The Challenge

Traditional tennis balls and their packaging were contributing to landfill issues around the world

The negative effects of plastics have been well-documented. The New York Times estimates 125 million tennis balls are sold in the United States annually, and 350 million tennis balls are manufactured around the world. Less than 0.5% of tennis balls are recycled globally, which means millions of tennis balls end up in landfills each year.

According to Hans-Martin Reh, General Manager, Racquet Sports at Wilson Sporting Goods, "While the tennis ball has not fundamentally changed over 40 years, it has contributed to landfill issues across the world. We decided to re-engineer the ball from the inside out to be gentler on our world while not giving an inch in performance, actually enhancing it."

As a part of this evolution, Wilson sought to package their innovative new product in recycled, recyclable and otherwise environmentally friendly materials.

 

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Our Approach

Finding the “sweet spot” between performance and sustainability

The packaging for Wilson's new tennis balls needed to be durable, efficient and environmentally-friendly while still maintaining the integrity of the balls inside. In short, the packaging needed to be as impressive as the innovation in tennis balls that lay inside.

Market insights group Nielsen found that products that marketed their sustainability saw more growth than products that made no such claims. Nielsen also reports that 81% of global consumers feel strongly that companies should be involved in environmental improvement.

In our own consumer survey conducted in 2017, we found that consumers are willing to change their behaviors regarding recycling, and they look to manufacturers and retailers to lead the way.

When asked to list changes they thought would make packaging better, consumers said:

  • Reduce waste
  • Increase recycling levels
  • Reduce plastic littering in the oceans

Trillora developed a container made from cartonboard, manufactured from 100% natural primary fibers that are recyclable, and, best of all, biodegradable. The Trillora cartonboard brought the ideal strength and grammage for safe transport of the Triniti balls, while providing a brilliant medium for graphic packaging.

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"While the tennis ball has not fundamentally changed over 40 years, it has contributed to landfill issues across the world. We decided to re-engineer the ball from the inside out to be gentler on our world while not giving an inch in performance, actually enhancing it."

– Hans-Martin Reh, General Manager, Racquet Sports at Wilson Sporting Goods

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