“Let’s grow good things together! Every little bit counts... and as we know, little by little adds up.”
- Removed all gold foil from packaging and instead used luxurious (and less expensive) blind embossing
- Transitioned 100% of products to FSC certified paper
- Removed all plastic bubble wrap + poly sleeves where possible, replacing them with 100% recyclable paper wraps. For packaging that still necessitated the use of plastic (to protect the integrity of product during shipment), we sourced 100% biodegradable material.
- Replaced all PU leather (polyurethane leather) wrapped journals with linen.
- Historically all products & packaging have been coated with matte lamination, which gave them a luxurious, smooth finish but prevented them from being composted. We transitioned to using PLA (Polylactic Acid) film instead—making them 100% biodegradable with the same smooth finish.
- Added environmental statements to all packaging—instructing consumers on how they can join us in our sustainability efforts by discarding their product + packaging responsibly.
For a business rooted in garden analogies and earth-inspired content, there was a gap between the messaging and the manufacturing practices of the business. The online retail company sells products made entirely of plastic and paper materials, in addition to all the materials required for shipment from manufacturers, to the warehouse, and to consumers.
My goal was to bridge the gap between these two contradictory business objectives. In 2022, I took a deep dive into Cultivate What Matters' product manufacturing and worked directly with international production teams to source more environmentally-friendly manufacturing practices and materials.
Over the course of 6 months, I collaborated with the COO to convert all product packaging to be 100% recyclable and/or biodegradable, while maintaining >60% profit margins. These are the changes we made:
My goal was to bridge the gap between these two contradictory business objectives. In 2022, I took a deep dive into Cultivate What Matters' product manufacturing and worked directly with international production teams to source more environmentally-friendly manufacturing practices and materials.
Over the course of 6 months, I collaborated with the COO to convert all product packaging to be 100% recyclable and/or biodegradable, while maintaining >60% profit margins. These are the changes we made:
Sustainability Initiatives
Rather than illustrative elements, the focus of marketing imagery is placed on the products and the people using them.
Cultivate’s marketing campaigns are built on a foundation of clean typography alongside light and airy photography.
Illustrative elements are primarily used in product designs, with minimal use in marketing assets.
illustration library + marketing asset guidelines
Like a pea gravel garden path flanked by blooms, bright bouquets wrapped in kraft paper, and a soil garden bed with blooms and fruit.
a neutral foundation with delightful colors layered on top.
Colors mirror what we see in nature and the garden—
color palette:
I refined the previously extensive color palette to include select hues derived directly from nature, added depth to the type kit with a complementary serif font, established styling guidelines to streamline + enhance product photography, updated the brand language and company mission statement, provided a library of new hand-drawn illustrations, and consulted on the creative direction and sustainability of future product and packaging development.
after:
