Over the festive period, Britons bin 227,000 miles of wrapping paper.
Eclectic London perfume house Miller Harris decided to take a stand against this wastefulness. Their goal was to minimize packaging waste without sacrificing desirability. The task? A fresh new take on the packaging that would make reusable wrapping feel more enticing. Our scarf designs married a style with sustainability. The weight of packaging Miller Harris shipped was reduced by a factor of 10 from more than 2.5 tonnes over Christmas 2017 to just 250kg in Christmas 2018.
Never ones to follow the crowd, Miller Harris’ source and preserve the most exquisite raw materials, then add a twist of eclectic London street style. Ahead of Christmas 2018, Miller Harris had one item at the top of its wish list: to inspire consumers to think differently about gift wrap by providing more exciting reusable alternatives. Our task? To craft stylish packaging options that could link Miller Harris with sustainability year-round.
Inspired by the Japanese art of furoshiki, 100% silk twill scarves became our canvas. Drawing on the many ways that the scarves can be repurposed, each features the Miller Harris wordmark as it’s never appeared before: warped, wavy and unconventional. Combining eclectic fashion with reusable function, the only limit to how they’re reused is the owners’ own creativity. So whether it be as gift wrap, a scarf or a bag, they’re set to deliver the goods far beyond the season.
For Christmas 2017, Miller Harris shipped over 2.5 tonnes of product packaging. Thanks to the new silk twill scarves, that weight was reduced by a factor of 10 to just 250kg, with the volumetric size down from over 30m sq to 1.6m sq. Miller Harris’ feel-good campaign won over consumers instantly with sales up 24% from the previous year, and it’s clear that the campaign will continue to have an impact after the holidays. After all, the real gift of the scarves is what consumers do with them next.
