Better Packaging at NÓDOA DESIGN

From the very beginning at NÓDOA DESIGN, we knew we didn’t want plastic to define our products – not in the fabrics we choose, and not in the packaging our customers receive. Instead of chasing the unreal  “perfect” solution, we’ve tried to make a series of informed choices about materials, logistics and end‑of‑life that genuinely reduce impact, while still protecting the pieces you buy.

When we started designing packaging at NÓDOA DESIGN, we first mapped the real workflow: we produce, pack and send items to the warehouse; later, each customer order is picked, grouped and packed together for shipping, or sold in a store or market and packed directly for the customer.

Pre‑packing every piece in its final box before going to the warehouse would mean more boxes, more air being shipped and far more volume. Instead, we chose to separate protection in storage from final customer packaging, which helps us consolidate orders, reduce the number of boxes and lower the overall footprint per shipment.

From there, we looked at each material one by one, using life‑cycle thinking – from production to end‑of‑life – instead of chasing a perfect “plastic‑free” or “zero‑waste” label.

Plastic Bags: could we skip them?

Textiles need protection in transport and storage: dust, moisture and accidental dirt can permanently mark fabrics if they sit exposed in a warehouse or travel unprotected. This is why most of the industry uses plastic bags around each item. Plastic is light, strong and moisture‑resistant – and those same properties make it persistent in the environment and difficult to manage at end‑of‑life.​

After testing options, we made a deliberate compromise:

• We use plastic bags only in internal logistics (transport and warehouse) but reuse them: before an order is packed for the final customer, we remove those bags and keep them in circulation for the next production runs.

By reusing the same bags multiple times, we reduce the total volume of plastic that leaves our system, while still preventing stains, dust and moisture from damaging the textiles. In life‑cycle terms, we extend the use phase of a high‑impact material and keep it in a closed loop, instead of turning each sleeve into immediate single‑use waste.

Why not bioplastics

We also looked into bioplastics and compostable plastics. On paper, they sound ideal: partially plant‑based, sometimes marketed as biodegradable, positioned as a cleaner replacement for fossil‑based plastics. In practice, several issues appear at end‑of‑life:

• Many bioplastics require specific industrial composting conditions; in normal home or landfill conditions, they may persist for years.

• They often need separate recycling or composting streams; if they enter conventional plastic recycling by mistake, they can contaminate the batch and force it to landfill or incineration.

• Collection and treatment systems for these materials are still limited in most cities, so the theoretical benefits frequently do not materialise.

For us, adopting bioplastics without strong local infrastructure would risk adding complexity and contamination rather than reducing impact. That is why, for now, we focus on reusing conventional plastic internally instead of pushing a bioplastic that the system around us cannot yet handle well.

Organic Cotton Tape: Small Detail, Big Responsibility

For grouping articles, we use organic cotton tape instead of other solutions as synthetic plastic tapes or paper. Nevertheless, we use the tape sparingly and design it to be easy to reuse: it can be untied and kept for future wrapping or storage, and it avoids plastic films and strong synthetic adhesives that complicate recycling of the box or envelope underneath. In life‑cycle thinking, this means treating the tape as a durable accessory, not a disposable decoration.

The Box: Recycled Cardboard, Built to Be Kept

A lot of of our pieces are bought to be given, so we needed packaging that is both protective and gift‑ready. We chose a rigid box made from recycled cardboard:

• Recycled cardboard keeps fibre in circulation and typically has a lower impact than virgin board, especially when it stays within established recycling streams.

• A sturdy box protects the product in transit and is visually suitable for gifting, which encourages customers to keep and reuse it for storage or other purposes.

We deliberately avoid heavy coatings, laminations or complex mixed materials on the box, so that it can still be recycled in standard paper/cardboard streams once it truly reaches end‑of‑life.

The Envelope: Recycled Kraft, Designed for Reuse

To protect the box itself during shipping – against dirt, moisture and abrasion – we use an outer envelope made from recycled kraft paper. This Kraft is wood‑pulp‑based and recyclable. Kraft paper is strong, relatively lightweight, and can be produced with significant recycled content, which supports a circular fibre system.

We designed this envelope with reuse in mind: it is sized and structured to arrive in good enough condition to be used again, and it includes additional adhesive so it can be closed at least one more time, for returns, for sending an item to someone else, or for storage. By encouraging at least a second life, we effectively cut the per‑use footprint of the envelope roughly in half, assuming similar use scenarios. Reuse is one of the most effective levers in packaging sustainability, often more powerful than minor weight reductions or switching between similar materials.

Why This Approach, Not “Perfect” Materials

Life cycle assessment (LCA) studies on packaging show that no single material is universally “best”. Plastics can perform well on some metrics (like weight and certain energy indicators), while paper and cardboard often perform better on recyclability, litter and biodegradability. Bioplastics can theoretically reduce fossil feedstocks, but they introduce real challenges in collection, sorting and recycling today.

Our current choices reflect this evidence:

• Reuse conventional plastic where it is hardest to replace functionally (internal protection and warehouse storage).

• Favour recycled, easily recyclable fibre‑based materials (kraft and cardboard) for customer‑facing packaging.

• Treat organic cotton as a minimal, reusable finishing detail rather than a disposable element.

• Design each component for reuse first, then for straightforward recycling.

• Pack orders at the moment of fulfilment so we can consolidate multiple items into a single parcel, reducing the number of boxes, packaging materials and transport volume per customer.

Always a Work in Progress

Nothing in our packaging system is perfect, and we are not trying to claim it is. Every material has impacts; every choice has trade‑offs. Our commitment is to keep improving: to question our own assumptions, to follow independent data, and to adjust as better materials, better LCAs and better waste‑management systems become available.

Being more sustainable for us means staying curious, transparent and willing to change – step by step, material by material, shipment by shipment.