Make Something Disappear

MAJOR PROJECT 1Make Something Disappear A brief from the RSA that required

participants to choose something that they feel is overused and then design a solution so the item is either used less or not at all

2

Packaging of a product is what protects it, what defines it and ultimately what sells it.

“Well packaged is half sold”

This seemed to be the previous notion of the existence of packaging, a notion heavily linked to a market led, sales focussed approach that stems from the industrial revolution . It was created as a necessity for the life of the product and an essential to giving an item gravitas in a competitive market.

However things are starting to change for the better. In the last century we have seen the development of a new mind-set from the world of design. Victor Papanek, Don Norman and Alexander Fuad-Luke are noted for their suggestions for more “responsible”

Packaging

Design and designers are slowly beginning to adopt design thinking that focusses on the needs of a “greater good”, the requirements of society and what is necessary.

With this there have been many developments within the world of design to produce things, ethically, sustainability and with thought and responsibility to the birth, life and death of a product. And packaging has seen many changes to meet these new ethically responsible requirements.

However much I read articles that tell me of new developments in sustainable plastics, read books that present the design work of other companies that are trying to confront these issues. Even seeing some of them being brought into reality. I can’t help feeling that this is only a scratch on

the surface of a much larger problem. Dominant supermarkets still provide society with an abundance of easily attainable throw away products without reflecting any of the implications, and why would they want to when the majority of society does not demand it. What is out of sight is out of mind.

Councils have started to make efforts to recycle the discarded waste left from the many products we consume but I still see non-recylable dust bins full of plastic bottles, metal cans, cardboard boxes, all of which can be re-used or re-cycled [But then on that point the other concern is, if we do put our recyclable litter in the correct bin: How much of it does really get re-cycled if any of it at all?].

For this project I do not aim to conquer the world of packaging as it is a sea too vast to swim in, and to make real change then it is more of a question of changing the thoughts and habits of society and I am no politician.

However, I am a designer who believes that design holds a responsibility in helping to improve the world around us and although this project may not help to eradicate the issues, I hope it may help to contribute to the work that is already going on and possibly inspire others to want to make a change.

37.6 % of household waste is recycled

46.9 %is disposed to landfill

52.3 %of what is disposed has some recoverable value

The department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs of DEFRA are a UK government agency that are responsible for the policy making and legislation for issues regarding:

the natural environment, biodiversity, plants and animals•sustainable development and the green economy•food, farming and fisheries•animal health and welfare•environmental protection and pollution control•rural communities and issues•

Each year DEFRA release statistics regarding the issues listed above.

5

23.7million tonnes

Household waste collected

2010

6

23. 7 million tonnes of waste is equivalent to 52,249,020,000 pounds.

Within construction and the building of planes the average weight of a person is regarded as 155 pounds.

If you divide 52,249,020,000 by 155 you get 337,090,452.

From this simple sum we can estimate that the weight of household waste produced by UK households in 1 year is equivalent to the weight of 337 million 90 thousand and 452 people.

As of 2011 the population of the United States of America was recorded at 307,006,550. Therefore...

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UK household waste

produced in 2010

weighed more than the

entire population of the

USA

8

In 2006, as part of a report into overzealous and unnecessary packaging. Lucy Siegle, a reporter for the Guardian asked 4 families to collect their packaging waste for 1 month. This was an experiment to see what a single family generates and also to make the families consider whether all the packaging they did have was really necessary.

Total packaging collected 20 kg

Energy equivalent 80 days of light bulb usage

“I’ve got no problems with steel or aluminium cans because they can easily be recycled, but what’s really annoying are the things where different materials are glued together”



“I always thought design was supposed to be about making society better, not trying to get consumers to buy stay-clean sauce caps. I mean those kind of things really don’t matter... I think I would probably pay more for environmentally sound packaging”


Energy equivalent 1,090 days of light bulb usage

“I’m actually quite worried by the volume of plastic we’ve accumulated, I would normally recycle a lot of it, including yoghurt pots and food trays although I’ve just looked in the recycling leaflet and found out they are excluded so I’ve been contaminating my recycling”

1. Felix pouches Probably a laminate of three different materials and therefore is difficult to recycle

2. Mr Muscle spray Has a complex and resource intensive trigger spray which has to be thrown away with the bottle

3. Fuji film Comes with an unnecessary blister pack

4. Easy Iron fabric conditioner Resource intensive and could only justify its existence if it was refillable

5. Dora the Explorer toothbrush Oversized sealed plastic presentation pack with extra plastic interior, all of it unmarked so can’t be recycled

6. Whiskas foil pouches Material-intensive foil pouches in a polyethylene wrap

7. Baby Bell cheese Wrapped in wax, secondary plastic layer and then put into a net bag

8. Jaffa cakes Christmas edition box contains 6 other boxes with six separate plastic wrapped portions of Jaffa cakes

9. Plastic Maltesers tub Plastic casing, foil lid and a novelty spherical shape which means a lot of air will be shipped in transit

10. Coconuts Separately shrink-wrapped despite having its own natural packaging, also has additional aluminium sticker



“I find the amount of plastic the most shocking. I do go through a lot of water bottles, but I didn’t realise quite how many. And there is a lot more waste from my business - I have a business selling fair-trade products on a market stall - and hadn’t realised how much arrives in plastic”

The families where also asked to select certain ‘offending’ packaging examples. A list of ten was decided which is as follows:

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Inspired by the Guardian report on household waste I decided to make a record of the waste collected for recycling in my household for one week.

1. B

read

bag

sLD

PE

(lo

w d

ensi

ty p

olye

thyl

ene)

2. E

nvel

opes

Non

-rec

ycle

d pa

per

3. M

icro

wav

e m

eal c

onta

iner

PE

T (p

olye

thyl

ene

tere

phth

alat

e)

4. S

liced

mea

t tra

yN

o m

arki

ngs

5. S

traw

berr

y co

ntai

ner

PE

T (p

olye

thyl

ene

tere

phth

alat

e)

6. W

ater

bot

tleP

ETE

(po

lyet

hyle

ne te

reph

thal

ate)

7. F

abric

sof

tene

r bo

ttle

PE

T (p

olye

thyl

ene

tere

phth

alat

e)

8. P

anca

ke m

ix b

ottle

Not

Mar

ked

9. G

ravy

tube

[Bod

y] R

ecyc

led

card

[Lid

] N

o m

arki

ngs

10. M

ushr

oom

con

tain

erN

o m

arki

ngs

11. F

ood

tins

Rec

ycla

ble

stee

l

12. A

ssor

ted

food

box

esR

ecyc

led

card

boar

d

13. F

ood

tray

No

mar

king

s

14. N

ewsp

aper

sR

ecyc

led

pape

r

15. T

oile

t rol

l tub

esR

ecyc

led

card

boar

d

16. F

ood

tray

No

mar

king

s

17. C

hoco

late

box

Rec

ycle

d ca

rd

18. C

hoco

late

box

tray

PE

T (p

olye

thyl

ene

tere

phth

alat

e)

19. F

ood

tray

RP

ET

(rec

ycle

d po

lyet

hyle

ne)

20.S

andw

ich

fillin

g co

ntai

ner

PP

(po

lypr

opyl

ene)

21. W

ater

bot

tleP

ET

(pol

yeth

ylen

e te

reph

thal

ate)

22. F

ruit

tray

PE

TE (

poly

ethy

lene

tere

phth

alat

e)

23. F

ruit

tray

PE

TE (

poly

ethy

lene

tere

phth

alat

e)

24. S

liced

mea

t tra

yN

o m

arki

ngs

25. A

ssor

ted

leafl

ets

and

broc

hure

sS

ome

recy

cled

mat

eria

l

26. A

ssor

ted

carr

ier

bags

HD

PE

(hi

gh d

ensi

ty p

olye

thyl

ene)

14

Paper / Cardboard

Metal

Plastic

Types of material

To gain a better understanding on the current state of packaging and recycling I decided to take a closer look at the items I put aside for recycled waste in a week. The results shown here are based on the waste produced by a two person household.

From separating and analysing all of the waste products it seems that plastic is the greatest concern as it is the most dominant material but is the least recycled. It was also quite shocking to find that most of the plastic products were made from new plastic and not recycled, where previously I assumed that if bottles had the recycling symbol on them then they were made using recycled material.

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Will be accepted for recycling

Made of recycled material

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[RE]design are a not for profit enterprise that intends to promote sustainability within design through events, exhibitions, reports and other information from their website and printed material. Their intention is to support designers who ‘don’t want to make landfill’.

A part of the paraphernalia that they provide through their website is a toolbox for designers that aims to provide awareness of the different approaches to sustainable design. To the right are the nine suggested approaches that [RE]design list as suggested themes for sustainable projects.

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Designs using waste materials in the raw, without reprocessing.

Customised or personalisable designs making an emotive connection between owner and object.

Designs made with reprocessed waste materials

Designs which minimise waste of energy and materials, are multifunctional, or raise awareness of resource use.

Designs that allow easy, cost effective disassembly and re-use of parts or recycling at end of life.

Characterful designs that evoke memories, reminding you to treasure them.

Designs using renewable natural materials, managed to ensure a sustainable supply.

Sociable designs which invite interaction and friendliness.

Designs making creative use of ready made, second-hand objects and components.

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To help with the development of my ideas I thought it would be beneficial to select some of the categories listed in [RE]designs toolbox and examine some examples of projects that already intend to meet these requirements.

The intent of this project was to take an item and either try to reduce it’s use or make it unnecessary so it does not need to be used at all. For this reason I have chosen to look at the ideas of reduction and re-use as they seem the most fitting.

Each of the examples to the right show examples of packaging being reduced, the spray bottle design (top left) has decided to remove the need for any waste plastic by creating a reusable spray attachment and an aluminium refill that can be recycled, however I’m not sure whether it is more efficient to recycle aluminium than it is to recycle plastic?

The Nescafe ‘Refill Packs’ are one of a few products currently supplied in mainstream supermarkets that attempts to reduce packaging by encouraging people to use their old coffee jars and just refill them using these packs, however if the amount of packaging is reduced why does the cost of the product not go down with it? There is some difference in price but not enough that would make choice simple.

On the far right is an outcome from a design project aimed at making household cleaning products more sustainable. The bottle is removed and replaced by a very lightweight carton and single pellets of fluid which help to ration the amount used and reduce the amount of packaging.

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“Schemes like this are heavily dependent on consumer behaviour to thwart the problem of loads of plastic going into landfill.”

“For the bags to really make a difference (to the amount of waste going to landfill) they need to become the dominant model,”

Rob Holdway B.A (Hons), M.A FRSA: Director, Giraffe Innovation Limited. Talking about the lack of success that refill milk bags have had in our British supermarkets.

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I particularly like the idea of re-using products as it is difficult to see a point where the objects we use to package and transport our goods will be totally obsolete which means that the packaging either has to be re-designed to be less wasteful or reusable. In re-cycling a product it will take a lot more energy and processes where an object that can be re-used or used for another purpose does not have to be put through that energy wasting system. However as seen by some of the products on this page and the next, although the ideas are clever they are not completely effective as there will come a point in the objects life where it still has to be thrown away and some sooner than others.In the case of the mustard pot drinking glass (far left) then a glass will last a long time if looked after but how many glasses does a household need? The same applies for the building block idea.

Another design solution from a brief to create a more sustainable household product. When the bottle is empty it can be filled with sand and used as a weight for training. However I personally would only ever need one set of weights.

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An alternative use for large empty bottles. The tessellating form of the bottles enables them to be strapped together to for a stool.

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Initial IdeasFrom my research I wanted to model my ideas around the idea of re-use and specifically focused towards plastic bottles.

30

Out of my initial ideas I decided to focus on the concept of a home delivery refill system. If refills at supermarkets are unsuccessful due to the competition from other products then maybe that may not be the case using a home delivery service?

36

Reverse Vending Machines

As the title suggests, Reverse Vending Machines work in the opposite way to how a normal vending machine would. Instead of inserting money in exchange for goods, the machine accepts empty waste in exchange for tokens which can then be used for discounts on future purchases.The machines are able to recognise differences in materials and will automatically sort whatever it receives. If it is recyclable the machine will crush and compress the material into a storage compartment and give the user tokens equivalent to the amount of waste they have put in. If the material is not recyclable then it is ejected.There are over 19,000 Reverse Vending machines throughout Europe.

Similar Business ideas

To help with the development of my Idea I began to look at current businesses and services that are similar to my idea or have elements about them that could inspire the direction for my final outcome.

37

Thoughts:

I like the idea of an incentive or reward as the notion of people recycling from the goodness of their heart does not always seem to work. This could be something to consider when designing the business model for my service. What is the incentive or reward that the customer receives?

38

Abel & ColeOnline Groceries

The intention of my project is to add simplicity to the purchasing of household fluids as well as tackle issues with recycling.

Comparative to the other online supermarkets Abel & Cole are far smaller. Instead of offering an overwhelming and confusing selection they keep their categories small and only offer produce which is fair trade, organic and natural.

Another feature that encouraged me to focus on Abel & Cole specifically is their Fruit and Vegetable boxes. Instead of having to choose each vegetable you can ask for a box that comes with a varied selection of fruit and veg which can be tailored to suit the size of your household.

Thoughts:

I am encouraged by the fact that Abel & Cole are a successful business even though they don’t offer the same selection or prices that the larger supermarkets do. This is evidence that there are people who would choose to use a service because of the quality of the produce and because of its ethical values rather than the amount that they can get for their money.I particularly like the visual language and branding of the company. It has a human feel that gives the impression of community over a faceless corporation, this is also reflected through the companies strong links to social networking sites and blogs.The pre-packed boxes have left me wondering whether a similar idea could be implemented in my concept. Could household liquids be supplied in a pack that is tailored to the size of a household? For this to be considered I would need to research the types and amounts of fluids that are used on average in varied households.

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Avon

Avon is a cosmetics company that uses a community of sales representatives to sell there products. The company is generally focussed on the involvement of women who are given the opportunity to ‘be their own boss’ by selling avon products to people in their local area and receive commission from the sales. To become a rep you must first pay a fee of £15. This goes towards the supply of catalogues, bags and other material that is required to sell the products.When speaking to my mum who used to work for Avon she said that the money she used to earn never seemed to be much in comparison to the work she had to put in,

plus there was always a lot of chasing around as you could never tell when people would be at home to receive their order. However the Avon website has tells the story of one lady who was able to make £300,000 a year by creating a network of employees of her own, in a way creating an offshoot company where she is left to manage.This seems to me that having a successful career as an Avon representative relies on personal ability and the time you can spend on the job, a single woman living on her own will definitely be able to earn more money than a single mother with two kids.

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Thoughts:

I like the idea of a business that involves communities and people in the framework. Jobs are scarce at the moment and any new business that can offer employment will be sure to stir up interest, plus It seems to me that the more people working together the more the word spreads about the company, the employees or representatives also act as ambassadors who help to promote the business.My main concern is that when using a commission system how do you go about making it fair?

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The milkman used to provide an important service to the community but advances in technology and transport have seriously reduced the need for a milkman (Image by Fred Morley/Stringer, Hulton Archive, Getty Images.)

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Milk Man

The local Milkman has been a part of British culture since the 1800’s and at one point they were a necessity. However, since the 1960’s there have been great developments in transport, supermarkets and more recently the birth of online shopping which have meant that fewer milk bottles can now be seen outside the houses on British streets, but this does not mean that the Milk Man is dead. Like many services and businesses the milk delivery trade has had to innovate to move with the times and now the local milk man acts more like a travelling convenience store, offering a far wider selection of everyday household groceries like bread, snacks, fruit and veg etc. The ‘Milk and More’ website states that there are local Milk Men still delivering to 1.4 million households over the UK.

Thoughts:

The history of the Milk Man could be seen as a warning to the direction of my idea. In the same way that the Milk Man used to just supply Milk I will be solely supplying household cleaning fluids, will this mean I will suffer the same opposition as the Milk Man?

I think that companies such as Abel & Cole show that it is possible to offer less and even though swamped with competition, they still manage to have a successful business. What makes them successful is that they meet the requirement of a market that wants natural, organic and generally good quality foods and also want the same convenience that is offered by the other supermarkets.

I think the selling point of a Milk Man is the reliability. Every morning at 4 o’clock while most are in bed, the Milk Man is dropping your Milk and groceries at your door so when you wake in the morning all that you need to start your day is there waiting for you. You don’t have to order or drive or collect it’s just there when you need it.

It could be fair to suggest that certain household fluids are necessary and will generally be replaced fairly regularly therefore, would it not be possible to have your required amounts of household fluids dropped at your door on regular days so you don’t have to think about it?

Idea development

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Washing liquid

Amount of weeks before item is replaced

Hand soap

Laundry liquid

Fabric softner

Kitchen surface cleaner

Bathroom surface cleaner

Bleach

No response

Amount of people in household

51

Washing liquid

Amount of weeks before item is replaced

Hand soap

Laundry liquid

Fabric softner

Kitchen surface cleaner

Bathroom surface cleaner

Bleach

No response

Amount of people in household

Responses from a survey that aimed to find out how frequently a household bought certain cleaning items based on the size of the household. The results are very sporadic and not as uniform as I may have expected

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YES

NO

The Environment

Environmentally friendly

No option fom the council

To help the environment and for a sense of self satisfaction

Because the council make it easy

Because we have to

To try and help the environment in my own little way

There is no recycling facility where I live

It has been made convenient to do so

Because we are told to do so

Because it helps the environment

To reduce landfil

I try to be eco friendly

For a future for my Grandchildren

Why not?

No choice

Doing my bit for the environment

Too lazy

To not feel guilty

Do you recycle?

53

YES

NO

The Environment

Environmentally friendly

No option fom the council

To help the environment and for a sense of self satisfaction

Because the council make it easy

Because we have to

To try and help the environment in my own little way

There is no recycling facility where I live

It has been made convenient to do so

Because we are told to do so

Because it helps the environment

To reduce landfil

I try to be eco friendly

For a future for my Grandchildren

Why not?

No choice

Doing my bit for the environment

Too lazy

To not feel guilty

It was encouraging to see that many of the responses from the survey showed a positive attitude towards recycling and it was evident that there was a sense of necessity and responsibility.

It seems to me that if such a large group of people are happy to wash and recycle their bottles would they also be happy to wash and re use containers if the service was provided as it is effectively the same procedure.

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Alongside the survey I also asked whether people would be able to take pictures of the areas in their house where they keep their household cleaning products. I thought this might give me a better insight into how the goods are stored in the house and also as another source for which items that people actually purchase. This could help when considering which products the service may offer and possibly give some suggestion of how the bottles that are provided in the service may be designed.

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If you do or have bought your grocery shopping online then hopefully you can help me?

I need some help with research I'm doing for a university project about online supermarket shopping and I need to get some personal insights.

If you have used the internet to buy your home

shopping then maybe you could spare 5 minutes

to answer the questions below:

1. How often do you buy groceries or other

household items online?

2. Who do you or would you use?

3. Why do you buy groceries or other

household products online?

4. Do you have an opinion on the way that the

products are displayed or described online?

5. How do you feel about the delivery system?

6. Name 3 supermarket products you would

definitely buy online and why.

7. Name 3 supermarket products you would

probably not buy online and why.

8. Overall, how do feel about the level of

service you receive?

If you could find the time to answer these

questions I would be really grateful.

I wanted to get some primary research on peoples thoughts on internet shopping, so using Facebook I sent the above message to all of my contacts in the hope I would get a good amount of varied response. However I did not get as many as I would have liked, even after reminding people to respond and sending further messages I only received a handful of replies. Nonetheless, some of the responses I did receive where insightful and if nothing more it was good research into what methods of communication aren’t so successful when conducting research.

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1. Used to buy once a week but now in the country and working from home I drive to the local shops.

2. Use Sainsburys and Tesco but my favourite is Sainsburys. I Love M&S but too expensive and don’t think there is delivery service.

3. Did buy online as I had no time during the week with commuting and also easier although maybe I was being a bit lazy.

4. Difficult to feel and smell fresh fruit and often get things out of date. Also quality and quantity are difficult to work out unless you are an expect on the weight of things.

5. Delivery system was good as it always arrived when they said but nothing as good as going to the shop to choose food to look at date and feel produce and smell to check you are getting the best. Although I think people in this country are getting bigger due to all this online shopping so sitting on their arse more. Good for busy mums though!

6. Would buy household cleaning products as you know what you are getting.

7. Would not buy fresh fruit and veg as can’t feel and smell.

8. Overall good service but difficult to find where items are online in which section etc. Also weight issue of what is what. Have returned food as out of date but have it replaced pretty quickly. In my opinion people should go out and buy their food and not get it delivered unless really busy and no time.

Emma Tuke

Tom I have never bought household products online. I remember 10 years ago thinking this was the future and it was something crazy about it. Now we gone past that and I would easily do it. I remember watching dragons den and these two guys had a pretty good idea about refrigerating food outside the house, like a letter box fridge so you didn’t have to be at home for drop off, Would love to help out. Let me know

David Hedberg

Sorry, I don’t shop on line but I have heard lots of complaints about supermarkets delivering unsuitable alternatives when they say they are out of stock. So I guess there is less control by the customer and maybe supermarkets can take advantage of this to shift poor selling items ? I wonder how many people would bother to complain ?

Paul Maxwell

1. Normally around every 2 weeks. When ever the food runs out or goes off.

2. I usually use Tescos.

3. I buy it online because I don’t drive and its too cold to walk home with loads of bags. Probably wouldn’t buy online if I could drive.

4. In terms of how its displayed online it would be nice if there was a tab to put cheapest to more expensive to save me having to scroll through every single one to double check ... (I’m on a tight budget lol!!).

5. The delivery system is good as you can pick small time slots so you don’t have to wait all day for it and they nor-mally come on time, however I would never use Asdas again as they were nearly an hour late and didn’t even apologise?

6. I would definitely buy canned products, and pastas/rice etc because you cant really go wrong with that, what you see is what you get.

7. I would avoid buying fruit and veg as you don’t know what they look like or how big they are. I have had tiny passion fruits and bruised up bananas galore...not good!

8. n/a

Patricia Possolo

60

1. About twice a month.

2. Ocado when I get 15% off vouchers, if not then Sainsburys or Tesco.

3. I don't have a car and carrying them from the supermarket with a toddler is not ideal. And the bus is so expensive now that if the two of us go and come back from the supermarket it equals the price of delivery.

4. It's not ideal. Sainsburys is slightly clearer than the others and seems to pick up on misspellings and Americanisms more than the others. You often can't see a list of ingredients or cooking instructions while browsing the products which is bad. And I always order the wrong quantity - the packages of flour or sugar are always miniature or gigantic.

5. The delivery system is fine, though a lot of the places claim that they deliver to your fridge door, but the fine print on that is "only if there are no stairs on the way to your kitchen".

6. Standard products like flour, sugar, canned goods - because you can't really go wrong. Cleaning products - for the same reason and you can stock up and avoid carrying the weight. The same can be said for drinks.

7. Fresh fruit and veg is always a gamble - I like to pick my own and the selection is not that great and local shops are cheaper. Bread - it's hard to pick the right type of bread without seeing it, especially from the bakery and my local bakery has a really good polish rye. Any ingredient I'm not too familiar with - I like to know the ingredient list and cooking instructions of unfamiliar ingredients. A curry or cooking sauce for example.

8. The service is ok. They’re usually on time and they usually phone you when they get here. Some supermarkets have a one hour slot for delivery which is good. The stairs is an issue - sometimes things are packed so that they get squashed by the time we get it upstairs and sometimes the fruit and veg is not good quality. They're usually good with refunds but if you need something that day it's not much help. Substitutions can be really random too. Pet peeve is substituting a multi pack or special offer with a lesser quantity of the same which costs less but proportionately is more expensive. In theory you can send it back, but who wants to bother especially when the poor delivery guy is waiting to get on with his work?

Silvia Grimaldi

1. I don't use the internet for groceries, I never bought from a supermarket on line, but I want my parents to start buying on line from Waitrose. But I get other stuff for the house - furniture, contraceptives, specialised dental products that won't be in the shop. I probably get something every few weeks or so.

2. Not really fussy who I buy from. I just Google what I need and pick the best price out of the first few that appear.

3. I buy things to save a trip, or because it won't be in the shop or because I'm shy to buy it from a cashier.

4. n/a

5. Delivery is fine. If I'm out and they want a signature, they keep trying.

6. n/a

7. I guess I would tend to buy less fruit and veg on line, because I like to check it myself.

8. Service is good. If something is wrong then people usually sort it out.

Jim Rokos

1. Once a week

2. Abel & Cole

3. Convenience and I feel that I get fresher produce.

4. I like visual representations to be accurate with expandable information boxes.

5. Very happy currently but as Abel & Cole deliver at a set day and time each week this may not be suitable for all.

6. Vegetables, Alcohol, Cheese. Mainly because I like them and as I don't drive it is much it’s easier for me to have things delivered.

7. I don't think I would rule anything out to be honest.

8. 9 out of 10, very happy could possible need more flexibility on delivery times in the future.

Bill Jones

61

1. I buy most things online, though usually though amazon, Ebay etc.

2. I would probably use which ever is the cheapest/ has discounts or coupon codes and fastest delivery.

3. Because it is easy, I can do it on the go/instantly and don’t have to make a trip to the shops and back.

4. I think a picture of the product is still needed, but the important thing is the details, size, content, ingredients, materials, cost, weight etc

5. It should be the same day if ordered before 10am or next day at a time that suits you, aka after 6 when you get home from work.

6. Kitchen supplies e.g Soap powder etc. Canned goods and Drink/Alcohol in bulk for a party.

7. Fruit and veg, I want to pick them myself. Probably new products I haven’t used before, I’m not sure I would make a new choice online I prefer impulse buys in a shop.

8. I love buying online. The sites, payment systems, returns all seem to run perfectly. It is just the post, I am forever going to the collections office.

Nikki Scott

1. Once a month or every few weeks.

2. Tesco mainly but have used Sainsburys before.

3. Usually I’ll pick bits and pieces up on the way home from work but I like to top up the main bits and pieces every now and then and its good for that. I like the fact that a large part is done for you. You just have to be at home to receive it.

4. Some of the websites aren’t as easy to follow as they should be. Some of the products are difficult to find and sometimes I feel like Its harder to make decisions on what to buy online.

5. Never really had any problems with deliveries.

6. Would buy things that I know I like and will use otherwise things can easily get wasted. I guess staple things like bread, milk, canned foods, pasta, washing liquid and shampoo, soap etc.

7. I wouldn’t say I won’t buy certain things online but I suppose it’s better to shop for fruit and vegetables in person as you can make a better judgement.

8. I think the service of home delivery is a good idea as it does help a lot of people, busy mums, elderly etc. Think delivery will always be an issue for some people because of availability.

John Law

The responses seemed to show that although not everybody chooses to shop online they are still aware of the possibility and have considered doing so. Those who do feel that the service is a benefit to their lifestyle and the home delivery takes some of the pressure out of their daily routine.

Delivery doesn’t seem to be an issue as long as the goods can be guaranteed to arrive on a designated hour. This says to me that maybe that part of my idea may not need to be tampered with, if people are happy to wait for a delivery so they can collect it then maybe my concept should offer the same service.

Another thing that seems apparent again is the confusion of choosing. Does there need to be that much choice? As seen previously in the analysis of the Abel & Cole online grocery service they try to make things easier by keeping options small, I think this would be beneficial in regards to the sale of household fluid as there are a limited number of necessary goods and as long as they do the job they are meant to then you shouldn’t need 13 different varieties of washing up liquid?

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As this concept is a large scale business it is difficult to prototype without having to spend a lot of money and time so I tried to devise a small scale test that might at least give some suggestions to the interaction of the service and some feedback.

The idea was to find three candidates who would take part in a week long delivery test. Using a small travel bottle and a diary the candidate would use their allocated amount of liquid until it is finished then using text message they would let me know that they need a replacement. For all of the tests the candidates will be given a time limit for sending text messages. In order to ensure a delivery for the following day the candidate must text before 9pm.

Each candidate will test a separate delivery idea, each of which is described below.

Test 3

Like the second test the candidate has to wash their bottle once finished but instead of leaving the bottle on their doorstep a time is arranged for a delivery where I will fill the clean bottle at the door.

Test 2

The candidate would use the liquid until empty then wash the bottle so it is clean. Then, like in test 1, a text is sent and the bottle is left on their doorstep, however this time I refill the bottle first thing in the morning.

Test 1

The candidate would use the liquid and when finished let me know by text then leave the finished bottle as it is on their doorstep. I would then replace the bottle with a fresh one first thing in the morning.

Delivery test

“It wasn’t too bad, the only problem was that I didn’t really know when to order, I might have a small amount left that could be used for another wash but it wouldn’t last the whole day, so then I had to order a new one but in doing so had to get rid of a small amount of liquid. Also I’m not sure that it will be easy to get people to use a separate service when they can order their washing liquid and other household fluids when they buy the rest of their shopping”

Test 1

Customer leaves bottle outside door where it is replaced for a new one.

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“It was difficult to gauge when the bottle would run out which made ordering a bit awkward. I wasted a quarter of a bottle because I put it out too soon for collec-tion. It might be easier with to bottles”

“I don’t mind washing the bottles out as I already wash my recycling but it seems to me that if you forget to wash the bottles then your stuck as you can’t get a refill”

Test 2

Customer washes bottle and leaves outside door where it is filled up in the morning.

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“I felt that it would have been better if I had two bottles then I could rotate them. This would help reduce waste and also stop people panic ordering”

“Wasn’t much different from any other delivery service in the fact that I could allocate a time slot, the thing that concerns me is the filling as it doesn’t take too long with a small bottle but what would happen if I had a months worth of bottles that need topping up, it could waste a lot of time”

Test 3

Customer washes bottle and arranges a delivery time where the bottle is filled at the door.

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Although the test was relatively simple and did not necessarily provide a great comparison to a real delivery situation it did bring to light so simple considerations that could have been overlooked. For example all participants felt that it would be more effective to rotate bottles instead of filling one up at a time.

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Final Idea

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After consideration of my ideas and the results form my research I decided that the service would have to work in a similar way to current delivery services with an allocated date and time as it would not be effective to have a rotational delivery. I also felt that the system would work better if the customers were responsible for washing their own bottles. One reason is that they would feel like the bottles are theirs and would be more accepting of ware as it would be their own property. Secondly if the company were to wash all of the bottles then that would mean thousands of bottles washed in one confined area which would create further issues as far as chemical waste disposal as well as gallons of water waste which would counteract the good intent of the business.

Finally I felt that it would be beneficial to have a local rep as they would provide good support to the scheme as well as generate new custom. They also bridge the gap between the depot and the customer meaning that some of the requirements for the customer to get started like providing the refill bottles can be done by the rep which makes everything run a little bit smoother. Another positive of the rep is that they act as a middle man for delivery. If the customer does not wish to place the order online themselves then they can call the rep and they will do it for you and if on the day of delivery the customer is not there to receive the goods then they can be delivered to the rep and they will be able to follow up the delivery saving frustration and wasted time.

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On the delivery date specified by the customer a delivery man collects the bottles from the doorstep. They are then refilled according to the labels attached to the bottles.

The customer is introduced to the business either through the local rep, through word of mouth or through promotion on the internet.If they choose to use the service then they can place their order through the internet like any other internet shopping site. All they are required to do is supply a time for delivery as the product choice is made at the time of delivery.

Company Rep

The company rep is the initial introduction to the business. When a new customer places an order it is the job of the rep to visit them to deliver their bottles and other paraphernalia, they can also give advice on what products to order and what quantities are best. The rep also secures new customers by canvassing their local area andprovides an alternative delivery address if the customer cant be present at time of delivery.

The reusable bottles are homogenous and are not specific to any type of cleaning fluid. To specify a bottle for a particular product then the customer must attach the associated labels that are supplied with the bottles.

When the bottles are empty then they can be wash either by hand or in the dishwasher ready to be refilled on the next delivery.

The bottles are collected and filled from the dispensing units on the delivery van. This happens while the customer waits.

The full bottles are then returned to the customer and the driver takes payment for the delivery.

The new products are then ready for use. Depending on the type of product and the intent of use the customer is able to attach common dispensers to tailor the bottles to the product. For example a single 400ml bottle can end up being a washing up bottle, a spray gun or a hand soap dispenser.

If the customer does not want to use the internet then they can deal directly with the rep who can place the order for them.

Delivery Van

The delivery of the products is made by a driver and a van that has been modified to dispense the products. As the amount of cleaning products will be limited to the essentials then the van should be able to carry stock of all required cleaning products. All of the dispensing units on the van are colour coded to correspond to the colour of the labels.The delivery driver is responsible for filling the bottles and collecting payment for the delivery. They can also inspect the condition of the customers bottle and advise the customer if they require a new bottle or label.

Depot

The depot receives all orders from the internet and from the reps and arranges the delivery of goods to certain areas. A van will have the responsibility of a certain area which will be governed by the amount of fluid it can hold and the amount of custom. The depot is also where the vans are filled.

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On the delivery date specified by the customer a delivery man collects the bottles from the doorstep. They are then refilled according to the labels attached to the bottles.

The customer is introduced to the business either through the local rep, through word of mouth or through promotion on the internet.If they choose to use the service then they can place their order through the internet like any other internet shopping site. All they are required to do is supply a time for delivery as the product choice is made at the time of delivery.

Company Rep

The company rep is the initial introduction to the business. When a new customer places an order it is the job of the rep to visit them to deliver their bottles and other paraphernalia, they can also give advice on what products to order and what quantities are best. The rep also secures new customers by canvassing their local area andprovides an alternative delivery address if the customer cant be present at time of delivery.

The reusable bottles are homogenous and are not specific to any type of cleaning fluid. To specify a bottle for a particular product then the customer must attach the associated labels that are supplied with the bottles.

When the bottles are empty then they can be wash either by hand or in the dishwasher ready to be refilled on the next delivery.

The bottles are collected and filled from the dispensing units on the delivery van. This happens while the customer waits.

The full bottles are then returned to the customer and the driver takes payment for the delivery.

The new products are then ready for use. Depending on the type of product and the intent of use the customer is able to attach common dispensers to tailor the bottles to the product. For example a single 400ml bottle can end up being a washing up bottle, a spray gun or a hand soap dispenser.

If the customer does not want to use the internet then they can deal directly with the rep who can place the order for them.

Delivery Van

The delivery of the products is made by a driver and a van that has been modified to dispense the products. As the amount of cleaning products will be limited to the essentials then the van should be able to carry stock of all required cleaning products. All of the dispensing units on the van are colour coded to correspond to the colour of the labels.The delivery driver is responsible for filling the bottles and collecting payment for the delivery. They can also inspect the condition of the customers bottle and advise the customer if they require a new bottle or label.

Depot

The depot receives all orders from the internet and from the reps and arranges the delivery of goods to certain areas. A van will have the responsibility of a certain area which will be governed by the amount of fluid it can hold and the amount of custom. The depot is also where the vans are filled.

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