Packaging design is a central focus of Method's product development process. We take pride in designing beautiful, function-oriented and durable packaging. But how can the packaging design process be used to address the impact of producing millions of plastic bottles each year?

With impacts on energy use, carbon emissions, and downstream waste creation, how can we take a page out of "Cradle to Cradle" and make our packaging footprint a positive one?

Method's focus on packaging design started early. In 2001, the co-founders Adam Lowry and Eric Ryan penned a "Hail Mary" email to Karim Rashid, one of the best-known and respected industrial designers in the world. They asked Rashid to redesign some of the world's most ubiquitous products: dish soap, hand wash, and surface sprays. To their surprise, Rashid wrote them back. He came on as Method's chief creative officer, tasking his studio with reinventing the mundane product forms found on grocery store shelves across the country.

Ten years later, design thrives at the center of Method's organizational thinking and at the start of any product's development lifecycle. Our product design team is now fully in house. Rapid prototyping machines, expanses of quickly evolving whiteboard space, and a culture that favors thinking out loud help us leverage this design process as our key to building remarkable products. Intuitive product forms, minimal graphic clutter, and clean, modern lines, have become

But how does this commitment to design help us in our pursuit of a positive footprint?

Method is most effective as an agent of positive change for sustainability when we use environmental innovations to make better products that change user perceptions and ultimately make our categories evolve. We find novel materials and product designs with embodied environmental benefit and use them to create better product experiences, more effective formulations, packaging that's easier to use, and products that keep homes happy and healthy.