The eBay Box—a green, reusable shipping box originally conceived at eBay’s annual Innovation Expo—earned a prestigious Silver CLIO Award in the Packaging category.
Viewed as the Oscars for the creative industry, the CLIO Awards honor innovative advertising, design and communication ideas. “Making the CLIO Awards Shortlist is a massive compliment and achievement for individuals in this evolving industry,” said Nicole Purcell, Executive Director, CLIO Awards.
Indeed, fewer than 10 percent of CLIO Awards submissions survive first-round jury evaluations, and eBay Inc. was honored alongside Apple Computer, which is widely recognized for its design concepts. Apple earned a Silver CLIO Award this year for its iPad packaging and posters.
The eBay Green Team has driven the adoption of the sustainability-focused eBay Boxes, and has given away over 100,000 boxes. Each eBay Box is made of 100 percent FSC-certified and recycled material, comes printed with water-based inks, and is designed to require minimal tape across multiple uses.
Producing the eBay Box was a team effort. For graphic design, artwork and copywriting, eBay Inc. engaged Office, a San Francisco-based creative agency that developed the graphic identity and design for the company’s corporate site, ebayinc.com, and other channels and projects.
“We wanted to create a personality for the box – and the program – that would make people take notice of it and want to join the fun,” said Office President Jill Robertson. “It was great to see how invested eBay was in the design process. The eBay Box is a real tribute to the company’s commitment to sustainability.”
The box itself was a winning entry from eBay’s Innovation Expo in 2010, having been created by a dedicated employee team that included several eBay Green Team members.
“Talk about a sustainable solution!” said Amy Skoczlas-Cole, Director, Sustainability & eBay Green Team. “The eBay Box showcases what can happen when passionate, innovative employees think green as they tackle real-life business challenges. Congratulations to the dozens of eBay employees who helped to bring this concept to life.”
In announcing the eBay Box last year, the eBay Green Team calculated that if every box gets reused at least five times, we could protect nearly 4,000 trees, save 2.4 million gallons of water and conserve enough energy to power 49 homes for a year.
Haven’t seen an eBay Box yet? Following are samples of the award-winning copy, which encourages eBay buyers to turn into sellers (and of course, reuse the box):
This box is on a mission to make shipping a little easier, and the world a little greener.
It's easy to reuse. You'll help reduce the impact of packaging on the planet, and earn the respect of trees everywhere.
Where has your eBay Box been? Add some local flavor to your eBay Box's journey -- jot down a little message so the next person to receive it can see just how far it's come!
[Encouraging people to recycle it after the box has reached the end of its useful shipping life]: (Don't worry, it will come back as something nice, like a birthday card or a movie theater popcorn bag.)
Now that you've gotten what you wanted, sell what you don't and make some extra cash.