EDING:POST
Anyone who knows Japan knows that, in Japan, cute cannot fail. So why not harness this fundamental fact of marketing to get people involved with recycling and raise environmental awareness?
Tomohiro Kato, art director at design firm Eding:post, has been thinking about that very subject. “If people can pick up garbage with a nicely designed bag, it’s more fun, and they feel better about participating,” he says. Kato has come up with a new kind of garbage bag, the Popet.
The concept is elegantly simple. Popet (short for polyethylene pet) is a bear-shaped bag that comes in a handy chewing gum-size case, and is made in a factory that also produces official Tokyo government dioxin-free garbage bags. At 39.3x57.3cm, with a volume of only two litres, the bag is intentionally small; the idea is that with such a small space to fill, one is more inclined to think about what is going into the bag, and might choose to reduce garbage instead.
It also comes with a story. “Popet is a bear who grows by eating garbage,” explains Kato. “If you put unnecessary things in, he might get sick. Therefore, what’s good for Popet is good for the environment.”
Popet has turned into a small but significant hit for Eding:post. Buzz is gradually building, and retailers are reporting positive comments, including plenty of excited cries of “kawaii!” (cute!) – music to any marketer’s ears.
The bags are being sold through design, souvenir and museum shops, as well as convenience stores all over Japan. A Winnie the Pooh version will be available soon, and Kato has inked a deal with a distributor in Singapore. He showed the product at Copenhagen Fashion Week in summer 2009, and the product is now being sold at both Hay and WOOD WOOD shops in Copenhagen.
As of February, sales had topped 40,000 units; at ¥180 a pop, not huge, but respectable for this kind of product. But more importantly, Popet is doing its job, helping open people’s eyes to garbage bags, and therefore to garbage as well. “We hope that, if people connect with the bag, they may think about what they put into it as well,” says Kato.
“Ordinarily, garbage bags are sold through supermarkets and hardware stores. Now, with Popet, they are being sold in stylish stores, and other places that normally do not sell such things,” notes Kato. “This, I hope, will help boost green awareness.”