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13th Sep 2021
Comfyballs is an international designer, manufacturer and retailer of underwear founded in 2012 in Oslo, Norway. Driven by a lack of functionality in the underwear category, Comfyballs has propelled its business through a focus on innovation – not only by creating comfortable garments with excellent performance, but also by reducing its impact on the planet.
In January 2020, the company turned carbon neutral by offsetting carbon emissions from production to end-customer delivery through the participation in several projects managed by Climate Partner. Comfyballs switched its garment packaging to recyclable cartons in 2021 and has chosen to work with supply chain partners that support carbon neutral initiatives. The Swiss distributor enlisted the expertise of Manchester-based packaging manufacturer and consultancy Duo to create a mailing bag made from GreenPE, a recyclable, thermoplastic resin derived from renewable sugar cane. Each kilogram of GreenPE produced saves 2.78kg of CO2 when compared to the production of conventional fossil-based polyethylene.
Paal Steensland, responsible for Comfyballs in Switzerland, explained: “GreenPE works so well for us because of its green credentials. We worked with Duo to create an eye-catching design that reflects the brand’s fun personality, engaging our customers by telling the story of our journey to climate neutral status using a scannable QR code. The mailing bags can be completely recycled by consumers after they’ve received their goods – we’re ahead of the curve in Switzerland in that respect. We know the fashion industry is a major contributor to the world’s carbon emissions, but it doesn’t have to be. We wanted to show ourselves, our customers, and other retailers the ways in which we can collectively reduce our footprint with functional products, recyclable materials and smart packaging design.”
Zoe Brimelow, Brand Director at Duo, added: “We were really impressed by Comfyballs and its journey to becoming a carbon neutral retailer. The packaging solution we’ve produced together is a great example of how online retailers can boost engagement with customers that don’t visit a physical store. The brand has an impressive sustainability story to tell which, along with product performance, is high on the agenda for their customers. Not only have we been able to provide a way for Comfyballs to educate their customers on the credentials of their garments and packaging, we’ve also been able to create a mailing bag that’s an extension of the brand’s persona – maintaining its sense of fun and functionality that customers can engage with.
“Scannable QR codes are a versatile tool that consumers have become more used to using because of the pandemic with items such as contactless menus in bars and restaurants. Retailers can use simply to share more information, or to create gamification for customers to support wider marketing campaigns. In addition, the performance capabilities of GreenPE make it a fantastic alternative to virgin polyethylene and due to its high durability, we can reduce the overall thickness of mailing bags to use less material in the production process to further reduce environmental impact. It’s a complete gamechanger.”
As featured in A1 Retail