Paper is everywhere – in school and the workplace, in the products we buy, in our bills and receipts. It’s an essential material in our daily lives that we can hardly live without.

Paper is also a raw product that we get from the environment, and definitely a limited resource. With the growing global population that recently hit 8 billion and the continuous high demand for paper, it is time we develop sustainable solutions to utilize papers while minimizing our environmental footprint.

Prestige Paper Products, the only local distributor of eco-friendly premium papers manufactured by Fedrigoni Paper, recently collaborated with the De La Salle- College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) Industrial Design to encourage students to imagine and create sustainable packaging in the Packaging Design Competition 2022. Students from La Salle Green Hills (LSGH) were also invited to participate as contestants.

With the theme, Be Beautiful Inside and Out, the competition challenged young creatives to innovate sustainable structural packaging for cosmetic products such as perfume bottles and make-up sets, and food products that can introduce the brand’s story and product context upon first use.

The competition's submissions were received via email from October 17 until November 6, 2022. Entries were judged based on their Design, specifically on the aesthetics, functionality, and the interaction between product and user, as well astheir Technical Execution, Sustainability, and Innovation.

On November 10, 2022, apprentices from LSGH and interested students had a tour of the facilities, exhibit hall, and laboratory-workshops of Benilde Industrial Design, which showcased the creative processes of the program. A one-day workshop was also held to introduce the creatives to the basic techniques and principles of packaging design. The workshop was facilitated by Mr. Christian Pagulayan, MFAD, using paper products from Fedrigoni Paper provided by Prestige Paper Products. Outputs from the workshop were created under the supervision and guidance of Mr. Pagulayan, Program Chair Romeo Catap Jr., Fedrigoni's Noemi Flores, and Prestige Paper's Maretes Tubillo and Gladys Ambrosio.

The top 5 finalists of the competition presented their product prototypes on November 23, 2022. Entries were examined by a panel of experts which included DLS-CSB and LSGH President Br. Edmundo Fernandez FSC, School of Environmentand Design Dean Architect Dottie A. Domingo, Philippine Marketing Association EVP Marco Antonio Montes, Fedrigoni Paper Italy Southeast Asia Area Manager Ruth Toreno, Prestige Paper Products President Karen Ong, and Celestial Media General Manager Faith Abaño.

The finalists received limited edition specialty papers and tokens from Prestige Paper Products and Fedrigoni Paper. The specialty papers included exclusively distributed repack items of Fedrigoni Papers such as Sirio Plain, Constellation, and Etichetta which contestants could use for their future projects. They also received copies of a special edition of Pulp Magazine, The Sustainability Issue, which they could use as a reference on the climate crisis which is one of the most urgent issue that the youth face today.

The selected competing prototypes were also exhibited at the 5th Floor of the Benilde Design and Arts Campus, along side a Christmas-themed exhibit by the ID Materials - Wood class of Mr. Jay Mangussad.

Creativity as the backbone of premium packaging

The top 5 finalists for the Packaging Design Competition 2022 were Kenji Del Rosario, Maxine Dollente, Ralf Dyan Sales and John Dence Flores, Emilio Bunani, Matthew Clemente, and Sumei Garcia. Each contestant or team was given 5-minutes to pitch their packaging designs in front of esteemed experts. Winning entries were then awarded on November 23, 2022, at the Benilde Design and Arts Campus.

Each winning entry used sustainable recycled papers from Fedrigoni Paper and Prestige Paper Products and utilized creativity to execute intriguing designs.

Kenji del Rosario won as Champion of the competition with the Lunar Regolith, a packaging for men’s perfume inspired by lunar rocks we often see in sci-fi films. The ergonomic design instantly establishes a unique and endearing vibe fit for the product.

Emilio Rufus Bunani won 1st Place with Umai, a packaging for matcha tea inspired by a traditional Japanese tea house in order to appeal to consumers.

The 2nd place winner, Maxine Ivory Dollente, highlighted the interaction between user and product by designing a flower origami as a packaging for women’s perfume with petals that consumers can gently pull to reveal the product.

The winners were gifted with supplies of specialty papers from Prestige Paper Products and Fedrigoni Paper. As the competition’s major sponsors, creativity and sustainability are paramount for these brands. They continuously strategize sustainable solutions for developing their paper products such as recycled papers or tough-quality papers as an alternative to plastic.

Prestige Paper Products offers a wide variety of premium paper products while ensuring minimal environmental footprint. These include papers for corporate identity systems, social communications materials, publications, and arts and crafts.

Responsible design is the new norm

While paper is essential to our lives, it is high time for everyone to be conscious of how much we consume and the harmful impact of over consumption. Prestige Paper Products remains committed to caring for the planet by providing environment-friendly papers that also maintain their premium quality anddesign. This allows consumers to enjoy good quality products that have a minimal environmental impact.

At the closing ceremony of the Packaging Design Competition 2022, Prestige Paper Products General Manager Leah Marie G. Ayeng reinforced their brand’s commitment to providing premium and sustainable paper solutions for a myriad of uses.

"We believe that packaging should be beautiful inside and out. It should be visually appealing but at the same time, it should be responsibly made. It is like the food we take: we should always check the label and see if the nutritional contents wouldnourish our body,” Ms. Ayeng says.

“We know that being sustainable is not cheap but I hope that people will lookat sustainability as more of a luxury wherein they are willing to spend for somethingthat will benefit future generations. "

By embracing environmental advocacy, Prestige urges other brands to step up to the call of the times and take an active role in promoting environmentally responsible and sustainable businesses. This also creates an avenue for individuals, brands, and organizations to venture into more ways to develop sustainable solutions beyond papers. Making conscious choices in creating or designing products, from raw materials to packaging, would greatly benefit everyone in the long run, especially future generations.