Eastar" copolyester enables innovative design
Kingsport, Tenn. June 3, 2010 Aliph®, a creator of innovative personal technology products, has introduced the Jawbone® ICON" Bluetooth® headset with redesigned packaging made with Eastar" copolyester. The packaging uses 68 percent less plastic than the original Aliph Jawbone packaging and reflects Aliphs emphasis on environmentally responsible packaging designed to reflect the sleek, premium quality of the Jawbone brand.
The use of Eastar" copolyester allows Aliph to reduce its plastic requirements from 126 grams of polycarbonate (PC) to 40 grams of copolyester per package. The new package also provides a 360- degree museumlike view of the product inside. The durability, clarity, and design flexibility of Eastar enabled designers from San Francisco-based design agency fuseproject to achieve near-zero draft angles for square, sharp edges while reducing the wall thickness of the package.
To create a box that looks like a museum case perfectly square and sharp it has to be manufactured in ways that are very advanced, said Yves Behar, fuseproject founder. Eastar" copolyester allowed us to make a perfectly square package that cant typically be constructed of plastic.
Aliph worked closely with fuseproject and Eastman to develop the packaging. By selecting Eastar" copolyester, Aliph was able to package the Jawbone ICON using a recyclable material that creates a strong visual experience for the consumer and high package rigidity demanded by retailers.
The new Jawbone ICON package is a great example of how sustainability and innovation are interconnected and can drive each other, said Tim Dell, Eastman vice president of innovation and sustainability. It also demonstrates the importance of design and evaluating material options at the front end of the product development process.
Eastman specialists were in the fuseproject studio when this opportunity came up and helped achieve the goal of more sustainable packaging without compromising the design and brand experience.
Offering a combination of performance, aesthetics, and sustainable properties, Eastar" copolyester was a contributing factor to solving Aliphs packaging challenge to create the most compelling experience for the consumer with the least amount of material.
Were really excited about where we ended up with this, and we think its a great statement for our brand as we continue to preserve that wonderful premium experience while creating something that is very sustainable in its architecture, said Hosain Rahman, Aliph founder and CEO.
Eastar" copolyester is used for the design and manufacture of consumer and medical packaging, and the near-zero draft angle of a medical syringe made of Eastar served as inspiration for fuseproject designers in developing the ICON package.
For more information on the redesigned Jawbone ICON packaging, visit the Eastman Innovation Lab Inspiration story, http://www.innovationlab.eastman.com/InnovationLab/inspiration/inspiration_jawbone.htm, or Doing More with Less video, www.innovationlab.eastman.com/InnovationLab/Insights/Example/Yves_Behar.htm.
For more information on Aliph Jawbone, visit www.jawbone.com.
For more information on fuseproject, visit www.fuseproject.com.
About Aliph
Aliph makes personal technology comfortable, usable and beautiful. The companys flagship product, the award-winning Jawbone Bluetooth headset with NoiseAssassin® technology, set a new standard for mobile voice quality. Unmatched in the industry, Aliphs NoiseAssassin technology was originally perfected with DARPA for battlefield applications, eliminating background noise and delivering unparalleled call clarity in all environments. Since its launch in December 2006, the Jawbone headset has been widely recognized as the best Bluetooth headset in the marketplace and is a top seller at Apple, AT&T, Best Buy, Verizon and Carphone Warehouse retail stores.
The company was founded by Alexander Asseily and Hosain Rahman, who met as Stanford undergrads, sharing a belief that better user experiences around voice and device usability are critical to improving mobile communications. Aliph is a privately held company headquartered in San Francisco and is funded by Khosla Ventures and Sequoia Capital. For more information and a demo, go to www.jawbone.com.
About fuseproject
Fuseproject, founded by Yves Behar, is a San-Francisco based design agency contributing to areas that include technology, furniture, sports, lifestyle and fashion. Examples of fuseprojects diverse projects include the worlds first $100 XO laptop for Nicholas Negropontes One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organization, which aims to bring education and technology to the worlds poorest children. Other recent projects include a partnership with Jawbone, a leading edge mobile phone headset company; a sustainable crystal lighting project for Swarovski, Amplify; a sustainable shoebox packaging solution for PUMA, the Clever Little Bag; and a new identity and website for the Green Products Innovation Institute, GPII. Yves Behars innovative designs have garnered more than 150 awards, and his work is in the permanent collections of museums, including the Musée Nationale dArt Moderne/Centre Pompidou, the MOMA, the Munich Museum of Applied Arts and the Chicago Art Institute.
