Return to Soil: A Material-Driven Approach to Sustainable Packaging for Indian Consumers

This study investigates how waste-derived material development and materials experience can be integrated to make sustainable packaging perceptible, desirable, and actionable for Indian consumers. Originating in the observation that household compost was being distributed in plastic bags, the project adopted a practice-based design research methodology combining material experimentation, iterative prototyping, and qualitative user evaluation. Sawdust, used tea waste, coconut husk, cow dung, and pencil shreds were tested with natural binders and protective treatments across six iterations. The final material, composed primarily of cow dung and sawdust, was moulded into packaging for a gardening-related application and designed to return to soil through composting after use. Twenty-two participants evaluated the prototype in blind and informed phases, with responses analysed across sensorial, interpretative, affective, performative, and cultural dimensions (Giaccardi & Karana, 2015). Smell and curiosity dominated initial encounters, whereas disclosure of the material composition and end-of-life proposition increased associations with sustainability, attraction, and willingness to compost. Cultural familiarity with cow dung supported acceptance for many participants, although seven concluded the informed phase with discomfort, hygiene concerns, or disgust. The findings demonstrate that sustainability is not automatically legible through material composition alone. It is produced through the interaction of sensory qualities, contextual information, cultural memory, and the proposed post-use practice. The study consequently argues that material development, communication, and end-of-life participation must be designed together if sustainable packaging is to become a compelling everyday experience.