The UK’s largest gaming headset providers, ABP and A4T decided to wage war on plastics in 2017. They made the decision to start a joint initiative to reduce the amount of plastic waste resulting from their packaging. However, this meant that they had to completely redesign the packaging for two massive product lines. In the end, this initiative would make the PlayStation-licensed 4Gamers and third-party STEALTH brands into the first of their kind to have 100% plastic-free packaging in the video games industry. Sales Director, Paul Carrington, reflected on how the decision grew out of many conversations at the water-cooler:
“In the first half of 2017 it quickly became apparent that the whole office was hooked on David Attenborough’s Blue Planet II. Everyone loved it and it was a frequent topic of conversation — so all this was down to a ‘water-cooler moment’ I guess, or more like a bunch of them.
Our collective love for this program definitely led to us genuinely beginning to consider how we could help. We knew there was a lot of plastic in our packaging, so the potential was there to make a difference. We had a multitude of things to consider: from stickers to cable ties, inner trays and hooks — and while each seemed like a small change, we soon realized they would amount to a significant reduction in landfill waste or worse still, ocean-bound plastics.”
With the goal post set at having completely plastic-free packaging by the end of the following year (2018), they began serious research. In the ideal scenario, the new packaging needed to be just as durable as the old plastic ones. To this end, many tests were done on durability, with some packages actually being thrown out of second floor office windows. They also thought that the customers should not have extra costs or compromises passed on to them.
The process of designing the new packaging saw many design and manufacturing partners, and positive results and success. This year, ABP and A4T will ship more than a million units equating to about 60 grams of plastic per product. Normally, that would add up to over 60 tons of plastic waste in this one year. According to their press release, this is two adult Humpback Whales worth of plastic waste. Thanks to the ABP and A4T plastic-free initiative, those 60 tons of plastic waste are being prevented. All items in the 4Gamers and STEALTH product lines now ship in 100% plastic-free packages. However, Sales Director, Paul Carrington, believes there is still plenty more work to do:
“We’ve significantly reduced our use of plastics through a complete overhaul of our packaging processes and we’re delighted to be leading this initiative across the industry. Seeing how much this has changed our outlook as a company though, I do wonder just how big an impact we’d have — collectively as an industry — if others joined us in going plastic-free.”
“Sixty tons becoming six hundred tons, that’s the dream.”
