Sustainable Packaging: Slopes & Town

Slopes & Town - a Dutch brand which started as a producer of braided belts - eventually grew its product range into sustainability heroes. The efforts to reduce plastic waste is the brand's important pillar. Naturally, their boxes needed to fit that philosophy too. Therefore, the choice for Slopes & Town packaging was kraft product boxes.

The brand concept

Slopes & Town was born in Amsterdam in 2017. The company's business model is a mix of e-commerce and a retail store, with the shop located in the heart of the busy Amsterdam district. As the founder of the company told us, Slopes & Town is focused on delivering accessories for modern living, everyday practicality, with a conscious value to the environment.

"Slopes & Town started out by making braided belts that are smart enough for the office, casual enough for a night out with friends, comfortable for on the go lifestyles and flexible for active sports. Each belt is individually presented in a branded jute bag."

Apart from the belts, the company sells bamboo-based socks to provide an organic extension of their product line, along with wooden bracelets. These two new additions reflect the company's consistent vision.

"In Slopes & Town, we believe less is more in an ever-increasing materialistic world, so the choice of materials is of paramount importance. By offering versatile products we cater to active, on the go lifestyles, for work and play. The colours and designs allow for different moods from the fun vibrant to serious and use for multiple occasions and combinations."

Spreading the love for sustainability via Slopes & Town packaging

The Dutch company is actively taking part in reducing plastic waste in multiple ways.

On top of the product range - bamboo fibre used to produce socks and braided belts in their custom packaging - the environmental consciousness is present in the packaging choices. The company looked for a solution that would be fitting for all their accessories, as well as be a shipping-friendly packaging. As Irina from Slopes & Town told us,

"The box we created working with Packhelp allowed us to offer a flexible box that can be used for our mixed gift offering ideas. The packaging material concept - through the belt bag and kraft box - brings out the raw element, which suits our packaging brand values of practicality, packaging sustainability and non-plastic approach. This still achieves a finish that is smart, which enhances the special gifting moments."

The reusability was at the core of the entire project. The boxes needed to be fully recyclable and take place of the plastic substitutes. It's an interesting case, where the boxes were very tightly knit together with the brand's core values.

"The box design (size, shape, material) drives reusability and brings out other elements of the Slopes & Town brand to the consumer. The top design brings out our brand identity featured in a pattern. This is coupled together with a more modern box base which brings out the fun element showing a twist on our mountains design."

Slopes & Town packaging - A seamless design process

The Two-Piece Kraft Boxes were quite effortless to design, as Irina wrote us. Even though the packaging arrived in a big stack, the consumers in the Amsterdam-based shop didn't believe they were flat-packed. This is an effect of an enhanced construction of the boxes, which - as Slopes & Town proves - worked perfectly.

As Irina summed up the concept of Slopes & Town,

"We are building a brand for the new generations that are less driven by consumerism and more on practicality.The products should be long-lasting, well-made and usable for every day!"