‘Soapack’ Bottles Made From Useable Soap by Mi Zhou.

Part of her Material Futures post-grad degree, Central Saint Martins student Mi Zhou has re-imagined toiletry bottles usually made from disposable plastic into sustainable soap vessels. Combatting the incredible waste and pollution caused by the packaging of fast-moving consumer goods such as liquid soap and shampoo, Zhou proposes a waste-free solution in ‘Soapack’.

Zhou begins by tinting vegetable oil-based soap with natural pigments sourced from plants, flowers and minerals, then pours into moulds in a process similar to slip-casting in ceramics. The shapes are feminine and curved with rivets reminiscent of art deco crystal perfume bottles, while the natural dyes give a subtle ombre effect in shades of jade green, peachy pink and soft amber.

Zhou waterproofs the bottles by lining with a thin layer of beeswax, preventing the liquid product inside from dissolving the bottle before being used up. Once empty, ‘Soapack’ can be used practically as soap. The bottles can be preserved further by being kept in a dry place or on a soap dish, or allowed to dissolve slowly in an organic fashion on contact with water and with each use. Users are empowered to use the bottles, deconstruct them, or allow them to disappear entirely.

In bringing ‘Soapack’ to life, Zhou consulted with experts including Yanhao Shi, soap artisan and teacher at the Chinese Culture University, and soap industry consultant Luis Spitz. The resulting delicate yet functional forms prompt us to rethink our interaction with packaging, as well as materials we discard and those we consider precious.

“Through this project, I created a brand which proposes that we use soap as a packaging material for shampoo and other toiletry products. In doing so, I hope to fundamentally re-evaluate what packaging could be as well as help us to reduce our plastic footprint,” says Zhou.

Related: The Future of Sustainable Packaging Design by Tomorrow Machine.

[Images courtesy of Mi Zhou. Photography by Tom Mannion and Xinjia Zhou.]