We all know that the healthcare industry is unsustainable, but we usually think of that in terms of cost and how it hits our wallets. But it can also be damaging to the environment. Granted, we need single-use plastics for essential things like surgical gloves or catheter tubes because it helps ward off infectious diseases, not to mention that whole sterility thing.
But there is still plenty of plastic waste that the medical world needs to address, particularly when it comes to the pharmaceutical industry. As we know, pills require a packaging system to carry them from prescriber or pharmacist to patient.
But what if there was a way to transport these pills without using harmful polyethylene bottles or plastic blister packs?
Considering the plastic alone, the pharmaceutical industry creates over 190 billion bottles of pharmaceutical plastic each year. As little as 1% gets recycled, while the remaining waste eventually makes its way to our oceans, landfills, and our communities.
To help combat this pervasive issue, Cabinet Health was born. The brand delivers sustainably packaged healthcare products for all of the usual suspects—allergy, colds, flu, digestive, pain, sleep, and supplements. Beyond the reusable glass bottles with color-coded caps, the refill pouches get made from 100% compostable materials.
“We think of ‘consumers’ differently from other companies. We see people that buy the product and support the mission more as community members or stakeholders,” said Russell Gong, Cabinet co-founder and president. “With that mindset, our customers have not only played a significant role in the design considerations but are the center and focal point of why we build the product. For example, we did not start Cabinet and invent our refillable system because customers told us—we did it because the oceans are endangered, and climate change needs to be addressed. Our customers have encouraged and energized us on how to do it.”
The Cabinet team also emphasized creating a beautiful packaging system. For example, the “squircle” shaped bottles are ideal for stacking, vertical storage, or simply throwing in a bag for on-the-go uses. The frosted glass bottles help to elevate the packaging, allowing consumers to be unashamed of their pills while adding an element of privacy from the container’s translucence. Furthermore, the color palette and typography were selected to be functional while also alluding to a sense of modernity and sophistication.
With the compostable pouch and our refillable system, consumers can reduce up to a pound of plastic within the first year of using Cabinet and hundreds of pounds of plastic throughout a lifetime.
The art of producing something as mundane as pill bottles into something that’s both sustainable and elevated is a fantastic feat. Beyond function, Cabinet is a brand proving that sustainability and design can interset, even when it comes to our medications.
