Branding the world’s first plastic-free supermarket aisle

London-based studio Made Thought has collaborated with environmental campaign group A Plastic Planet to create the identity for the “world’s first plastic-free aisle”.

The studio has been commissioned to design the logo and accompanying campaign for Plastic Free Aisle, a new initiative from Dutch supermarket chain Ekoplaza.

Launching at the supermarket’s Amsterdam store, more than 700 food items and other goods with recyclable packaging are included in the aisle – all of which bear the “plastic free” mark.

Made Thought’s identity for the initiative aims to bring “much needed clarity and focus” to the growing issue of plastic pollution, says the studio.

The black and white, three-dimensional logotype is inspired by the aesthetic of propaganda, and will be used to help shoppers quickly identify plastic-free products as more items start to be packaged in compostable bio-materials that replicate the look of traditional plastic packaging.

The studio also created the mark with the idea that it is simple enough to be replicated in supermarkets all over the world.

Made Thought founding partner Ben Parker, says: “In taking on this challenging brief, we wanted to look beyond the overused lines about environmentalism and altruism. The brief was all about fashioning a new way of looking at plastic and its place in modern life.”

The second Plastic Free Aisle will open at Ekoplaza’s The Hague branch in June 2018, before rolling out across its 74 branches in the Netherlands by the end of this year.