Despite its visual motifs appearing nearly identical to the universal symbol for recycling – primarily through its use of arrows, a cycle, and the colour green – the Green Dot was brought into circulation 20 years after the latter, in 1990. Rather than meaning a product is recyclable or even recycled, it merely indicates that a brand has joined The Green Dot Scheme, requiring financial contribution towards recycling causes.
Currently, the Green Dot symbol is placed on over 400 billion packages every year and used by over 130,000 brands worldwide. (Understandable) confusion over its meaning has led to huge quantities of recycling contamination, “which devalues post-consumer materials and is a major block in the journey to a circular economy,” Two Degrees Creative founder Ryan McGill explains to It’s Nice That.
Have you ever looked at a piece of packaging, spotted a circular green logo with two arrows chasing in a cycle, and put it in the recycling bin? Chances are, it wasn’t recyclable. Two Degrees Creative, a collaborative climate change platform, seeks to clear up the confusion by changing the Green Dot for good. In partnership with design resource The Brand Identity, the platform has launched The Green Dot, a campaign and open brief to redesign the symbol.