Although global warming itself is not a new concept, awareness surrounding this controversial topic has grown significantly over the past couple of years, with the world finally taking heed of the negative effects that 21st Century living is having on the environment. Companies around the world have come to realise that they can no longer continue their ways and ignore the environment for commercial gain.

South Africans have recently begun to take notice of global warming and are adopting eco-friendly practices, one of which is buying eco-friendly goods wherever possible. Exello is part of this change, having developed a washing powder that not only looks after your clothes, but is extremely gentle on your hands and good for the environment as well. An amazing 80% of the box is made from recycled paper, the active ingredients in the washing powder are bio-degradable, and because Exello performs perfectly in cold water, you save water.

In line with this eco-friendly emphasis, Exello required appropriate packaging to communicate its many environmental benefits to the public. Creative Licence was the agency chosen to design the packaging.

The company decided to use clean colours on the packaging in an attempt to highlight the nature of Exello washing powder. The colour blue represents the earth and all things serene and natural. A fresh bright blue softening into a lighter colour combined with navy blue was used to create a swirling action, designed to instil a sense of what your clothes feel like when they are in the wash.

According to Martina Bogusch, Creative Director for Creative Licence, “It was important to keep the packaging light, fresh, bright and airy – so as to communicate the purity of the product. Soft bubbles were incorporated all over the packaging, floating on top of and below the Exello logo, to give the impression of the many light, foamy soap suds you can expect to find when using the product.”

Exello is also making serious inroads into the USA market. Launched in early 2008, its growth in the American market has exceeded all expectations.