Sustainability is one of the hottest buzz words in just about every industry and especially in the professional beauty world. Particularly passionate about environmental issues is Moroccanoil co-founder Carmen Tal, who decided to do more than just voice her concern. Tal chose to tap into the creative minds of the next generation of students at the Parsons School of Design, tasking them to help make some changes for their future environment. Tal and Moroccanoil sponsored a competition, leveraging sustainability as a source of inspiration to create innovative solutions for the packaging and delivery of Moroccanoil products. 24 students in the MFA Industrial Design and BFA Product Design programs worked on this project, in teams of two, through the Fall 2019 semester.

MODERN was there as the winners were announced and prizes awarded, including $5000 for 1st Place, $3000 for 2nd and $1000 for 3rd place, all in addition to a great grade and a nod to their efforts to make the world a better place.

Bella LaMartina and Mikayla Bruder, were selected as the BFA winning students for designing a solution for a range of products that were zero-waste by using an alternative to single use plastic bottles, while also carefully considered the customer experience of the packaging from the retail environment/purchase to end-of-life. Bruder and LaMartina offered a completely new expression of the brand’s product line by embracing the principles of the circular economy. They designed a solution for a range of products that were zero-waste by using an alternative to single use plastic bottles, while also carefully considered the customer experience of the packaging from the retail environment/purchase to end-of-life. 

MFA students Vicky Shi and Sihui Wong were awarded for designing a completely zero waste/biodegradable solution to delivering the Moroccanoil Treatment. Their simple but elegant design offers a dramatic reduction in the overall environmental impact of delivering the hero product.

"Our goal with this partnership is to continue to take steps to further our commitment to the planet, and to create beauty in a more sustainable way that respects the world around us," Tal says. "We are thrilled to gain access to the next generation of forward-thinking creatives at Parsons and recruit them for an initiative that will live beyond a class project. This gives a chance to further our sustainability efforts and give the next generation the opportunity to make a difference. We were so excited to see their designs and potentially one day put their ideas to action." 

The judging panel included Moroccanoil Co-founder Carmen Tal, Sustainability Manager Bryan Zimmerman and Robert Kirkbride, Parsons School of Constructed Environments Dean. The designs will not be physically introduced until they are utilized by the brand, sometime in the future.

Moroccanoil Sustainability Manager Bryan Zimmerman chats about the importance of this project:

Meet the winners: