• Swindon & Wiltshire Eco
• Friday October 27 2023
• Author Name: Peter Davison

Bath design studio Matter behind plastic-free Poppy

The production of a plastic-free remembrance Poppy by the Royal British Legion was made possible by Bath-based design studio Matter.

Launched this week ahead of Remembrance Day on Saturday, November 11, the iconic Poppy has been given a plastic-free makeover – the first major redesign in 28 years.

Three years in development, the new Poppy says goodbye to its plastic green stem and black centre – a feature that has been part of the Poppy since 1967.

The paper Poppy has been created from renewable sources including half from offcuts from the production of takeaway coffee cups.

Matter’s design director John Macdonald said: “It is 100 per cent recyclable via ordinary paper collections and a life cycle assessment shows a 40 per cent reduction in carbon emissions.

“Other than that, says the studio, the symbolic poppy remains unchanged.”

The designers said there were some significant complexities to overcome, including the need for the Poppy to be produced on a high-speed assembly line without the use of adhesives.

Hundreds of iterations were tested before the team settled on a final design.

Gary Ryan, from the Royal British Legion, said: “We’re proud to have designed a plastic-free Poppy that will enable people to show their support for our Armed Forces in a more sustainable way.

“We are thankful to Matter who created the innovative design for the plastic-free Poppy.”

Poppies with plastic elements will remain on sale until stocks run out, but the new paper Poppies will be widely available.

The plastic-free Poppy is available at https://www.poppyshop.org.uk/collections/plastic-free-paper-poppy