boex's cardboard honeycomb design reduces packaging time and enhances board protection

marine plastic pollution is a crisis of catastrophic proportions. over 8 million tons of plastic enters our oceans each year – with an increasing amount of plastic finding its way into our oceans every minute. and with scientists anticipating a 10% increase in the next decade, it’s time to take a stand. spanning surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding, the global boardsports industry has the potential to take a significant – and influential – leap towards a more environmentally friendly future.

flexi-hex is designed to be user friendly, save time and reduce your environmental impact

today bubble wrap and plastic tape are board packaging staples. versatile, lightweight and flexible, it’s easy to see why. but most of it ends up in landfill — recycling collection facilities are limited for these materials — and research suggests at least a third escape into natural areas. so, expert surfers and product designers sam and will boex set out to find a real alternative, from their design studio boex in cornwall, england.

flexi-hex packaging is not specific to one board type or size, making it easy to protect and ship any board

damaged products lead to reproduction and repackaging, adding ever-more layers of avoidable environmental impact. so, boex has focused on producing packaging that not only eliminates plastic, but also offers improved protection. after a year of prototyping they landed on their easy to use, 100% cardboard, honeycomb ‘flexi-hex‘ design. surf, snow and skate brands and distributors are rapidly taking to ‘flexi-hex’ in a bid to play their part in tackling the marine plastic crisis.

after a year of prototyping boex landed on their easy to use, 100% cardboard, honeycomb ‘flexi-hex’ design

one of the earliest adopters is fourth. since introducing boex’s ‘flexi-hex’, the premium british surfboard brand has eliminated 11 miles of bubble wrap. and in 2018 they expect to eliminate the equivalent of 23,750 500 ml plastic bottles — making them the first surfboard brand to use 100% plastic-free packaging.

On removal, flexi-hex returns to its convenient and easily storage size and shape

beyond enjoying increased packaging efficiency, board producers and retailers using ‘flexi-hex’ will be frontrunners in the plastic-free packaging revolution. boex’s reusable design means customers can also rest at ease knowing their purchase is not contributing to the plastic problem. ocean lovers will hope that others follow their lead.

the boardsports industry has the potential to take a significant leap towards a more environmental future

flexi-hex allows brand details to show through

once nested on top of each other, the system creates 30 mm of separation between surfboards

upon arrival, re-sellers or customers will benefit from a protective sleeve that can be used multiple times

the system’s flexibility is pragmatic for compact lightweight portability

the honeycomb geometry expands to create a sleeve 35 times wider than its compressed form

flexi-hex is made of two open ended modular sleeves cut to size and fixed at the center point

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: apostolos costarangos | designboom