Environmental awareness messages are fast becoming a commodity. No matter how important the public think the message is, or how much the public can relate to it, there’s a clear need to take action into the public’s hands for it to engage and understand which is the stand that the brand is taking on the matter. Seda Natural Recharge uses natural ingredients in its formula, and so there was an immediate connection between taking ingredients from Nature and giving back to it.

Seda Recycling Station is a targeted communication initiative, designed to generate public awareness about the environment and the responsible disposal of plastic. A machine was designed to be not only a recycling material receptacle, but also to give out free mobile phone credit in exchange for every bottle deposited. The machine created an immediate reward for girls who took the responsability of properly discarding plastic shampoo bottles. It accepted bottles of all brands, but it gave double credits for Seda empty bottles. A barcode scanner identified each bottle, a paper receipt with the mobile credit codes was printed in exchange for each deposit. The first prototype station was installed at Metrô República, one of Brazil’s busiest subway stations. This meant girls needed not only to engage with it, but also had to remember to bring along their empty bottles in their next commute. And to no surprise, that is exactly what they did.

The first station not only caught the public’s attention: it became a topic within Unilever, as a landmark in how a large corporation should adress the environmental issue while keeping absolute adherence with a brand’s visual guides and language. Engagement in experimental initiatives is easily measurable: the first station recovered 100 thousand bottles in the first 3 days of installation. But more importantly, it got world wide coverage and buzz, including WWF Brasil as topic of conversation among the brand’s demographic.