Case Finland | Social Media Awareness Campaign on Packaging and Sorting
Author: Kaisa Simola, CLIC Innovation
What happens when you mix creativity, collaboration, and a passion for sustainability? You get a campaign that reaches nearly half a million people and sparks real conversations about how we handle packaging waste.
We’re excited to share how we designed and implemented a social media awareness campaign
that brought sustainable packaging and sorting into the spotlight. The campaign was carried out as a collaboration between TREASoURcE, the EU-funded Engage4BIO project, and the 4R ecosystem. This cross-project collaboration brought together diverse expertise and resources, enhancing the campaign’s reach and impact.
Our goal was clear: to help people, especially young adults, understand that packaging isn’t just
trash. It’s part of a bigger story about how each of us plays a role in circularity – from the choices
we make in the store to how we sort waste at home, all the way to the recycling plant.
Read our best practices for replication:
Why We Did It
There are various consumer studies stating that, in Finland, sorting skills among young adults have
room for improvement. We saw this as an opportunity to make a difference with creative,
understandable and relatable communication. Our campaign aimed to:
- Raise awareness about sustainable packaging and sorting
- Share practical tips for everyday life
- Encourage better recycling habits
- Make sustainability feel approachable and even fun!
How We Got Started
The campaign didn’t just appear overnight. It was the result of months of planning, brainstorming,
and co-creation. We worked closely with stakeholders like the Finnish packaging recycling service
Rinki, the organisation representing municipal waste facilities KIVO, Helsinki Region Environmental
Services Authority HSY, experts from other projects and our own team of experts at CLIC
Innovation.
Together, we:
- Validated early ideas through stakeholder discussions
- Identified key topics and reliable background materials
- Found the right influencer to bring our message to life
- Collaborated with the Finnish service company Lassila & Tikanoja to strengthen our message
- Scripted and produced five engaging videos
How We Made It Connect
We teamed up with Finnish packaging designer Outi Oravainen, known as Pakkaussuunnittelija Outi on social media. Her creative approach and deep understanding of both packaging and her audience made her a well-suited partner. She helped us tailor the content to her audience and made sure the videos felt authentic and relatable.
What We Created
The campaign featured five short videos published on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. Each video tackled a different topic:
- Packaging legislation – How laws shape packaging
- Purchase decisions – How to choose packaging wisely at the store
- Sorting and recycling – What goes where and why it’s important
- Followers’ sorting tips – Real advice from real people
- Recycling facility tour – A behind-the-scenes look at how packaging gets recycled
We also added interactive elements:
- A call-to-action inviting followers to share their sorting tips
- A contest where one lucky participant joined us on a recycling facility tour
- A feedback loop where followers told us which packaging types they found hardest to sort—over 160 replies!
What We Learned
This was our first time piloting a campaign like this, and we learned a lot along the way. Here are some key takeaways:
- Start with collaboration: Engaging stakeholders early helped us shape the campaign and find the right tone.
- Choose the right partner: Outi’s involvement was crucial. Her audience trusted her, and she knew how to communicate complex ideas simply.
- Plan for surprises: Scheduling interviews and facility visits took more time than expected – especially during summer holidays!
- Keep it authentic: Letting the influencer shape the content made the videos feel genuine.
- Be ready to engage: The videos sparked lots of comments and questions. We had to decide who would respond and how.
Why It Matters
This campaign was about sparking real change – helping people rethink their everyday habits around packaging and waste. By combining creativity, credible information, and relatable storytelling, the campaign made sustainability in packaging more visible, more understandable, and more actionable for a broad audience.
Packaging isn’t just something to throw away. It’s a powerful touchpoint for making better choices, sorting smarter, and contributing to a circular economy. Through this campaign, we helped people see that their actions matter—and that change can start with something as simple as what they do with a piece of packaging.
If you’re curious, you can still watch the videos (in Finnish) on Pakkaussuunnittelija Outi’s Instagram and TikTok accounts!