For a recent successful promotion, Paris, France-based lingerie leader Etam took the unusual step of packaging lingerie and denim clothing in limited-edition, custom metal “tins” from Crown Specialty Packaging, an affiliate of Crown Holdings Inc. The result? The entire stock sold out in 15 days.

Consumers at Etam retailers in France, Spain, and Italy purchased clothing packaged in distinctive 7 1/2 x 5 x 2 3/4 rectangular tins featuring graphics of prominent models and denim clothing. These primary packages were placed in 6 x 9” cylindrical tins with removable bottom ends.

Tin packaging reinforces Etam’s premium brand image, one which is “full of surprises,” says Marjoriie Courtet, Etam Director of Promotional Marketing and Special Events.

Look under there. Under where?

Ha-ha, made you say underwear! But can I make you say “underwear in bio-based, wash-away packaging”? We’ll see.

While most men are conditioned to rip open and toss aside the poly bag our new skivvies come in, micro-retailer Devo Underwear thought a more environmentally sensitive approach was necessary. Devo engaged San Francisco-based industrial design and brand strategist Fuseproject to develop a bio-based underwear packaging material that disintegrates in the washing machine.

Devo’s theory, says Fuseproject’s Catherine O’Connor, was: Rather than introduce more packaging into the waste stream, why not wash away the evidence? The solution was a 3-mil, corn-starch-based, semi-rigid plastic foam-like packaging material. The bio wrap is also impregnated with trace amounts of laundry detergent.