Your simple, sophisticated, and brilliant response to this design challenge may have a profound impact on global public health.

McDonalds needs your creative ideas to improve their [tag]coffee[/tag] service. They’ve created a [tag]corporate social responsibility[/tag] blog, and now they’re soliciting your creative ideas for making their business more successful. Steve Kropfl has initiated some dialog with [tag]McDonalds[/tag] around their use of foam cups (via Triple Pundit). They’ve graciously and wisely accepted this opportunity to improve their business practices.

Sort of. McDonalds has publicly responded to the issue. Now the ball is back in our court.

This is potentially a big moment for the coffee industry. McDonalds has every reason to go [tag]fair trade organic coffee[/tag]. They stand to earn a tremendous amount of additional revenue if they can upgrade their coffee service by upgrading the entire experience. The experience needs to involve the taste, the smell, the temperature (!), a socially responsible coffee, a socially responsible cup. Their move into premium coffee is a budgeted and active marketing initiative. Let’s help them do it right, and we’ll all benefit from the effort.

And so here’s an opportunity for any design engineers who are familiar with biodegradable materials. It’s not a small opportunity either. In fact, this is the type of opportunity that could spur an entire industry (designers, producers, distributors, raw materials developers, etc.).

The challenge is to design and supply a huge quantity of disposable coffee cups that:

1.) Perform at least as well, if not better, than PS (polystyrene) foam

2.) ISO 14001 certified (or better) supply chain

3.) Heat resistant

4.) Cost competitive with [tag]PS foam cups[/tag] ( +/- 7% )

5.) Non-toxic

6.) Biodegradable

7.) Capable of being printed with attractive and highly visible McDonalds branding

This is a draft spec. Want to help me refine the spec? Let me know how many cups to supply to start. Post your comments and I’ll gladly update the spec. Let me know any constraints that will impact the fit, form, function, and delivery of the design.

My initial thought would be to go with some type of corn derived polylactic acid based plastic. I’m a bit skeptical that the PLA process is mature enough to be produced cost effectively. I’m not a chemical engineer either!

This is where you fit in:

You are a small design team looking to make a big splash in the industry. If you solve this problem, or know of an existing solution, or even come within 15% of the target price point, you’re going to capture a lot of free publicity. Next step, if you can deliver, you stand to make a lot of money selling socially responsible coffee cups to the “rapid service food industry”.

What’s more, you’re going to create a positive change in corporate procurement practices that could have a ripple effect throughout all industries. Your contribution can help McDonalds commit to both fair trade organic, and non-toxic cups. Other multinationals are watching, and they will follow.