Design

Samsung's new TV packaging turns into a cute cardboard cat house

Friendly to the environment? Check. Absolutely adorable? Check.

If you buy one of Samsung's Lifestyle televisions — like the Serif, Frame, or Sero — you'll get a chance to build an adorable house for your cat. It's part of Samsung's eco-friendly initiative, which the company announced earlier this month. Samsung's executive vice president and director of product strategy for visual display business, Kangwook Chun, says, "Consumers are more likely to purchase from a brand that shares similar fundamentals and values as they do."

By introducing an efficient (and frankly, incredibly cute) use of resources, Chun says that Samsung "can provide our customers with a new experience that considers the environment as an important way to express themselves."

No cat? How about a magazine rack? — If a cat house isn't your thing, or you don't have a cat, you can build a magazine rack instead. It's the perfect place to put your remote control, too. Of course, each cardboard creation will prominently display Samsung's product logos and numerical information. But that shouldn't stop you from getting a little creative with a little paint, some stickers, or whatever else you have in your crafting kit.

Samsung.

With a bit of inspiration from DIY tutorials, you can give your magazine rack, table, or cat house a makeover.

Samsung.

Good work, Samsung — Paper and cardboard make up some of the leading sources of solid waste around the world. In particular, packaging related to office supplies, electronics (including televisions), newspapers, books, and more, collectively create a colossal environmental footprint. In 2017 alone, the United States Environmental Protection Agency reported that 18.4 million tons of municipal solid waste in the form of paper and cardboard hit landfills.

Eco-friendly initiatives like this one by Samsung could alleviate some of that burden — that is if other major companies follow suit. If it gets to that level, the world might start seeing reusable furniture alternatives made out of corrugated cardboard and familiar logos. Up next, a dog kennel, perhaps? Or how about a ferret fortress? We'd happily build them all.