The Vision
Founded in 2015, City to Sea is a behaviour change powerhouse dedicated to stopping plastic pollution at the source. After a decade of leading the "Refill" campaign, which grew into a global app with 330,000 stations and 650,000 downloads, the organisation needed to evolve. As long-time advocates for a circular economy, they required a brand identity that moved beyond water bottles to encompass the entire "refill and return" infrastructure.
A Role Change, A Name Change
Our partnership was a low-bono project, supporting our position as one of the UK’s first 1000 B Corps. We identified that the organisation needed a name with more stature to engage corporate partners and policymakers.
The solution was already hidden in their ecosystem: Refill Return.
By adopting the name of their pioneering Bristol-based returnable cup scheme, we ensured immediate digital SEO authority and a seamless transition for their existing audience. This new name aligns perfectly with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s (EMF) four pillars of reuse, shifting the narrative from individual actions to a scalable, collaborative system.
A Future-Ready Identity
To disrupt the often-cluttered visual language of sustainability, we focused on two key pillars:
- The Symbol: We reinvented the classic circular economy arrow. By swapping the positions of the arrows, we created a unique mark that serves as a storytelling device for the dual actions of refilling and returning.
- The System: As a digital-first brand, we developed a modular typographic system. Using a high-contrast blue and yellow palette, we retained a link to the original brand’s heritage while providing the agility needed for global campaigns and diverse physical touch points.
“Collaborating with Halo was an invaluable step in evolving our brand from a grassroots campaign into Refill Return - a new change brand and platform built for the future of reuse. They helped us reflect on the legacy of our work while developing a clear, contemporary identity that meets the scale and ambition of the reuse economy.
We particularly valued Halo’s strategic and creative leadership throughout the process, helping us navigate the transition internally and engaging our global network of stakeholders. The response to the new brand has been extremely positive.”
— Celine Deschamps, Programme Lead, City to Sea
