Comic Relief 2023 – Paper Red Nose Revolution
This year’s latest paper invention is taking the nation by storm. The new red noses have been revealed with the aim of helping to fundraise for this year’s Red Nose Day.
Comic Relief turned to a paper-based solution in 2023 designed by Sir Jony Ive at LoveFrom, a design guru who worked for Apple for more than 25 years. The new Comic Relief nose was revealed on the 1st of February. It features a red honeycomb paper structure, like the kind used in expanding paper Christmas decorations. Its fastening mechanism is solid and forms the sphere and nose clip.
The nose itself is supplied in a slim-branded case which is made of more than 95% plant-based materials including paper, corn-based bioplastic polyester and bagasse, a packaging material made from sugarcane pulp. Using paper-based materials makes it almost fully recyclable, and seeing as the recycling rate for paper packaging in Europe is 83%, what’s not to like about these new noses?
“The magically transforming Red Nose starts as a tiny, flat crescent and springs into a beautiful honeycomb-paper sphere. It proves that the littlest of things can make a huge difference. Because when you buy one, you’re helping people facing the toughest times of their lives.” – shop.comicrelief.com
Sir Jony said: ‘We’ve grown up with Comic Relief and are proud to support their remarkable work.’
‘This new and seemingly simple Red Nose has been a fabulously complex little object to design and make and has involved our entire team.’
‘We hope it brings a little moment of joy to everyone who wears one.’
The History Of Red Nose Day
On Christmas Day 1985, BBC One broadcast a live launch of Comic Relief from the Safawa Refugee Camp in Sudan. The organisation was founded initially to help those affected by the famine in Ethiopia, but it has subsequently changed its focus to raising money for malnourished and disadvantaged people in the UK and Africa.
Although the first Red Nose Day didn’t occur until 1988, a significant fundraising event including British comedy talents like Rowan Atkinson, Billy Connolly, and Steven Fry took place two years earlier in April 1986.
On February 5th 1988, BBC One broadcast the very first Red Nose Day. A televised special, featuring characters from Blackadder and The Young Ones, saw them competing in a game of University Challenge which attracted 30 million views. Almost 150 celebrities and comedians performed during this event, which raised £15 million in total for charity.
The first red nose, a simple red ball that founders Sir Lenny Henry and Richard Curtis wanted to symbolise their charity, was also established on Red Nose Day in 1988. Sales of the Red Nose alone have raised more than £70 million over the previous 32 years, and this year Comic Relief’s famed nose has undergone the most drastic redesign since its inception, becoming a honeycomb sphere made completely of plant-based materials.
You can get your own red nose from Comic Relief’s website, or on Amazon. You can also donate as little as £1.00 over on their donations page on their website.
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