To minimize waste and make recycling easier, Australian company Fourth Wave Wines has developed Crate, a new line of wines with minimal branding and no paper labels, reports Packaging Gateway.
Currently, to recycle a glass bottle, plants must remove the label and adhesive. This takes time and energy. The label itself also takes electricity to manufacture and apply and uses both paper from trees and PET, a type of plastic.
All of this uses resources, according to Rowena Curlewis, the co-founder of Denomination, the eco-friendly branding company that worked with Fourth Wave Wines on the design.
"This will mean a revolution in how we design packaging," she says. "Crate is an example of how that might look: using minimal amounts of ink and energy to brand the product with the absolute necessities, but still have a distinctive brand feel."
The new package design features a smooth glass bottle without branded designs or labels, Packaging Gateway reveals. Instead, there is a small seal on the neck of the bottle that holds the cap in place, featuring all the necessary information about the wine and a QR code for those who want to learn more. The lack of branding means the bottles can be cleaned and refilled.
Packaging Gateway also reports the bottles of wine come in a recyclable carton with a message saying "Our planet matters more than our packaging." Buyers will have to purchase whole cartons of six bottles each rather than single bottles, as this cuts down on shipping and therefore minimizes air pollution from transporting the product.
Additionally, Fourth Wave Wines is focusing on small vineyards instead of large corporate facilities to support independent farmers.
All of these reductions in energy and packaging make wine cheaper to produce, which could translate to savings for the buyer. At the same time, it also means fewer resources and electricity used in the manufacturing process, saving trees and reducing pollution.
A widespread move to simple, easily recycled packaging like this would dramatically reduce waste and help cool down the planet.
Crate wines have already launched and are available for sale on the Fourth Wave Wine website.
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