Whole Foods Launches Green Path Wine in Tetra Pak Packaging

Whole Foods is launching a new organic wine called Green Path.  Green Path wine will be sold exclusively at Whole Foods stores nationwide starting this month. 

The Australian Chardonnay and Shiraz are organic wines made by Organic One Wines, one of Australia's oldest and largest vineyards.  The wines come from the Billabong Vineyard in Jerilderie, New South Wales, Australia and will sell for approximately $12 US.

The packaging choice on this wine is interesting.  The wine will be sold solely in Tetra Pak one liter cartons.  Tetra Pak is a paper-based carton marketed as an environmentally-friendly alternative to plastic or glass bottles. 

Sustainable is Good reported earlier this year on Aqua 2 Go using Tetra Pak packaging for its water - the story produced a large amount of discussion on the Tetra Pak packaging and its environmentally friendly claims.

There is concern that Tetra Pak packaging is complex and difficult to break down and recycle effectively.  The company who produces Tetra Pak claims their product is of tremendous benefit to the green community and a viable alternative to plastics and glass.

According to a recent statement, the Country Vitner (Australian Wine Exporter) and Whole Foods believe the packaging for their wine is ideal as it provides customers who want to "enjoy a quality wine in a portable, recloseable, safe and easy-to-use package."

They also point out the fact the Tetra Pak is made from a renewal resource (paper) and is lighter in weight than traditional glass bottles, requiring less trucks for transportation, in turn reducing total greenhouse gas emissions.

Comments

[Shawn]

So much for local. Australia is the closest winery willing to make a green themed wine that they could find? The shipping distance combined with my dislike of tetra packs means I'll be passing on this one.

[mischiefmari]

I just tried this wine and was quite disappointed. The packaging was attractive and Whole Foods sure pushes hard to get customers to buy this. In the end, it's still boxed wine, expensive boxed wine, and, I've read several reports about how difficult Tetra Pak's packaging might be to break down and recycle. So, while the idea for Green Path wine is a good one, it falls short of my hopes for a good, organic wine in eco-friendly packaging.

[Mosha]

To argue the merits of this packaging from the angle of recycling misses the mark a bit. The greatest eco impact here is with regards to shipping and weight. A wine bottle must be shipping from the bottling plant to the packager and then again to the retailer. Tetra wins big here...What takes between 25-30 trucks full of empty bottles can be shipping from Tetra in 1 truck (in rolled up paper reels)! Once filled, the ratio is like 3 to 1, and the Tetra is about 95% lighter, which of course uses far less fuel in transportation. I don't know about the recycling capabality here but I know it's quite high and good in some countries.