Sustainable is Good | Where design, lifestyle and packaging meet

Aquafina Lauches new Eco-Fina Bottle

PepsiCo's Aquafina, the nation's best-selling brand of bottled water, is launching the Eco-Fina Bottle, the lightest half-liter bottle of any nationally distributed bottled water brand in the market.

At a weight of 10.9 grams, the Eco-Fina Bottle is made with 50 percent less plastic, eliminating an estimated 75 million pounds of plastic annually. Aquafina is also driving additional environmental benefits by producing the bottle at purification centers where filling occurs and by eliminating cardboard base pads from 24-packs, which will contribute to saving 20 million pounds of corrugate by 2010.

The new bottle features a "rippled web" design that goes beyond aesthetics, ensuring its structural soundness and functionality. The Eco-Fina Bottle will be available in 24-packs and begins shipping to retail outlets nationwide this April.

PepsiCo's move to the Eco-Fina bottle follows a similar move by another bottled water giant in the US Market, Nestle.  Nestle who owns a large portfolio of bottled water brands including Poland Spring, Arrowhead and Ozarka introduced the "Eco-Shape" bottle which weighs 12.5oz and featured similar design enhancements to improve its structure.  Eco-Shape began appearing in Nestle's bottle water in the fall of 2007.

Eco-Fina's launch was carefully orchestrated and a much larger publicized launch than Eco-Shape.  PR firms working on the launch sent preview packs to writers and bloggers (we did not receive one) which included a custom graphic box with three filled bottles of Aquafina water. 

The preview packs have generated some controversy in the blogosphere over their unsustainable nature and the fact they were sent via overnight Fedex service.

Aquafina even posted a video of the new Eco-Fina on YouTube

Method Switches Lines to 100% Post Consumer Recycled Packaging

San Francisco based Method has converted three of its U.S. product lines covering nine SKUs to 100% post consumer recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) bottles from Amcor PET Packaging. 

The conversions, which affect 28, 25 and 12 ounce bottles, are thought to represent the first 100% post consumer recycled (PCR) applications in the United States for household cleaning products. The company had previously been using 100% virgin PET resin for these bottles.

By converting to 100% PCR on the 28-ounce bottle the carbon footprint was reduced by a significant 60 percent or 63.14 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per thousand containers produced.  When the same bottle was produced in virgin PET, emissions were 104.67 kg CO2e per thousand.

Method Products was founded in 1999 on a strong environmental platform which includes the use of biodegradable ingredients in its formulations and “most readily” recyclable packaging for its containers.  The introduction of Method’s 100% PCR bottles, once again, redefines the cleaning products category with an even stronger sustainability position.

The product lines affected are method’s 28-ounce All Purpose Cleaners (lavender, pink grapefruit and cucumber) and daily shower spray (ylang ylang); 25-ounce floor cleaners (lemon ginger and wood for good), and 12-ounce surface cleaners (daily granite, stainless steel and wood for good polishes).

Method's rPET Packaging Success in the UK lead to similar development in US

“Because we had been successful with 100% PCR bottles in the U.K., we wanted to explore what could be done in the U.S.,” explains Jason Crouch, director of procurement, method.

However, unlike the European supply infrastructure which is more vertically integrated, obtaining a consistent supply of PCR flake suitable for blow molding PET bottles has not been established in the United States. 

“When method came to us last year on this project, we were hoping to get to 50% PCR content.  In our trials, we tested 10, 25, 50, 75 and 100%.  That’s when we discovered that 100% PCR content was not out of the question, but we knew we had a lot of work ahead of us before we could be confident that the bottles meeting all of the criteria could be produced at commercial rates,” says Greg Rosati, business director, personal care, Amcor.

The first challenge was finding a suitable supply source.  This meant identifying a company that could source a supply stream with the right characteristics and be able to repelletize the flake so that it could be used to produce bottles.

“Ideally, you want the original PET bottles not to have been commingled with any other plastic type.  The best source from a material purity standpoint is PET carbonated soft drink bottles that have been collected from a deposit-based program.  Second best are bottles that have been curbside collected,” Rosati says. 

“Additionally, we needed to tap into a company that could provide the desired material quality on a consistent basis and who also has the technology to create pellets from the flake that results when these bottles are ground up.”

On the processing side of things, multiple obstacles needed to be overcome.  For example, PCR has a much lower intrinsic viscosity (IV) than virgin resin.  Since the resulting PET molecular chains are shorter, Amcor had to relearn how to process the material.  Additionally, the gray and blue scale color readings had to be at a certain level or the material would not be able to produce a clear bottle.  (Five of the SKUs using 100% PCR are in clear PET bottles; colorants are used for the rest.)

“Method and Amcor engineers worked cooperatively with each other to overcome each of the material, production and performance challenges that presented themselves throughout the project,” Crouch says.

The project started last June with trials taking place between August and November.  Full scale production took place in December.  (Bottles are stretch blow molded at Amcor’s state-of-the-art Nicholasville, KY plant.) Product starting making its way onto retail shelves in February.

“Not only has this been a learning experience for both Amcor and method, but resin suppliers have also benefited. The end result is a bottle that is having a positive impact to the environment,” Crouch says.

More rPET Packaging Coming this fall from method?

Method's Katie Molinari told Sustainable is Good the company is actively working to, "increase our assortment of products made from 100% recycled plastic by this fall."  We may expect to see more method products packaged in recycled plastic coming shortly. 

Fox's Confectionery Switches from PVC to PET Packaging

UK candy manufacturer Fox's Confectionery recently changed its candy jar packaging from PVC to PET. The change helped them increase the visibility of their candy – which is critical to the success of the brand.

Switching from PVC to the highly recyclable PET plastic also helped Fox's improve the environmental impact of its packaging.

The new PET packaging is produced by RPC Blackburn. A large segment of Fox's business comes from the cash & carry market and visibility on store shelves is critical – the company's candy needed to stand out.

“Brand image is extremely important and the RPC Blackburn jar shows the individually-wrapped sweets at their best,” said Tracey Mattlock, Marketing Manager at Fox's Confectionery.

The company choose lids whose color matches the color of the candy in the jar.

Fox's packaging change is a smart, simple and low cost example of how a company can make a packaging change to accomplish several key goals including sustainability.

Ball Corporation Recognized for Painted Turtle PET Wine Bottle

Ball Corporation (BLL) received two Sustainable Packaging Leadership Awards for its 750mL PET wine bottles for Painted Turtle wines from Artisan Wine Company of British Columbia.  Ball received the Canadian Packaging Magazine Best-of-Show Eco-Choice Award, as well as the bronze award in the international branded package category. 

The awards were presented by the Packaging Association of Canada in conjunction with Wal-Mart Canada and Canadian Packaging Magazine to recognize companies that have demonstrated sustainable packaging leadership.

"The objective of the Sustainable Packaging Leadership Awards is to accelerate the progress of the packaging industry to environmental, social and economic sustainability," said Jim Downham, president, Packaging Association of Canada.  "These awards recognize and honor packaging industry leaders that compete with the best-in-class on a global scale daily."

According to the judges, Ball's PET wine bottle was selected for the Eco-Choice award because "it has the potential to launch a whole new trend and change the way that wine is packaged.  The decrease in greenhouse gases related to the transportation of this lightweight container -- compared to glass -- is a huge plus for sustainability, while the colorful, well-designed label is certain to attract consumers to the product, ultimately drawing attention to the environmental merits of this highly functional package."

Ball's 100% recyclable, 750ml PET wine bottles offer consumer convenience and weigh only 54 grams, providing savings through the supply chain. Ball is the only PET bottle manufacturer in North America to offer SIG PLASMAX, an ultra-thin, commercially proven, transparent, internal silicon oxide barrier coating technology that protects the wine inside the bottle and is easily removed during the PET recycling process.

Pepsi Redesigns Packaging

PepsiCo. (PEP) announced the release of its lightest 16.9 fl oz bottle to date. The PET bottle will be used for flavored non-carbonated beverages like its Lipton Ice Tea, Tropicana juice drinks, Aquafina FlavorSplash and Aquafina Alive.

The new bottle features a twenty percent reduction in PET plastic which the company estimates will save twenty million pounds of waste.

In addition to the reduction in plastic the new bottles will also feature a ten percent reduction in label size and a five percent reduction in the shrink wrap filmed used to wrap 12-pack multi-packs of the products.

“The challenge was to deliver significantly lighter packaging that would provide the same shelf life as the heavier bottle, withstand the manufacturing and distribution process yet not compromise aesthetics,” said Robert Lewis, vice president of worldwide beverage packaging and equipment development, PepsiCo.

Pepsi's new bottle design was chosen from over thirty proposed designs in consumer testing conducted by the company. After the final design was established a team worked on making it the lightweight package soon to be available to consumers.

The new bottles are expected on store shelves this month.

Mystery Surrounds New Whole Foods Reusable Bag

Whole Foods A Better Bag (photo: www.made-in-china.com)

When I started this story last month, I never expected a standard interview request with a designer to turn into a bureaucratic two-step that took us to China and back.

Austin-based Whole Foods Market officially phased out the use of plastic shopping bags on Earth Day last week. 

In December Whole Foods announced their intention to eliminate plastic bags and unveiled their new reusable bag called “A Better Bag.”  Following that announcement we reached out to the bag’s designer to learn more about the design and concept behind this colorful new bag. 

The response we received may be an indication of just how important reusable bags are becoming for Whole Foods. 

The colorful bags are quickly becoming the primary reusable bag the company sells, and their customers are embracing them thanks to their bright fun design, durability, low price and unique look and feel.

Perhaps an indicator of their popularity is the fact they are even selling on eBay.

A Better Bag was designed internally by Whole Foods staff who work on the company’s branded products.  The bag’s graphic design depicts blues and greens and a fresh cut apple.  Sustainable is Good attempted to obtain information on the bag’s artwork for this story.  However the bag’s designer was unable to answer any questions, citing a strict non-disclosure policy Whole Foods maintains with its employees.

Sustainable is Good contacted the Whole Foods corporate office in March for information on the bag for our story.  Initially we were turned down, being told the company doesn’t speak to “trade publications.”  After some follow up we were then informed a “rare exception” was made at the approval of the director of PR for Whole Foods – the company would participate in our story.

We submitted several questions to the company on the design and concept of the bag and also sought information on consumer reactions. 

Then began a back and forth process that in the PR world can only be described as odd.  Weeks passed with no information, then “availability” issues cropped up and more time passed; finally the company’s participation in the story came to an end last week over supply concerns. 

In an email a Whole Foods spokeswoman told Sustainable is Good, “We won’t be able to help on this story due to the reasons that I described earlier. As we had discussed, we were making an exception with your website as we know you do great work.  However, since we don’t know when our supply issues will be resolved, our team has opted to not go through with the story.”

Throughout the more than one month process to obtain basic information on the new bag, it was never clear exactly what any of the issues raised had to do with the design and concept of the bag.   It is also not known why the director agreed to participate in the story with these apparently severe supply issues looming.

Following this angle, Sustainable is Good spoke to regional sources who indicated they were unaware of any supply issues affecting the availability of the bags in their regions.

Where is the bag made and what makes it unique?

We were also able to establish where the bags are made and obtain information on what makes these bags unique within the reusable bag world.

The bags are made in the busy city of Shenzhen in China’s Guangdong province.  The city is booming with companies making reusable bags and nearly everything else imaginable for the U.S. market.  We also learned the reusable bag industry in China is riddled with misinformation over environmental claims and there is intense competition over U.S contracts.   

Based on publicly available trade information we were able to establish Charrmy Industries Co., Limited appears to be involved in the production of the Whole Foods bags.  In fact, the company’s web site proudly displays images of the bag.

What makes the Whole Foods bag different is the original artwork, design and high quality materials. 

Most of the Whole Foods bag is made from 100% post-consumer rPET (plastic bottles) material.  The tag that comes with the bag states 80% of the bag is made from rPET.   rPET material is quickly becoming the choice for high quality reusable bags destined for the U.S. market, because of its post-consumer recycled properties and its durability.

The Whole Foods Better Bag goes a step further by adding an outer layer of Oriented Polypropylene (OPP) film.  This material provides its unique look and texture as well as the ability to print high quality colorful artwork.  OPP is an excellent material for printing – for example the popular book Cradle to Cradle by the MBDC co-founders is made of OPP as are ReProduct greeting cards.   

By adding the outer OPP layer Whole Foods was able to take a reusable bag and make it fun and exciting for customers.

Aren't reusable bags for the greater good?

All of these points are interesting, innovative and exciting.  So why then did Whole Foods agree to participate in the story, and then over a month later back out?  Wouldn’t the company want to share its creative design work and innovative bag with its customers?   

The piece that Whole Foods is missing here is consumer interest; people are actually quite concerned with things like this.  People see these fun new bags in the stores, they see the store aggressively pushing them it’s not hard to see how interest is generated. Plus it’s a known fact eco-conscious consumers value design and innovation.

Reusable bags are designed to reduce waste and better the planet for everyone.  With that idea in mind you would think Whole Foods would be open about their new bag design and do anything they could to promote it and encourage others to follow in their footsteps and create their own. 

After all if more people embrace and use reusable bags and have access to bags that are fun and fashionable, then it stands to reason an increasingly significant dent can be made in the reduction of plastic bag waste, right? 

Is this more about protecting the design of a reusable bag than encouraging more people to use them?  That’s a fair question.

Kraft Salad Dressing Packaging

Kraft Foods has revamped the packaging for its bottled salad dressings as part of an effort to revitalize the product line.  The new packaging has received a number of accolades from both industry and consumers.  Most recently winning an award at the DuPont sustainable packaging awards

Kraft's redesign allowed the company to spruce up the image of their salad dressings enhancing graphics and the overall design of the bottle.  The design changed from their triangular style bottle to a newer more sleek bottle that would appeal to consumers.  The new bottle is more ergonomically designed and sports clean fresh graphics adding a sense of excitement back into the line.

The new PET bottle weighs nearly 19 percent less than the previous version.  This reduction in weight increases shipping efficiency by nearly 20 percent and saves Kraft an estimated three millions pounds of PET a year.

The Chicago Tribune reported the new bottle required Kraft to significantly rework manufacturing lines at its salad dressing plants in Champaign and Garland, Texas.

Along with the redesign Kraft also reformulated all 50 existing flavors and introduced five new vinaigrette dressings.

First Alert Phases Out PVC Packaging, Moves to Recyclable PET Plastic for Product Packaging

First Alert, a leading manufacturer of home safety products, announced it is phasing out the use of PVC plastics in its packaging in favor of the more recyclable #1 PET plastic. The change affects packaging for First Alert's extensive line of smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.

"This change is a direct result of First Alert's commitment to environmental sustainability," said Debbie Hanson, director of external affairs for BRK Brands/First Alert. "We are evaluating all aspects of our business to identify opportunities to reduce waste and conserve resources. PET plastics are easily recyclable, much more so than our previous plastic packaging, which was one of the primary reasons we made the change."

First Alert smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are packaged in clear plastic "clamshells," a packaging style popular with consumers because it allows them to see products before purchasing. Plastic clamshell packaging is commonly used with software, electronics and a wide variety of other consumer products. First Alert made the decision to switch from clamshells produced with PVC (polyvinyl chloride) to those produced with PET (polyethylene terephthalate) to increase the likelihood that its product packaging will be recycled, rather than being destined for landfills.

Hanson added that First Alert has also decreased the overall size of its smoke and CO alarm packaging in an effort to reduce the amount of resources used to package the company’s popular alarm products.

Clorox Anywhere Packaging Design

Following up on our story from September on Clorox Anywhere Hard Surface cleaner we had the chance to learn about the design of the bottle. 

The industrial design behind Clorox Anywhere hard surface cleaner is unique.  Buenos Aires-based Tridimage did the ID working from Clorox's desire for a bottle design that conveyed comfort of use and aesthetics. 

Clorox's Vicki Friedman said the company wanted an ergonomically designed bottle, created to be comfortable for the consumer to use. 

After Tridimage did their part Clorox Creative Services handled the graphic design in-house.  The packaging design went through several different mock ups before the final design was agreed upon.  The final design features the custom bottle in white with matching crisp white and blue graphics as we reported earlier.

Thanks to Tridimage for sharing their design image.

Innocent Switches More Products to 100% rPET Packaging

Popular UK juice brand Innocent has expanded its use of rPET bottles to its entire line of fruit smoothies.  The move follows Innocent's transformation of its juice line to bottles made from 100% rPET back in September. 

To celebrate the new smoothie packaging Innocent will be releasing a limited edition label on which their logo will be changing color and shape to resemble the well known green recycling symbol.  Innocent products with the limited edition label will be appearing on retailer's shelves in the UK for the last two weeks of February.

According to the company, its new bottles are fully recyclable at end of life and use 20% less plastic overall than their original packaging.  In addition to using no virgin materials at all the move to the new packaging will see a 55% reduction in the carbon footprint of the company's packaging.

Innocent became the first beverage company to use 100% rPET packaging for its bottles when it converted its juice blends to rPET bottles in September.