Current Affairs

Don’t feel too guilty about grabbing a can of coke, because soon that sugar-loaded carbonated cola will come in a sustainable paper bottle option. Feeling guilty over the calories is a whole other story but for now, you can placate the fire in your belly that burns for a packaging that might not kill the earth we live in. 

Coca-Cola enlisted its Brussels-based innovation lab to create a totally new packaging concept which would work for still as well as fizzy drinks. The notion of a plastic-free casing is still science-fiction at this point in time, but even the smallest advancements being made towards an eco-friendly future should be welcomed. Lest we become the trash-filled world of Disney’s Wall-E. 

Coke tied up with the Paboco initiative to develop this prototype packaging. The initiative includes other food industry heavyweights like Carlsberg and Absolut (Pernod Ricard), as well as other companies like L’Oréal that are all putting their weight behind sustainability. 

Surprisingly, it was Danish beer Carlsberg to be one of the first brands to unveil a paper container that was made out of sustainably sourced wood fibres. Other projects have followed suit; renowned whiskey brand Johnnie Walker, for instance, is aiming for a 100% plastic-free bottle in spring 2021, made of pressed and dried wood pulp.

TODAY we unveiled our latest Green Fibre Bottle prototypes, which contain #beer for the first time. Made from sustainably-sourced wood fibres, they are an important step towards our ultimate ambition of the world’s first ‘paper’ beer bottle. More 👉 https://t.co/j8mqGh2xAg pic.twitter.com/2oGIBYGYtn

— Carlsberg Group (@CarlsbergGroup) October 11, 2019

As of today, there has yet to be an official date revealed for the new coke on the block. But what we know is that the prototype uses a plastic liner to hold the liquid (made from 100% recycled plastic), so the challenge of a plastic-free container still remains.

Elsewhere, in France’s Champagne region, champagne house Ruinart spent two years on research and development before it came up with a biodegradable sleeve or bottle wrap made entirely from pulped paper to replace its gift packaging. 

Natural wood fibres from FSC- or PEFC-certified European forests are used to create this light sleeve that envelops the famous rounded bottle form. Ruinart says this has reduced the carbon footprint of its packaging by 60%. 

Source: AFP Relax News