Packamama partners with The Wine Society to supply rPET bottles

AUSTRALIA – After a successful trial, Packamama now supplies The Wine Society with 100% recycled PET (rPET) flat bottles for four of its wines.

These bottles, a lightweight alternative to glass, are designed to reduce carbon emissions while ensuring wine quality.

For white wines, Packamama has developed colorless rPET bottles equipped with a UV inhibitor to protect the wine from light exposure.

Red wines, meanwhile, are packed in green rPET bottles. Both bottle types incorporate an oxygen-scavenging barrier to extend shelf life. The Wine Society recommends consuming these wines within 12 months of purchase.

The rPET bottles, caps, and labels are fully recyclable and accepted by 99% of UK local authorities through curbside recycling programs.

Packamama highlights the environmental benefits of its flat bottle design, which is much lighter than traditional glass—63 grams compared to the 453-gram average for glass bottles. This weight difference reduces carbon emissions throughout production, transport, and recycling.

Dom de Ville, director of Sustainability and Social Impact at The Wine Society, emphasized the importance of reducing packaging-related emissions, “Glass bottles account for 31% of our total emissions.

“To meet our ambitious reduction targets, we need to adopt lower-carbon packaging formats. rPET offers a practical solution with a smaller carbon footprint than glass, and it can be easily recycled curbside.”

He added, “While we acknowledge the plastic pollution problem, the issue lies not in plastic itself but in how it is managed. That’s why we are partnering with initiatives like Prevented Ocean Plastic to mitigate climate impact, rather than rejecting plastic outright.”

The new rPET bottles will debut in mid-September, housing some of The Wine Society’s most popular own-label wines, including the best-selling White Burgundy.

This shift is part of the retailer’s broader Sustainability Plan, which aims to cut its total carbon footprint by half by 2032.

Packamama worked closely with The Wine Society to ensure the labels and caps are compatible with rPET bottles and the recycling process.

The special adhesive used for the labels and the compliance of the screw caps with EU single-use plastic directives ensure the entire bottle is recyclable.

Santiago Navarro, CEO and founder of Packamama, praised the partnership, “We are honored that The Wine Society, the world’s oldest wine club, has embraced this innovative bottle technology to reduce emissions and support their sustainability goals.

“We hope this move inspires others in the industry to explore alternatives to glass and reduce their carbon footprint in the face of the climate crisis.”

This collaboration comes at a time of increased focus on alternatives to glass in the wine industry. Earlier this year, the Alternative Packaging Alliance was formed in the US, promoting options like bag-in-box, pouches, PET bottles, and cartons as sustainable packaging solutions.

Other companies, such as Aldi and Alpla, have also introduced rPET wine bottles, further demonstrating the growing demand for eco-friendly packaging in the wine sector.

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