BLOG IN A BOTTLE

With the millions of people using alarm clock every day, whom among us hasn’t been startled into consciousness by a strident, insistent beeping? And in those moments, don’t we all think there must be a better way?

First formally invented by Plato (427-347 BC), the ancient Greek philosopher, man-made wake-up calls have gone through various cycles of transformation in the history of our time on earth. When days were all about hunting and gathering, the dawn songs of the crowing cock or the tweeting bird were enough to get us out from under our fur blankets, but once we moved away from the sounds of nature, we had to come up with more ingenious and often more stressful methods to rouse us from our slumber.

From the klepsydra, the water-based contraption that Plato constructed, to the modern-day Clocky which rolls off the table and looks for a place to hide at the touch of the snooze button, most of our alert systems have revolved around rather painful ways of getting us into the day (read more).

But what if we tackled the problem from a different angle?

For Vera Wiedermann, whose DesignStudio focuses on current needs of society to develop solution-oriented objects that enrich our quality of life, ‘intercreativity and the product life circle become more important every day. By using one’́s knowledge for the development of new products, the designer upholds responsibility towards society and nature’.

Well, the torturous beeping certainly gave Ms. Wiedermann pause for thought, and it is her thought that now gives us the Dreamtime Clock. As with Plato’s klepsydra, the Dreamtime Clock is water-based, although that’s where all comparison ends.

Here, soft-coloured glass spheres are suspended from a single cord in an ethereal, eye-catching design, water is poured into one of the glass bowls, droplets silently fall from one bowl to another and the spheres rise or lower according to the weight of the water. Eventually one bowl rises to release a small, brass hammer that taps softly on the glass, releasing a soft, delicate chiming.

Gone are the days of waking up stressed and irritated. By using glass and other natural substances to create the gentler sounds, we can start our days on a much happier note.

Dreamtime – alarm clock from Vera Wiedermann on Vimeo.

Did you know that on average, every Italian consumes around 37 bottles of wine in a year? And almost all (9 out of 10) prefer to buy wine in glass bottles. To meet that demand, almost 2.2 billion glass bottles are needed every single year!

In November last year, Assovetro – the Italian Association of glass producers – organised a tour of the area around Florence to enable journalists to discover the importance of the relationship between wine and glass. The tour began with talks from two experts in the field: Marco Esti, Associate Professor of Enology (the study of wine to you and I) at the University of Tuscia; and the renowned Italian food and wine sommelier, Adua Villa. Both presented scientific evidence that showed the taste and sensory characteristics of food and wine are best preserved by the neutral properties of glass.

In Empoli, the journalists had the opportunity to visit the Zignago Vetro glass plant. Starting with glass scrap (cullet) which is collected locally, the plant produces bottles and other glass containers for the local wine industry. Using scrap significantly reduces emissions from the plant. Its location, close to one of Italy’s major wine-producing regions, also ensures that emissions from transportation are minimised.

The tour continued at the Lamole di Lamole winery in Greve (Chianti), just 40 km from the Empoli plant. Here the journalists got to see the glass bottles produced at Zignago Vetro being filled with some of the very fine Chianti the winery is famous for. Naturally there was a tasting – this is Italy after all – the country where the relationship between glass, wine, and life itself is best enjoyed!

Since February 2010, Kansas City couple Zach Noland and his girlfriend Meghan Sundermeier have been attempting to live a zero-waste lifestyle. And to date they have been very successful. One of the easiest ways they have found to reduce their waste is to take their own glass jars and reusable cloth sacks to their local whole foods store. The couple simply fill the reusable containers with the products they need. They also buy their milk in glass bottles which can be returned and refilled.

The glass jars and cloth sacks also provide handy containers around the home. Noland’s cupboards hold cloth sacks and glass jars filled with dry goods and cereal. There are no cans, plastic bags or other packaging in sight. Glass containers are also reused in the refrigerator to hold leftovers. In a typical week, the couple produce less than a handful of waste which must be disposed of in the rubbish.
Noland and Sundermeier were inspired to try a zero-waste lifestyle by Béa Johnson who runs the Zero Waste Home blog. Johnson’s blog contains a wealth of tips and recipes for anyone interested in reducing their waste. They include buying in bulk, shopping at local farmers’ markets, and using natural cleaning products such as baking soda and vinegar.

Johnson believes that to successfully live a zero-waste lifestyle you need to follow the 4R’s approach: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle only as a last resort. Of these, Sundermeier believes refusing excess packaging is the most important: “You have to refuse. That is the most important strategy. Refuse, refuse, refuse.”

Glass is the greenest packaging material according to a report by Chloé Hecketsweiler which was published in the French magazine L’Expansion late in 2011. Using five criteria (raw material cost, carbon footprint, recycling rates, impact on health and cost to consumers) Hecketsweiler sought to quantify which packaging material was the greenest using data relating the French market. Over all five criteria, glass packaging scores 17/25, well ahead of plastics at 13/25.

Glass Ahead in Recycling

On average, every French person adds 86 kilograms of household packaging to the waste stream each year. When comparing plastic and glass, Hecketsweiler notes that 75% of glass packaging containers are recycled in France, but that just 20% of plastic containers find their way to recycling centres. Hecketsweiler believes consumers find it easy to recycle glass as it simply needs to be sorted into clear and coloured glass. By comparison, there are many different types of plastic and it is impossible to treat each type in the same way.

Glass Reduces Emissions

Hecketsweiler notes that less energy is used and less CO₂ is emitted if recycled glass is used to create new glass. However, she bases her emissions calculation on the use of 100% virgin materials and does not take into account the major progress manufacturers have already made to reduce the weight of bottles.

A European Life Cycle Assessment for glass bottle production shows that, on average, every tonne of recycled glass saves 670 kg of CO₂. Increasing the amount of recycled glass in the furnace by 10% decreases energy use by 3%. When glass is recycled, there is no need to produce, process and transport the virgin raw materials or to transport them, so less fuel is used. Glass bottles can now be produced with up to 100% recycled content – infinitely. This is certainly not the case for plastics.

Glass is Healthy

An area where glass shines is in terms of its health properties. Bisphenol-A (BPA), a component of many plastics, has been found to disrupt the hormone system of human beings. Plastics can also contain phthalates or antimony. Baby bottles containing BPA have already been banned in the EU, and toxicologists have also raised concerns over the effects of phthalates and antimony. By contrast, glass is 100% inert – a major advantage for consumers.

Glass Protects Vital Resources

In terms of the expense of raw materials, Hecketsweiler points out that glass is made of natural ingredients which are found in abundance in nature. Glass container production efficiently uses resources and does not depend on oil. If renewable energy is available and secure, glass can be produced without the need for any fossil fuels.

By contrast, plastic is derived from oil. Around two kilograms of oil is required to produce one kilogram of PET plastic. Overall, the manufacture of plastics absorbs 4% of the world’s limited supplies of oil.

Glass Represents Real Value

While glass comes out ahead of plastics in most areas, the one area in which Hecketsweiler believes plastic can compete is price. However, her survey only covered two products in one French supermarket. As European consumers already know, most products are priced the same despite the packaging material used.

It is true that high quality products are often packaged in glass because it is the most reliable material in terms of taste preservation. Glass also guarantees a much longer shelf-life for the product, helping to reduce food waste in the supermarket and at home. That has to be good for both your purse and the planet!

Simplicity is the watchword at Sprout – a New York-based company which manufactures sustainable skincare products. So it’s only natural that when it came to design the packaging, Sprout chose clear glass bottles to show-off their wonderful range of products.

Every Sprout skincare creation is made in small batches, using locally sourced organic ingredients. To reinforce the personal commitment, each bottle is signed and dated by the person who created the batch. A simple label on the front identifies the brand and the list of ingredients – no E-numbers in small print here!

Sprout chose glass packaging for its skincare range, principally because of its inert nature – the glass does not react to the contents inside, ensuring that they remain harmless to the user. And they allow the natural colours of the ingredients to shine through – simply beautiful!