Beatson Clark, a UK-based producer of glass packaging solutions, has launched a new website which showcases the health and environmental benefits of glass. The site is a fantastic resource for anyone who wants to know more about how glass is produced and its environmental impact.
For Beatson Clark’s customers, the site showcases the glass bottle and jar solutions available. The company also offers a design service for clients who require glass packaging that will stand-out from the competition.
“Consumer demand for products packaged in glass is growing,” explains Charlotte Taylor, Marketing Manager for Beatson Clark. “With glass being 100% infinitely recyclable and totally inert, it is a healthy and sustainable product that helps to minimise the effect of packaging on the environment. We wanted our new website to illustrate these advantages so consumers and brand owners are more aware of just how remarkable glass is as a packaging form.”
French designer Christian Lacroix is probably best known for his stunning fashion creations. However, this Christmas, Lacroix is turning his eye to a more humble product – beer. Not just any beer of course. Lacroix has designed a festive glass bottle for Carlsberg’s premium Kronenbourg 1664.
According to Lacroix, the limited edition bottles represent refinement, magic and creativity. The graphics feature a stylised scene of Paris covered in snow. The image is printed on a sleeve which is placed over the bottle. Lacroix refers to the sleeve as the bottle’s ‘party clothes’.
We think the new clothes are going to see this beer invited to quite a lot of parties over the festive season. But be quick – the collector edition glass bottles are only available until the end of 2011!
International food giant Nestlé has announced that their NaturNesbaby food supplement will be offered to German consumers in glass containers once again. The switch comes just two years after Nestlé changed from glass to plastic.
In an article in the German food industry magazine Lebensmittel Zeitung (25 November 2011), Nestlé points out that their decision is part of an evaluation of the packaging concept for NaturNes. While the company has not announced plans to change the packaging in other countries, they do say that they will adapt to local demands.
European consumers are likely to demand glass according to a survey conducted by InSites in late 2010. Results showed that 14% of the consumers surveyed bought baby food in their household and glass was their preferred packaging material (14%) compared to other materials (3%). So hopefully we spot more glass containers in other countries very soon! :-)
Whisky is a product that has strong associations with Scotland, glass and good living. Taking years to mature, the delicate honey-coloured elixir is normally packaged in a beautiful glass bottle and enjoyed from a cut-crystal glass. Right?
Not according to Panama-based company Scottish Spirits which believes that selling whisky in cans will help them tap into the outdoor beverage market. A very drunk outdoor market it seems as the company’s 350 ml (12 oz) cans of whisky contain the equivalent of eight standard drinks.
Unlike whisky bottles, the cans cannot be resealed, requiring the contents to be consumed in one sitting or shared with friends. Many industry observers believe the move promotes a culture of binge drinking and question the quality of the scotch.
The Scottish Whisky Association is taking action to ban the cans for breaking labelling rules. Let’s hope they succeed for the sake of taste alone! Because let’s be honest: what can top a beautiful glass bottle of Scottish whisky that preserves all the flavours in its purest form? And then we haven’t discussed the added sense of class and style yet
Yoplait’s Saveur d’Autrefois is a range of high quality artisanal yoghurts. Until recently the yoghurts were packaged in stoneware pots. However, an eco-design and life cycle analysis of the Saveur d’Autrefois brand found that the stoneware pot had a negative impact on the environment. Although it was popular with consumers and reflected the homemade and luxury aspects of the brand, the pot could not be recycled.
Yoplait began to search for an alternative packaging material that reflected the quality of the product, would keep it fresh and healthy, and that could be recycled. Naturally they selected glass!
Since October, the entire Saveur d’Autrefois range has been made available in painted glass pots which are fully recyclable. At the moment the glass pots are only available in France but we hope to see them in other European countries soon. Let us know if you spotted the glass jars already somewhere via our Friends of Glass Facebook page.
Thank you Yoplait for making a clear choice for glass!
In a bid to set itself apart in the crowded Australian beer market, Carlton United Brewers has adopted a revolutionary embossed bottle for the company’s Victoria Pale Lager. It is currently Australia’s only beer with a fully-embossed label.
The technology used to create the embossing was also behind an internally embossed ‘vortex’ bottle developed for Miller Lite in the US and for New Zealand brewer Tui. MillerCoors believes the innovative bottle design was behind a 6% increase in sales of Miller Lite. Gage Roads Brewing from Australia is also now using the internal vortex on its Wahoo line.
Carlton United’s marketing team were so excited by prototypes of the new design, they accepted it immediately. The company believes that the striking glass packaging will provide consumers with an impression of premium quality, at little additional expense for the beer maker.
What do you think of this new invention? Share your opinion on our Facebook page.
Each year Evian releases a new collectible glass bottle in time for the holiday season. This year’s edition has been designed by the French fashion label Courrèges to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the company’s founding.
The elegant and stylish limited-edition bottle will really add class to any festive table. Inspired by a playful white and pink dress, originally designed by Courrèges in the 1960s, the bottle has been deliberately styled to show the transparency and purity of the water inside.
Evian were so impressed with the result that they agreed to change the colour of their logo on the bottle to the hot pink selected by Courrèges.
The 2012 bottle joins previous bottle designs by Paul Smith, Issey Miyake, Christian Lacroix and Jean Paul Gaultier. All are now highly collectible, but which one is your favourite?
2008: Christian Lacroix
2009: Jean-Paul Gaultier
2010: Paul Smith
2011: Issey Miyake
2012: Courrèges
We still love the Issey Miyake. We drank the water but now we fill it with pretty flowers instead! And how about you?
For a 96 year old, the iconic Coca Cola bottle is still looking fantastic. The design was created in response to a competition for a new Coca Cola bottle. The competition specified that the bottle had to be recognisable both in the dark, and if it was broken.
The original design (left) featured a middle that was wider than the base. However, this proved impractical in production and the design was modified to the slimmer version (right) we know, and love, today.
The bottle’s unique green colour was a complete accident. It came from the minerals in the sand that was used as the source for the first bottles. Both the design and the colour are now registered trademarks.
Accident or not, one thing is certain: a lot of people simply love the Coca-Cola glass bottle as we know it today. So we wouldn’t actually like to call it an accident, but more a godsend.
Which makes us wonder: how do you like your Coca-Cola? In glass, plastic or can? Vote on our Facebook page now!
Time Magazine is reporting the results of a new study which shows that a woman’s exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) during pregnancy may lead to behavioural problems in their daughters before they reach the age of three. The study, first published in the journal Pediatrics, suggests that exposure to BPA, especially in developing foetuses, may be long-lasting.
Concerns over BPA have already prompted the European Union to enact legislation which bans the use of BPA in baby bottles within the EU. Now France is planning further legislation which would see BPA eliminated from all food packaging by 2014. The proposal, which is before the French parliament and has the support of the country’s Health Minister, would see warning labels applied immediately to any food packaging which contains BPA and that is targeted at pregnant women or children under three. If the law is passed, France will become the first country in the world to totally ban BPA from food packaging. Meanwhile the EU is monitoring the situation to see if more action is needed at the European level.
While this news is concerning, there are some simple ways that all of us can avoid ingesting BPA. One of the easiest is to choose fresh fruit and vegetables where possible, and frozen or glass-canned alternatives when it is not. Another tip is to stop consuming pre-prepared foods which are packaged in materials other than glass or cardboard.
Earlier this year, the US Breast Cancer Fund reported on a study in which three families reduced their BPA levels by an average of 60% in just three days. As well as following the advice above, the families switched to stainless steel or glass food and beverage storage containers and utilised ceramic and glass containers for microwaving.
While more work needs to be done to understand the long-term impact of BPA on our children, it is easy to minimise the risk thanks to glass.
Ayelet Naturals is a boutique range of organic aromatherapy, skincare, bath and body products. The brand’s line of scrubs recently underwent a redesign by specialist agency Oh Boutique from Argentina. The new packaging includes glass jars which allow the natural and organic qualities of the products to shine through. The glass truly intensifies the pureness of the natural scrubs.
So, what’s not to love?! Pure from the in- and outside! Glass has nothing to hide. Ayelet products are available from a number of online stores including Etsy.
Beatson Clark, a UK-based producer of glass packaging solutions, has launched a new website which showcases the health and environmental benefits of glass. The site is a fantastic resource for anyone who wants to know more about how glass is produced and its environmental impact.
