IS this the world's first ever paper-made spirits bottle?
Whisky maker Diageo thinks it is — and says the "world-leading" packaging could help create a new industry standard that will help battle pollution and waste.
The drinks giant will use the plastic-free bottle for its Johnnie Walker brand from early next year.
The news comes as Diageo announces the lanuch of Pulpex Limited, a new sustainable packaging technology company from a consortium of major companies including Unilever and PepsiCo.
Each of these major players is expected to launch its own branded paper bottles using the resulting bottles within months.
All are expected to be recyclable, but this has yet to be confirmed.
Ewan Andrew, chief sustainability officer of Diageo, said: “We’re proud to have created this world first.
“We are constantly striving to push the boundaries within sustainable packaging and this bottle has the potential to be truly ground-breaking.
“It feels fitting that we should launch it with Johnnie Walker, a brand that has often led the way in innovation throughout its 200 years existence.”
Richard Slater, Unilever's chief R&D officer, added: “We are going to halve our use of virgin plastic at Unilever, reducing our use of plastic packaging by more than 100,000 tonnes in the next five years.
"Joining forces to develop and test paper bottles is an incredibly exciting step forward, and we’re delighted to be working together to tackle one of the biggest environmental challenges of our time.”
And Simon Lowden, PepsiCo chief sustainability officer, said: “The Pulpex consortium is well positioned to deliver sustainable packaging at scale and across industries, having impact beyond what any organisation could achieve alone. We’re proud to be a part of it.”
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