There’s something innately sexy about the look and feel of a glass wine bottle. In fact, if I was to imagine Nigella Lawson describing a bottle in-hand she would emphasise its gentle curves, slender neck and cute little punt in which to nestle your thumb when pouring. Glass bottles have always conveyed a premium image for the wine they carry, their weight an enduring signal of quality. But what if I told you they aren’t great for the environment?
Why? Well, firstly, fossil fuels are used to produce, transport and recycle them. Secondly, when it comes to transport emissions, they’re heavy, fragile and waste a lot of space. Flat wine bottles have been proposed as a solution to this problem and they arrived in Australia this July. Packaging startup Packamama launched the country’s first, made from 100% recycled PET plastic. Not only is it 83% lighter, the slim, flat profile allows twice as many bottles to fit into a standard case.
