In response to a trial of various recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) bottles, The Wine Society has introduced four permanent offerings in eco-friendly Packamama flat bottles.

Source: PackagingScotland

These selections feature some of the Society's most beloved own-label wines, including its top seller, The Society’s White Burgundy. This launch is part of the retailer's Sustainability Plan, which aims to reduce its total carbon footprint by 50% by 2032.

Collaborating with Packamama, these flat bottles are made entirely from 100% recycled PET. Both the bottles and their caps and labels are reported to be fully recyclable at home and are accepted by 99% of local authorities in the UK for kerbside recycling.

According to our research, glass bottles account for 31% of The Society’s total emissions. To achieve our ambitious reduction targets, we need to significantly reduce our emissions attributable to packaging. One way to do this is putting more of our wines into lower-carbon packaging formats. Although rPET might sound controversial, with today’s technology and in the absence of a proper system in the UK to collect and reuse glass bottles, the recycled plastic bottle is a good option, with a lower-carbon footprint than glass and can be recycled kerbside at home.

The lightweight, flat design of the bottles contributes to substantial carbon savings in production, transport, and recycling processes.

The white wines are packaged in colorless (flint) bottles produced by Packamama, utilizing Prevented Ocean Plastic—a food-grade recycled PET material. This material is classified as ocean-bound plastic, having been sourced within 50 kilometers of an ocean coastline, and would have been at significant risk of polluting our oceans if not collected for recycling.

We are deeply grateful that, following a successful trial last year, the world’s oldest wine club has taken this leadership step to permanently implement one of the world’s latest bottle technologies to reduce their emissions and contribute to achieving their bold sustainability goals. We are humbled and motivated to be collaborating with The Wine Society, and to see them supporting this move by offering these wines at a discount to glass, and we hope this serves as a catalyst for others in our industry to trial or implement innovations to slash their carbon footprint in a worsening climate crisis.

Packamama’s colorless rPET bottles are equipped with a UV inhibitor to shield the wine from light damage. The red wines are contained in green bottles, both of which incorporate advanced oxygen scavenging barrier technology to enhance shelf life—though The Wine Society advises enjoying them within 12 months of purchase.

The labels are specifically designed to be compatible with rPET bottles and the recycling process, utilizing specially formulated adhesive to ensure recyclability. Additionally, the screw caps are tethered to comply with the EU directive on single-use plastics.