13 Jul 2020 Evian’s 100% recycled plastic bottle with no label

Evian’s new no-label bottle, which has the brand name engraved onto the recycled plastic, is part of the brand’s effort to become fully circular by 2025.

When a plastic bottle ends up in a recycling plant, the label attached to it usually isn’t recycled. That’s why a new bottle from Evian was designed to eliminate the label entirely, with the brand name and other details carved into the bottle itself.

“The benefit of being label-free is that our new bottle is a circular packaging solution, meaning there is no waste and all plastic is kept in the economy,” says Shweta Harit, global brand vice president at Evian.

The brand is aiming to become fully “circular,” with the goal that all of its bottles will be made from 100% recycled plastic, by 2025. Ultimately, it wants every bottle it makes to end up back in the recycling system in a closed loop.

Labels, caps and closures and the bottles themselves are all made from different types of plastic polymers, and must be separated at recycling facilities.

While labels are technically recyclable, some facilities don’t have the infrastructure to handle it; others don’t bother. “The labels are disposed of or used to produce energy,” Harit says. “This is a challenge that we as a brand are constantly working on to resolve.”

A long evolution

Eliminating the label wasn’t a simple process. “It took almost two years for us to develop this innovation,” she says.

The company had to ensure that the packaging met quality and safety standards as it found a new way to form bottles. The logo is engraved at the stage when the plastic is formed into the shape of a bottle inside a mould.

Evian will distribute the label-free bottle in select hotels, restaurants, and hospitality venues, and adds that it’s a sustainable solution for e-commerce, where there’s no need for barcode labelling.

The bottle is made from 100% recycled plastic, with the exception of the cap. Still, the company’s goal of being fully circular for every bottle it makes will be challenging: only around 10% of plastic packaging is currently recycled globally, and as demand for recycled plastic grows, the supply is limited.

“We have been busy co-building effective, efficient, and inclusive systems for collection and recycling with local governments across our different markets,” Harit says…..

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