Internationally recognised for our eco, flat wine bottles, Garçon Wines is proud to be joining the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Circular Economy 100 (CE100) programme as an emerging innovator. Additionally, we welcome the opportunity created from becoming part of the world’s leading circular economy network. Called “groundbreaking bottles” by one of the world’s most respected wine critics, Jancis Robinson, these bottles were the first in the wine industry, and one of the first in the wider drinks industry, to be made entirely from recycled PET, pre-existing material not single-use plastic. Garçon Wines will take its place in the diverse and dynamic network alongside a wide variety of leading companies that are already members, from firmly established household names to pioneering start-ups. The network brings together business, innovators, cities, governments, universities, and thought leaders with a view to share, learn and implement cross-sector circular solutions through collaboration as part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s aims to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. Also joining in this same cohort are Mimica, who have created a label that accurately shows when food or drink expires to reduce waste, and Loop, a global shopping system that uses reusable packaging.
Launched in 2010, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation has since emerged to be a global thought leader and is succeeding in placing the circular economy firmly on the agenda in business, government and academia. Unlike the unsustainable linear economy model of ‘take, make and waste’ that is prevalent in the world today, the circular economy is an alternative model based on the principles of designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems.
Garçon Wines’ innovative, multi award-winning bottles already adopt the principles of keeping materials in use by being made of 100% recycled PET, not single-use plastic, which helps create a value, use and demand for plastic that’s already in circulation and puts it back to good use. The flat bottles also design out waste and pollution, having been designed to be fully, easily and widely recyclable after use by using caps and labels, the only two other components, that are made from the right sort of plastics to enter the PET recycling stream. Thinking about material use at the design stage prevents the bottles from ending up as waste in landfill or litter in the environment. Importantly, using recycled PET instead of virgin PET or heavy glass helps to significantly reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. As such, given that one of the primary benefits of keeping material in circulation is achieving a lower carbon footprint, transitioning to a circular model is fundamental in Garçon Wines’ ultimate goal to help slash the grotesque carbon footprint of the wine industry through climate-friendly, sustainable packaging solutions. Alongside many other disruptive and destructive impacts, there is strong evidence that a major consequence of a warming planet is likely to be changes in patterns of infectious diseases. In an unprecedentedly unique and challenging time of global pandemic, such evidence highlights the need now, more than ever, to continue to do the right things for the right reasons and help mitigate against the climate crisis for the benefit of economies, people and planet.
Santiago Navarro, Garçon Wines CEO & co-founder, said;
“Our lighter, more space-and energy- efficient bottles are by far a more sustainable advancement to the status quo of round, glass bottles. These climate-friendly bottles provide the wine industry with a 21st century solution to slash their carbon footprint. Additionally, we recognise that a great start is not enough, and we can always be innovating to improve our solution further. For us, this means a greater focus on ensuring our bottles are recycled post use. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has published research highlighting how the circular economy can play an essential role in tackling the devastating impacts of the climate crisis, which is why becoming more circular, with the ultimate goal of closing the loop, is so important to our company. During this period of great difficulty and uncertainty, we are motivated and honoured to be part of such a significant and prestigious network that can help us realise our goals to advance the wine industry to be more circular, just as much as we can engage with others in the initiative to support circularity in the whole ecosystem”.
The wider Ellen MacArthur Foundation has already welcomed Garçon Wines’ key supply partners; Berry Global, whose Berry M&H division produces the bottles for the UK and EU, and Amcor, who produce the bottles for the north American markets, are both part of the New Plastics Economy, an initiative with a vision of a circular economy for plastics in which it never becomes waste. DS Smith, who produces the company’s secondary packaging including postal packs and cases, is a global partner of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
Already positively collaborating with some of the global manufacturing giants in the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s initiatives and now joining the CE100 as a member, this will allow Garçon Wines to supercharge our plans to become a more circular business by connecting with compatible companies across the value chain to explore the potential development of collaborative projects. Our main ambition will be to close the loop and the first step on our journey will be to understand how to intercept our bottles, in countries like the UK which do not operate a deposit return scheme, before they enter the general recycling stream. We will be studying interception at materials and plastics recovery facilities and also the possibility to retrieve directly from homes. Having just announced a multinational and multi sales channel collaboration with Accolade Wines, the UK’s number one wine company, the global reach of the network will also be important in understanding different regionalities and implementing circularity on a local basis.
Read more about the new cohort on the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s website.
Last updated: 15/04/2020
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