Kategorie:
Sustainability, Health & Nutrition
23.08.2023
Water in Pure-Pak® cartons
How Elopak makes it possible to meet consumers’ increasing demands on sustainability
The German garden show (BUGA, short for Bundesgartenschau) 2023, which has been running in Mannheim since April, has recorded more than one million visitors and entered its second half in July – with Elopak as one of the official partners. Elopak designed a special 500 ml Pure-Pak® water carton, which is used as a welcome refreshment during the event.
Our carton in BUGA design can also be seen on one of the 64 cable car cabins that transport guests from park to park over a distance of around two kilometres across the Neckar.
The cartons are convincing because of their sustainability and fit with the BUGA key themes of “climate”, “environment”, “energy” and “food security”.
Sustainable properties of the carton used at BUGA:
First and only aluminium-free water carton in Germany
Consists mainly of wood, exclusively from sustainable forestry
Polymers in the barrier and closure are based on renewable raw materials
Fully recyclable
Carbon neutral packaging
A clear advantage with a 21% lower CO2 footprint
The ecological advantage of the 500 ml Pure-Pak® carton compared to a 100% recycled PET bottle was confirmed just recently in a life cycle analysis conducted by Anthesis. This study was commissioned by the Danish manufacturer Postevand and analysed and compared a 500 ml Pure-Pak® carton without aluminium barrier with a 500 ml PET bottle with 100% recycled content, both intended for the packaging of tap water on the Danish market.
The result: The carton used by Postevand has a 21% lower CO2 footprint than the PET bottle. Overall, the beverage carton performs better in six of the eight impact categories assessed.
Read the full study here.
The result: The carton used by Postevand has a 21% lower CO2 footprint than the PET bottle. Overall, the beverage carton performs better in six of the eight impact categories assessed.
Read the full study here.
Packaging is becoming a buying criterion
Due to the advantages of the packaging, beverage cartons have an enormous growth potential in the still water segment. More and more consumers are changing their lifestyle habits to help protect the environment and climate. Consumers worldwide see plastic packaging as particularly harmful to the environment, as shown in a study by the market research company Kantar from 2021.
A study by market research company Mintel from 2020 shows that Germans in particular are critical of water in plastic bottles:
The consequence: According to Mintel, more than one in four believes that water should be available more often in beverage cartons.
The benefits of water in Pure-Pak® cartons:
Best product protection with a guaranteed shelf life of up to 12 months
The right carton for every occasion (to go, in-home, family size, etc.)
Up to ten times less plastic compared to PET bottles
Paper, plastic, aluminium: All packaging components are recyclable
Can be optionally combined with PE based on renewable polymers or natural brown board
Which brands chose Elopak’s Pure-Pak® carton
“In the quest to make our consumption habits more sustainable, I started by asking myself how to reduce the impact of so many bottles of water that we consume every day and I thought: why not use cardboard packaging, a renewable material used for many other beverages?”
Ramón Lange Fernández de Caleya – FOUNDER OF Agua enCaja Mejor
This selection is examplary for a group of water bottlers who have recognised consumers' desires for more sustainability and have already made their production and supply chain more sustainable. They all chose Elopak’s Pure-Pak® carton.