Target becomes 'first major US retailer' to commission sustainable wine in paper bottles

Target is the first major USA supermarket retailer to commission a range of sustainable wines in revolutionary low carbon paper bottles that will save the equivalent of nearly 100 tons of carbon dioxide.

The Collective Good wine range, which is bottled exclusively in the paper Frugal Bottle, has a Red Blend, a Sauvignon Blanc, a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Pinot Grigio have just gone on sale in nearly 1,200 of its stores across the US from just $9.99 to tie in with April’s Earth Month.

The Frugal Bottle, which was designed by British sustainable packaging company Frugalpac andrecently awarded the King’s Award for Enterprise for innovation from His Majesty King Charles III, is made from 94% recycled paperboard with a food grade pouch to hold the liquid.

It is five times lighter than a glass bottle and crucially uses six times less carbonand energy to produce and dispose. The carbon footprint of a standard glass wine bottle is 440g (15.52oz) CO2e. But a Frugal Bottle is only 91.9g (3.23 oz) CO2e. This means it has a carbon footprint 84% lower than glass bottles.

Target has ordered 256,000 of the Collective Good bottles to sell in their US stores in a move that will save 98.3 US tons of CO2e.

According to theUS Environmental Protection Agency Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator, that’s the equivalent of offsetting CO2e from:

• 99,058 pounds of burned coal
• 10,034 gallons of consumed gasoline
• 206 barrels of consumed oil
• Driving around the planet more than 5 and half times (227,093 miles)

The Collective Good range is a collaboration between California’s Latitude Wines (LWX), who sourced and imported the wines and California’s Monterey Wine Company, who filled the paper bottles.

Monterey Wine Company, who are based in King City, liked the bottles so much they have now acquired their own Frugal Bottle Machine and are producing the paper bottles on site.

The machine can produce in excess of 2.5 million paper Frugal Bottles a year.

You can watch a video of how the paper Collective Good bottles were made here.

The Collective Good wines on sale in Target are:

• Cabernet Sauvignon from California
• Red Blend from Spain
• Sauvignon Blanc from Chile
• Pinot Grigio from Italy

The wines were specifically selected for Target for their quality and commitment to sustainability.

• In California, the winery has a dedicated wind turbine on site that generates 100% of the power needed to run the winery and also supplies renewable energy for an additional 125 local homes.
• In Spain, the winery practices regenerative viticulture in their vineyards which leads the soil to capture more CO2 from the atmosphere and help reduce their overall carbon footprint.
• In Chile, the winery uses 100% renewable solar energy to power the winery and produce their wines.
• In Italy, the winery utilizes dry farming in their vineyards (growing grapes without irrigation), using significantly less water than traditional agriculture methods.

The benefits of the paper Frugal Bottle are:

• It’s lighter. The Frugal Bottle weighs just 83g so it is up to five times lighter than a normal glass bottle, making it easier to carry and lighter to transport.
• It’s better for the environment. An independent Life Cycle Analysis by Intertek found the Frugal Bottle, which is made from recycled paperboardwith no chemicals, has a carbon footprint up to six times (84%) lower than a glass bottle and more than a third less than a bottle made from 100% recycled plastic. The Frugal Bottle’s water footprint is also at least four times lower than glass.
• It’s easy to recycle again. Simply separate the plastic food-grade pouch from the paper bottle and put them in your respective recycling bins. The food grade pouch is certified recyclable and is a polyethylene metallised polyester laminate, the same material used in bag in box wines.
• It uses less plastic than a plastic bottle. The Frugal Bottle uses up to 77% less plastic. Only 15g compared to a 64g bottle made from 100% recycled plastic. The food grade pouch is a polyethylene metallised polyester laminate, the same material used in bag in box wines. It is recyclable.
• It stands out. As the Frugal Bottle is made from recycled paperboard, it allows for 360-degree branding across the bottle. No other wine or spirits bottle looks or feels like it, so it stands out on shelf and table.
• It’s better for wine producers. The Frugal Bottle can be produced in the heart of their bottling facility, offers complete freedom on design and print, is more cost effective to transport than glass bottles while reducing their carbon footprint further.

Monterey Wine Company General Manager Shannon Valladarez said: At Monterey Wine Company pioneering innovation embracing new technologies and driving much-needed sustainability and efficiency in the wine packaging industry is written into our DNA. As the first U.S. producer of the Frugal Bottle, we are proud to partner with Target to bring The Collective Good wines to nearly 1,200 stores in the revolutionary paper Frugal Bottle. This launch is a testament to the collaboration of committed corporations to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint while delivering quality wines in cutting-edge, eco-friendly packaging.

LWX Vice President, Business Development and Sales Graham Nordin said: We’re incredibly proud to partner with Target to bring an innovative and sustainably focused wine brand to their guests across the US. Sourced from sustainably-minded, quality driven wineries from around the world and then brought together in a recyclable paperboard bottle – Collective Good is committed to protecting the environment, one bottle at a time.

Frugalpac CEO Malcolm Waugh said: The US has been a real trailblazer in our paper bottle revolution. Their wines and spirits brands were amongst the first to move to the Frugal Bottle and its clear there’s an increasing market for people who want to drink more sustainably. We’re proud to see Target making this commitment to stocking the Collective Good in all their retail outlets. It’s a big endorsement for sustainable low carbon packaging that can deliver great taste but less waste.

Whole Foods Market stocked Bonny Doon’s Carbon..nay wine in the Frugal Bottle last year in a select number of its stores. But this is the first time a major US retailer has chosen to stock paper bottles in all its stores.

This article was originally published by Frugalpac.