Diageo announces creation of paper-based bottle for Johnnie Walker

Spirits-maker partners with Pilot Lite to launch sustainable packaging company

London-based Diageo plc, makers of Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff and Guinness, announced that it has created a 100 percent plastic free paper-based spirits bottle, made entirely from sustainably sourced wood. The bottle will debut with Johnnie Walker in early 2021.

It comes as Diageo announces that it has launched a new partnership with Pilot Lite, a venture management company, to launch Pulpex Ltd., a new sustainable packaging technology company. To ensure that the technology can be used in every area of life, Pulpex Ltd. has established a partner consortium of world leading FMCG companies in non-competing categories including Unilever, and PepsiCo, with further partners expected to be announced later in the year. The consortium partners are each expecting to launch their own branded paper bottles, based on Pulpex Limited's design and technology, in 2021.

Pulpex Limited has developed a scalable paper-based bottle designed and developed to be 100 percent plastic free and expected to be fully recyclable. The bottle is made from sustainably sourced pulp to meet food-safe standards and will be fully recyclable in standard waste streams, it says. The technology will allow brands to rethink their packaging designs, or move existing designs into paper, whilst not compromising on the existing quality of the product.

"We're proud to have created this world first. We are constantly striving to push the boundaries within sustainable packaging and this bottle has the potential to be truly ground-breaking,” said Ewan Andrew, chief sustainability officer for Diageo in a statement. “It feels fitting that we should launch it with Johnnie Walker, a brand that has often led the way in innovation throughout its 200 years existence."

Pulpex Limited's technology allows it to produce a variety of plastic-free, single mould bottles that can be used across a range of consumer goods. The packaging has been designed to contain a variety of liquid products and will form part of Diageo's commitment toward Goal 12 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: “Responsible Consumption and Production.”

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