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Before & After: Xango's Transition from Glass to PET

by Gina Angie on 05/07/2012 | 2 Minute Read

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"As part of an ongoing series of eco-friendly initiatives, wellness company XANGO replaced its original glass juice bottle with a custom 750ml PET container. The switch not only yielded sustainability benefits - including an 85% reduction in package weight and enhanced recyclability – but is also saving the company over $1 million annually in the cost of goods, freight, secondary packaging and breakage.With Manufacturing services provided by Berlin Packaging, the new package recreates the shape of XANGO’s soft-shouldered tapered glass bottle in PET with subtle adjustments to accommodate the limitations of blow molding. A full shrink wrap was used to help retain the look of glass, and the filling process was changed from hot fill to aseptic fill to maintain the juice color, flavor and phytonutrient content while also saving energy.

Among the benefits:

  • Bottle weight plummeted from 508 grams to 74, substantially lowering shipping costs and enabling reductions in secondary packaging.
  • The lighter weight allowed a single-wall outer carton to replace a double-wall box, while eliminating package breakability permitted corrugate to replace polystyrene for bottle separation during shipment.
  • Waste was substantially reduced by eliminating bottle breakage, cutting secondary packaging needs and eliminating bottle breakage.
  • Recyclability was improved by replacing the outgoing glass bottle and metal closure with a PET bottle and polypropylene closure.

 

According to a lifecycle analysis based in part on the Walmart packaging scorecard model, the transition to PET also yielded a 34% reduction in energy use and 64% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions – even before freight savings – with a savings of 57 million pounds in annual materials and 2,039 metric tons in annual CO2 emissions."

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