Evian, the Paris-based global spring water brand, is aiming to create a world completely void of plastic waste. They make plastic water bottles, so how would this be possible? Well, they have taken action and made a commitment to manufacture all plastic bottles from 100% recycled plastic by 2025.
“We want to keep the plastic in the system and out of nature,” asserts Patricia Oliva, Evian global brand director.
This global brand is taking on a huge feat. The odds look favorable, though, as they are on track towards their goal of being completely carbon neutral by 2020. This all involved a fundamental redesign of their packaging and processes to make their bottles out of 100% recycled plastic.
More than 2.5 million plastic bottles are used every hour by Americans alone. Can you imagine a world in which every single one of those bottles was made entirely out of recycled material? That would cut the plastic waste down significantly.
Evian is taking on a “circular approach” to accomplish this, and they have partnered with Loop to do it. Loop Industries, Inc. is a Canada-based waste and recycling technology company that uses technology that allows for low value and no value waste such as carpets and clothing to be upcycled into high-value consumer goods packaging such as water bottles.
“A circular economy is taking something and reusing it for what it used to be or a higher value,” says Daniel Solomita, founder, and CEO of Loop. “We take that plastic, break it down into its base ingredients and then build them back up to make brand new plastic.”
Loop announced the partnership after 18 months of collaboration between Evian and the research and development and purchasing teams at Loop.
With this change, Evian is sending out a strong message to consumers that plastic bottles can change from a waste product to a valuable resource as long as we recycle.
“To make this huge change in our system, we need other players to transform the way they are using and managing plastic,” emphasizes Oliva. “We need to change, and everybody wants to change. We are showing that there are solutions and that we really can make a difference.”