Absolut Recycled bottle launches in travel retail

Pernod Ricard-owned Absolut Vodka has released a limited edition bottle design in global travel retail to highlight the importance of sustainability.

Absolut is donating US$1 per bottle sold to the Guanaré Forest Plantations Project

The Absolut Recycled bottle is in line with the brand’s ethos to “strive for a more circular world in which resources are reused again and again to benefit local economies, communities and ecosystems”.

Absolut has pledged US$1 for every bottle sold in airports during November and December 2019, which will go towards carbon offset through the Guanaré Forest Plantations Project, Uruguay.

The Guanaré Project is a Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) initiative that works to convert grasslands into forest plantations. It helps to offset the footprint created by humans in airports and around the world by restoring biodiversity to land.

Like all of Absolut’s products, the new bottle is made with more than 41% recycled glass.

The bottle has been designed to appear to be constructed from multiple shards of recycled glass. It aims to “spark conversations around the ways in which we can creatively reduce our environmental footprint”.

Absolut said that brands “should act in sustainable and transparent ways to create a more open world”, in particular the travel sector which is one of the leading producers of CO2 emissions.

Katie Gee, Absolut marketing manager at Pernod Ricard Global Travel Retail, said: “At Absolut, we’ve always taken our impact on the world seriously, by continuously focusing on and improving how we can be more sustainable throughout our entire production process, from seed to bottle.

“We are excited to celebrate and mark this in travel retail, as we recognise that we have shared responsibility to highlight how important sustainability is in travel.

“This campaign isn’t about discouraging people from travelling, but instead aims to challenge travellers to think more consciously about their environmental footprint and what they can do to reduce and offset it. Absolut Recycled symbolises the small step we can all make towards more conscious purchases that help support the environment we live in.”

The Absolut Recycled bottle is available in airports worldwide including Singapore’s Changi Airport, Germany’s Frankfurt Airport and Australia’s Melbourne Airport.

Last month, Absolut partnered with The Paper Bottle Company (Paboco) to create a fully bio-based and recyclable paper bottle.