In the last few years, more and more companies have been creating spirits packaging with an eye to greater sustainability. To support this growing trend, the American Distilling Institute (AD) is pleased to announce that it is adding Best Eco-Packaging as a new top honor for its 2020 Excellence in Packaging Awards. This new award will go to one gold medal spirits package, selected by our judges as the best designed bottle that is produced using any number of eco-friendly methods. These may include bottles made using sustainable, recycled or lightweight materials, reusable packaging or other innovations.
For more than a decade, we have seen distillers take steps to offset their environmental impact — from using solar power and reusing or capturing heat energy in the production of spirits to planting trees. But spirits packaging — particularly glass bottles — have a significant environmental footprint both in their use of raw materials and in the energy required to produce and ship the bottles. One major spirits conglomerate has committed to reducing total packaging weight by 15%, increasing recycled materials in their packaging up to 45% and making 100% of their packaging recyclable or reusable by 2020. Craft distillers are taking on this challenge and working with suppliers to create innovative, beautiful and more environmentally sustainable packaging.
Run concurrently with the Judging of Craft Spirits, ADI’s Excellence in Packaging Awards seeks to highlight and honor spirits packaging that shows great originality, aesthetics and ease of handling. All spirits entered in ADI’s Judging are also considered for our Excellence in Packaging Awards without any additional cost or bottles from the producer. ADI invites any and all craft spirits using environmentally friendly packaging to enter our 2020 competition. The winner of the Best Eco-Packaging Award will be announced in April at ADI’s annual Craft Spirits Conference and Vendor Expo in New Orleans. Go to www.distilling.com/judging and enter today!
