Evian Reduces Impact of its Bottled Water

Bottled-water company Evian introduced a lighter-weight bottle that includes recycled content.

The bottled-water industry has been hurt in recent years by environmental awareness campaigns urging customers to drink tap water from reusable bottles rather than purchase resource-intensive bottled water.

In response, Evian says its new 1.5 liter bottle reduces the product’s ecological impact. It is made of 50% recycled-PET and contains 11% less plastic to weigh 3.4 grams less than the previous design.

Evian says the new bottle reduces the carbon footprint by 32% and remains 100% recyclable. Evian even touts that the new bottle is even easier to crush, taking up less space in recycling bins. However, the company is unlikely to overcome the stout objections of those who view the entire bottled-water industry as wasteful.

Evian, which is owned by Danone Waters of America, Inc, is currently working towards a target of reducing its CO2 emissions 40% between 2008 and end of 2011.

Last week soda-maker PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) announced the development of a new recyclable bottle made entirely of bio-based plastic.