Van Loveren’s new wine range, "Tangled Tree", has recently been launched in a 750ml plastic wine bottle that is eco-friendly, fully recyclable and unbreakable.
The innovative polyethylene terephthalate (PET) wine bottles were produced by paper and plastics packaging company Mpact.
"Mpact and Van Loveren have proven that a PET product can be manufactured to the highest standard of quality for the consumer while being environmentally friendly," says Jonathan Musikanth of Mpact.
Plastic wine bottles are on average eight times lighter than a traditional glass wine bottle, with a PET bottle weighing 50 grams compared to its glass counterpart’s 400 grams. Carbon emissions are also reduced in the production cycle; it takes approximately 53 grams to produce a PET bottle as opposed to the 89 grams needed to produce a glass equivalent.
"The benefits of using PET for the consumer and the environment are numerous," says Musikanth. "Not only do PET bottles have a lower carbon footprint, but wine lovers throughout South Africa can use these bottles in areas that were once restricted such as hiking trails, parks and around the pool at home."
The lighter packaging also allows Mpact to transport more bottles from the manufacturing plant to the producer, ultimately resulting in far less emissions being expelled into the atmosphere.
Musikanth continues by saying that most wine drinkers, aside from genuine collectors, consume wine very soon after purchasing. This means that although the PET bottled wine has a shelf life that exceeds two years, the quality of the contents would be the same as wine consumed from a glass bottle in this period.
Van Loveren’s have named the range of five wines "Tangled Tree," after the tradition of planting trees which mark a significant event or special occasion. The range comes in five delicious flavours; including Chocolate Cabernet Sauvignon, Spicy Shiraz, Butterscotch Chardonnay and Tropical Sauvignon Blanc.
Issued by:
FTI Consulting – Strategic Communications
Chloe Webb +27 (0) 11 214 2421 / +27 (0)83 305 0144
Lianne Osterberger +27 (0) 11 214 2414 / +27 (0)83 27 27 313
On behalf of:
Mpact Limited
Deborah Chapman | Communications Manager, Mpact
+27 (0) 11 994 5500 / +27 (0)76 650 4155
Notes to editors
Mpact is a leading southern African paper and plastics packaging group with revenues of R6.2bn in 2011. Mpact employs 3,700 people at 30 sites, of which 23 are manufacturing sites. Mpact earns approximately 10% of its sales outside of South Africa. It also has plants in Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
Mpact has the number one market position in corrugated packaging, recycled-based cartonboard and containerboard, recovered paper collection, PET preforms, styrene trays and plastic jumbo bins. These accounted for approximately 90% of its revenue in 2011.