The breakthrough bottle, which is also 100% recyclable, features a new, transparent design.
It is made from post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sourced within Europe, and has a 70% lower carbon footprint compared to its supplier’s virgin, non-recycled plastic.
Observing how people wash their dishes, Ecover’s industrial designer set out to make the experience enjoyable and sustainable. The new shape is versatile, fitting comfortably in the hand. The shape and rib details reference decorative kitchenware, glassware and vessels, allowing the bottle to blend into the environment it’s being used in. The texture and embossing are a nod to the original Ecover bottle and the brand’s past.
Ecover’s bottle is completely transparent and thus can be easily recycled back into clear PET bottles. Ecover has also managed to redesign the caps to include less plastic, with an estimated saving of 14 tonnes of polypropylene plastic annually from the manufacturing process.
The bottles have been designed in-house at Ecover, created in Germany and Switzerland and filled in Ecover’s factory in Belgium which features natural materials such as wood (instead of steel) and eco-bricks.
David Kennedy, director of product experience at Ecover, said: “We’ve worked tirelessly to create a 100% recycled plastic bottle that is both durable and functional, and this hasn’t been without its challenges. We designed, modelled and tested multiple iterations of the bottle until we were satisfied with the final product, and we’re excited to launch it.
This new bottle is just one part of our pledge to challenge and change our use of plastic. We have further goals for 2020 to help change the culture of using plastic as a disposable resource, doing what we can to put an end to plastic pollution.”
Ryan McSorley, designer at Ecover, added: “Through the new design we wanted to capture the spirit of the Ecover brand, being true to its heritage and evolving it for the future. We have created a bottle that is more sustainable – 100% recyclable and made from 100% recycled plastic – but also visually pleasing and practical.
Proving that aesthetics should not be a constraint for industry to use more recycled content.
The transparent bottle shows off our dye free formula inside and how much is left in the bottle. By choosing PET plastic we have been able to improve the squeezing of the bottle as we know that people want to get every last drop. We also redesigned the cap so the bottle can be stood upside down, ensuring no wasted washing-up liquid.”
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