Bruichladdich Distillery Unveils New Green Packaging For ‘Purposeful Drinkers,’ Cuts Carbon Footprint by 65%

Bruichladdich Distillery unveils new, sustainably-focused packaging (Photo: Bruichladdich Distillery)

Bruichladdich Distillery has revamped its packaging of its scotch whisky, The Classic Laddie, with a bottle made from 60% recycled glass, rendering it 32% lighter than its previous iteration, Bevnet reported Friday. The lighter weight will allow for more bottles to be transported per palate, reducing the distillery’s carbon footprint by 65%.

The Islay-based distillery made the decision to omit the whisky’s tin, which generated more than 1 kilogram of carbon dioxide in the production process.

“As an industry, we’ve become accustomed to believing that single malt Scotch whisky must come with outer packaging as a standard. Where most other spirits travel around the world in just the bottle, the majority of single malts have an elaborate or heavy secondary outer pack. And it made us ask ourselves, why? Secondary packaging is not always necessary, and it’s certainly not sustainable,” CEO of Bruichladdich Distillery, Douglas Taylor said in a release reported by the Spirits Business.

The distillery teamed with Glasgow-based design agency Thirst to redesign the bottle.

“This bold and progressive design and brand identity is emblematic of the role we must all play in taking responsibility for the future environment, and provides an opportunity for like-minded and purposeful drinkers to connect with a brand that represents what they value,” Matt Burns, the executive creative director at Thirst, said, according to The Dieline.

In addition to Thirst’s contributions, Bruichladdich teamed up with a Swiss artist named Simon Berger. Berger is known for working with glass. In order to create the distillery’s latest iteration of The Classic Laddie, Berger shattered 15 panes of recyclable glass.

The distillery’s aim of creating more sustainable packaging comes at a highly critical time for the Earth’s warming climate. An article published in October 2021 stressed the grave impact global warming has had on Scotland’s distilleries. According to The Independent, droughts caused by climate change could reduce Scotland’s water supply by the 2080s, which could be catastrophic.

Whisky distilleries in the region typically use 61 billion liters of water a year, per the Independent. Severe droughts could force some scotch distilleries to stop producing the spirit in its entirety.

Fortunately, many Scotch distilleries have launched sustainability initiatives in the wake of the climate crisis. In January 2021, the Scotch Whisky Association committed to reaching net-zero emissions by 2040, according to The Scotsman.

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