Diageo North America is transitioning to a 100% recycled plastic bottle for its Seagram’s 7 Crown American whiskey. The brand owner says that this move should reduce the use of virgin plastic by nearly 1,000 tons annually.
The company plans to remove virgin plastic from Seagram’s 7 Crown bottles across all its polyethylene terephthalate (PET) formats: 1.75 liters, 750 milliliters, 375 milliliters, and 200 milliliters.
New bottles will start going on the shelves in the United States across the whiskey range at the end of this month, according to Diageo. Product labels also encourage customers to recycle the bottles so the material doesn’t end up in the landfill.
Switching to 100% recycled plastic — rPET — supports Diageo North America’s goal to increase recycled content across their brands globally to 45% this year. The global targets for 2025 are:
Besides Seagram’s, the company’s brands include Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, Baileys, Captain Morgan, Cîroc, Ketel One, Smirnoff, Tanqueray, Guinness, Harp, and Smithwick’s. Last year Diageo invested around $20.78 million to replace the plastic ring carriers and shrink-wrap on their multipack beer products with fully recyclable and biodegradable cardboard.
“Using recycled materials to make packaging reduces the carbon footprint of our brands, raises awareness with consumers, and encourages the industry to follow,” said Diageo North America packaging director Ronald Holmes.
