Isle of Harris distillery have launched their new initiative ‘The Refill Project’ in a bid to play their part in combatting the climate crisis.

The Gin Distillery, situated on the Isle of Harris off the far northwest edge of Scotland, opened its doors in 2015 with an aim to bring island communities together, provide jobs for local people and celebrate what it is to be an islander.

“As a catalyst for positive change within our community, we continue to work with purpose, bringing new life to our island and supporting its aspirations to survive and thrive as we move forward together to meet the challenges of the 21st century.”

The Isle of Harris Glass Gin Bottle and the new refill bottle.

The Refill Project is Harris Distillery’s first step into experimenting with new ecological ideas. The initiative was born out of the understanding that, due to the beauty of the design, customers often prefer to keep their treasured glass Isle of Harris Gin bottle. However, although the glass bottle is fully recyclable, there are other materials which are much more ecologically sustainable. Thus, the potential for a new refill solution was developed.

By experimenting with aluminium as a high-quality material with exceptional recyclability, lightness, and excellent carbon footprint figures, the gin brand created a new, smaller 500ml refill bottle designed to top up your glass Isle of Harris Gin bottle before it is empty.

The refill system sets out to shift what materials the brand is putting into the recycling system. Aluminium is infinitely recyclable, using less energy during the recycling process than any other material, and around 75% of all aluminium ever made is still in use today. Furthermore, the refill bottle is 9X lighter than glass bottles, so requires less fuel to transport, helping to reduce the brand’s carbon footprint.

The new refill bottle is only available through a limited annual subscription service initially, encouraging consumers to 'Subscribe To Sustainability'. Each month subscribers receive A 500ml aluminium refill bottle of Isle of Harris Gin sent directly to their door, 1 of 12 Isle of Harris landscape photographic postcards by Peter Kwasniewski to collect and keep, an exclusive shop offer code and their monthly Harris Eco e-Newsletter.

For more information about Isle of Harris Distillery’s ‘The Refill Project’ visit their website or follow them on Instagram .

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