When thinking about sustainability and especially sustainable design, we usually think about waste production and recycling. However, there is a lot more to it than recycling for packaging to be sustainable…

It’s funny but when I first saw the Paperboy Wine packaging, I was a little unsure. My French eyes were somewhat uncomfortable looking at a paper wine bottle. However, Paperboy Wine has convinced my French traditions and beauty standards that a wine bottle can be something else.

After my initial reaction, I must admit the first element that stood out was their awesome logo. Second stunning element, Paperboy Wine created the first 100% full recyclable bottle!

“What’s not sustainable about glass?”, you might ask. Well, as mentioned earlier, sustainability is not just a simple equation. One must think about all the elements of the product; from its raw material choice up until the moment when your customer put your packaging in their recycling bin. In between these two moments are a lot of different stages, and one of the most important ones is transport. Glass is much heavier than plastic or paper and therefore transporting these glass bottles emits much more. The Paperboy Wine, for example, is up to 80% lighter than a traditional wine bottle!

The philosophy behind the sustainable design is that you should start from nothing. Move your way from a completely recycled or compostable packaging to beautiful and modern packaging design. In this case, one can say Paperboy Wine is at the front of its game. The Packaging design industry’s responsibility today is to show how one brands’ waste will become another brands’ raw material.

Written by Fanny Everard, Sustainability Content Creator at Pentawards.