Sustainable Ideas...

If you’ve ever wondered whether or not the heavy glass bottles that contain your favorite Pinot Noir or Reisling affect the environmental impact of your bottle of wine, check out Fetzer Vineyards. “The earth friendly wine” in Northern California is switching bottles to a lighter weight glass to reduce shipping costs and the impact on the environment. The new Fetzer wine bottles are 14 percent lighter, which adds up to 2,200 tons of glass saved each year, and transporting less weight means using less fuel and resources.

Some wine connoisseurs bemoan the perhaps impending loss of the artisanal bottle, while others are excited about new packaging options. My favorite way to package wine: The Wine Cube from Target.  

But, as The Associated Press reported, wine isn’t the only industry that’s reducing packaging weight, beer bottles are lighter, and aluminum cans and detergents are coming in smaller or redesigned containers as well.

Learn more at The Sustainable Packaging Coalition. Photo from The Food Section.