Can you hear the mother nature’s eco?

We cannot gamble on it anymore.

Let’s get to know how Coca-Cola is getting into the GREEN SCENE.

From Aug 1, North America would see the refreshing lemon drink hitting the shelves in clear plastic bottles. Ditching the green bottles of Sprite, the brand is advocating reusability and recycling.

Your favourite drink will reach you with a refurbished logo and packaging design. “Consistent look and voice around the world” that’s what Coke says about it.

What provokes the brand to change the 60 years’ trend?

In 2020, Coca-Cola was named as the world’s No. 1 plastic polluter by #BreakFreeFromPlastic. The Movement indicated that the logos and branding of Coca-Cola were found on 13,834 pieces of discarded plastic in 51 countries.

The current attempt of the brand shows that they have realized the importance of going green by dropping their green bottles. Replacing the green bottles that contain green polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the goal is to reduce plastic waste and make the bottles more recyclable.

No more green in the bottles, the real green is for the earth.

R3CYCLE joins the mission of Coca-Cola

R3CYCLE, a plastic group is hooked up with Coca-Cola in the operation of becoming environmentally responsible. The company claims that clear PET Sprite bottles can be recycled and remade into bottles, thereby helping drive a circular economy for plastic.

How Coke is going to address the emotions of the consumers?

Going for a complete revamping of the Sprite bottles, the beverage giant is definitely anticipating mixed consumer emotions.

How the consumers will feel about enjoying their favourite drink in the new clear plastic bottles?

The green Sprite bottles are all part of the nostalgic memories of many. How Coke is going to handle it?

The brand has launched a marketing campaign featuring the NBA stars Anthony Edwards and Trae Young, to educate the consumers that the change is the need of the hour. Through the campaign, Coke promises its longtime consumers that its all the same favourite drink in a new look.

 

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A post shared by Trae Young (@traeyoung)

The campaign says ‘New Bottle. Same Sprite’. When ‘remade’ for a good cause without losing its signature taste and flavour, hope consumers will accept the change.

Coca-Cola’s prior initiatives on environmental responsibility

After extensive R & D approaches, in 2018, Coke announced its “World Without Waste” initiative with the mission of collecting and recycling one bottle or can for each one it sells by 2030. They have launched a new 13.2-ounce bottle in 2021 made from 100% recycled plastic material.

At present, the portion of the brand’s packaging that can be recycled is 90%, and by 2025, it’s going to be 100%. The brand also makes use of recyclable PET or rPET, which is highly ecofriendly. By 2030, at least 25% of Coke beverages will be globally sold in reusable/returnable containers.

See what the critics has got to say

“Coca-Cola’s recent announcement is yet another blatant greenwashing attempt from one of the world’s worst plastic polluters. We are in the midst of a massive plastic pollution crisis and we cannot recycle our way out of it.”- says Kate Melges, who leads the Plastics Project at Greenpeace. The organization calls on Coke to replace single-use plastic bottles with refillable bottles.

Is the sustainability move also towards cost cutting?

Recycling and reusing the bottles would definitely help the brand in cutting cost of their packaging process. The brand says that the demand for rPET currently exceeds supply, and to  scale up the use of 100% rPET would demand development of a sustainable pipeline of high-quality material.

The other drinks of the brand like Fresca, Seagram’s and Mello Yello  are also on the way switching over to clear plastic bottles, following countries like South Korea. Let clear bottles gift us a clean earth.

Going along with environmentally conscious brands like Coca-Cola, AD Vantage Integrated Marketing brings out the best eco-savvy marketing strategies. We believe in sustainable advertising techniques that go hand-in-hand with the brand value.

Let’s together “Preserve and cherish the pale blue dot (the Earth), the only home we’ve ever known.”