Ecover launches limited-edition Ocean Bottle made from 50% plastic waste collected from the ocean waterways and shores of Rio amid calls on industry to take more action to reduce virgin plastic

27 September 2018


Ecover launches limited-edition Ocean Bottle made from 50% recycled plastic waste (PCR) and 50% plastic waste collected from the sea, waterways and shores of Rio. Available exclusively in the UK in selected Sainsbury’s stores from 16 September. The Ocean Bottle accompanies a series of bold ambitions by Ecover to use only recycled plastic for all their products, and trial bio-sourced alternatives, by 2020. Ecover is calling on industry to take more action against virgin plastic.

Ecover has launched its limited edition Ecover Ocean Washing-Up Liquid Bottle, made from 50% plastic waste collected from the sea, waterways and shores of Rio de Janeiro, and 50% post-consumer recycled plastic. The washing-up liquid is formulated using biodegradable and renewable, plant-based ingredients.

The limited-edition Ocean Bottle comes after research by Ecover showed three-quarters of British people are concerned about the amount of plastic in our oceans, and two-thirds worry about plastic affecting wildlife.

As part of their ambition to rethink the way we use plastic, Ecover is paving the way with a series of bold ambitions, including to use 100% recycled plastic (PCR) in all bottles by 2020, and trial the use of biodegradable and plant-based alternatives to plastic. The company is also working with major retailers to find ways to offer consumers refill options in-store.

As the nation’s plastic problem reaches a fever-pitch, Ecover is calling on industry to take more action to tackle our over-reliance on virgin plastic. Its recent study found that more than a third of participants (36%) would back fines or taxes for industry if they don’t take more responsibility, and some 37% admitted to being confused about what products can and can’t be recycled.

Ecover Ocean Washing-Up liquid bottle – design inspired by nature

The distinctive design of the Ecover Ocean Bottle was inspired by nature, using biomimicry technology which involves imitating elements of nature. Ecover worked with a biomimicry expert to reduce the amount of plastic used by 15% compared to our Ocean Bottle without the biomimicry design. This resulted in a distinctive design inspired by the lightweight yet robust skeletal structure found in many ocean micro-organisms. Microscopic organisms like plankton are at the base of the marine food chain and are particularly susceptible to the impact of pollutants.

Tom Domen, head of long-term innovation at Ecover says: “Since we launched our first Ecover Ocean Bottle in 2014, we have seen a huge sea change in the public’s attitudes towards environmental issues, which is really encouraging. However, we believe that more needs to be done by industry to help curb our reliance on virgin plastic.

Since 2014, we’ve collected over 11 tonnes of plastic as part of our Ocean Bottle campaign and recycled it back into our limited-edition Ocean Bottles making 425,000 bottles available for sale across Europe. However, this is not a sustainable solution in the long-term. We believe that using virgin plastic is systemically wrong, which is why we have made it our ambition to stop our use of virgin plastic and trial alternative, bio-degradable materials by 2020. Now we are asking manufacturers to join us in making their packaging as sustainable as possible and invite them to share our vision of a world that is free from plastic pollution.”



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