Among the most popular promotional beverage bottles’ content is recycled PET (rPET), with 75% reduced carbon emission and over 90% recycling efficiency against virgin plastic. According to the 2023 Global Eco-friendly Packaging Report, rPET production is just 8% to 12% more expensive than traditional PET production, but the EU carbon tax strategy is able to recoup the additional cost by 10% to 15%. For instance, Coca-Cola’s “label-free” rPET promotion bottle (500ml, 30% recycled content) launched in 2022 sold over 20 million units in the Asia-Pacific region, reducing its carbon footprint by 42% and reducing the use of printing ink by 60%. Another instance is British brand EcoVessel. Its advertising model bottles are made out of 100% recycled Marine plastic for a $2.3 price per bottle (18% over the normal model), and they were awarded a 30% tax credit for complying with the EU’s Single-Use Plastics Directive, which has generated a 55% growth in annual sales.
Bio-based materials plastics (such as PLA) have now emerged as a growing alternative because they are easily biodegradable. Statistics show that the energy consumed in PLA production is 65% lower than traditional plastics, and its natural degradation rate in 180 days is more than 90%. However, its impact strength (25kJ/m²) is only 60% that of PET, and it costs $30%-50% more. In 2023, Starbucks experimented with selling PLA material promotional cups (473ml capacity) in North America for $4.5. Although 40% more costly than the base model, customer engagement increased by 72% through a “recycling rebate” promotion (offering a $3 coupon). Furthermore, the bio-polymer (50% sugarcane fiber) developed by German chemical behemoth BASF, ranging from -20℃ to 80℃, has been utilized on the special promotion bottle for Nike’s 2024 European Marathon. Each bottle’s weight was reduced by 15%, and carbon emission during transportation was minimized by 22%.
Stainless steel and glass material dominate the prestige market with their longer life expectancy (5-10 years) and 100% recyclability. The repurchase rate among stainless steel promotional bottles’ (e.g., Hydro Flask) customers is three times higher compared to plastic bottles, as per the “Sustainable Consumer Goods Research”. The unit price is $12- $25, but life cycle cost is only 17% of disposable bottles. In 2022, Canadian business Klean Kanteen launched a double-layer stainless steel promotion bottle (600ml capacity with 12 hours of heat preservation time), selling 800,000 units to 500 businesses through B2B. The exposure time of the typical brand exceeded 2 years, and the customer retention cost was reduced by 41%. Glass bottles are preferred by the brand due to the fact that they are transparent and chemically stable. For instance, the American company Bkr’s glass promotional bottle (280g) has a silicone sheath to avoid dropping, reducing the broken percentage from 35% to 5%. The repurchasing rate improved by 28% in luxury fitness clubs.
Biodegradable new materials (such as algale-based polymers) surmount technological limits. In 2023, Indonesian start-up Evoware launched a promotional seaweed extract-based bottle. It completely degrades in seawater in six months with a tensile strength of 40MPa (close to 80% of HDPE), but still 80% more costly than PET for large-scale production. Notpla, a UK-based company, collaborated with Universal Music Group to provide 50,000 seaweed water pouches (250ml each) for the 2023 Glastonbury Festival. It takes just 4 to 6 weeks to decompose, reducing plastic waste by 12 tons and reaching over 2 million on social media. In addition to this, a group of Finnish scientists have developed an industrial lignin-plastic (30% forestry residues) that went through successful industrial testing and added 120 ° C heat resistance. It is expected that the mass production cost will be reduced to 1.2 times PET by 2025, providing a less-carbon-intensive option for promo drink bottles.
Supply chain data reveal that applying green materials requires a compromise between performance and regulation. For instance, the EU’s “Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation” that comes into effect in 2024 requires a minimum of 25% recycled content for promotional bottles by weight; failing which, an environmental tax of 15% of the selling price will be imposed. For this aim, Vittel, French mineral water company, has adopted a hybrid combination of 50% rPET+50% bio-based PET, reducing the package’s carbon footprint by 55%, and the compressive strength (38MPa) fully meets the transport demands (industry standard ≥35MPa). Cost analysis indicates that the investment of this plan in the beginning rises by 20%, while carbon trading income and brand premium allow the investment payback to come down to 1.8 years. The Asian market, however, prefers bamboo fiber composite materials. For instance, bamboo fiber promotional bottle (160g) by Chinese firm EcoBamboo has seen 120% annual sales volume growth in Southeast Asia. This is because raw material development cycle takes only six months (plastic raw materials rely on oil extraction), and production energy consumption falls by 70%.