Water skin bottle

Pitched as a water skin, a new bottle created by French packaging manufacturer Sidelprovides a lighter alternative to traditional PET bottles. A regularplastic half-litre water bottle weighs 13 - 16 grams. Sidel's NoBottleweighs just 9.9 grams. According to Sidel, "Water is the largestbeverage market by volume with 160 billion litres consumed in 2006. Italso represents the highest growth sector and is expected to expand by5.7 percent annually between now and 2010." On that scale, wastereduction of 20-30% adds up.

The innovation was made possible by using a highly flexible type ofplastic with shape-memory, which lets the bottle bounce back into shapeafter being gripped or otherwise compressed. While calling a plasticwater bottle eco-friendly smacks of greenwashing, Sidel's NoBottle isdefinitely is eco-friendlier. The potential waste reduction issignificant and offering a lighter bottle - and its story - could boostsales for beverage makers marketing to green-aware consumers. NoBottlewill be officially introduced at K 2007, an international trade fair inOctober.

Source: sidel.comAdded: 13 July 2007