It was bound to happen.
First we had plain old aluminum bottles. Then we got aluminum bottles in various colors and designs. Then we had designer bottles. Personally decorated bottles using craft materials then came along.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see stores in malls providing custom decorating services for aluminum bottles, while you wait – just like getting personalized embroidery for towels or silk-screening for t-shirts. Maybe some custom closures? Custom bottle holders?
I came across an interesting page by Food and Water Watch , “a non-profit organization that advocates for common sense policies that will result in healthy, safe food and access to safe and affordable drinking water. ”
They pick aluminum bottles and stainless steel bottles as the most eco-friendly alternatives to packaging water. In their words “Carry your own bottle. Lined aluminum, glass, or stainless steel are alternatives to plastic bottles.”
Plastic bottles are the villain the cool video below:
There seems to be no end to the ways people use aluminum bottles.
This lady bought some aluminum water bottles at a Dollar Store and decorated them with what look like stick-on letters and shapes. (Check out her blog here)
She is giving them out as gifts. What a great idea. I’m sure some enterprising people out there will figure out how to make money by providing personalized/custom-decorating on aluminum bottles. Maybe the craft shops can put together packages with decorating materials to allow people to create their own unique, personalized aluminum bottles?
We’ve seen bikers carry aluminum water bottles. And we know how useful and effective they are for storing essential oils.
Now here is a neat way to re-use an aluminum beer bottle. Use it as a motor oil tank for your motorbike!
I’m not sure the folks at Budweiser would appreciate the use of their bottles for storing toxic materials. But at least the bottle gets put to good use and doesn’t end up in a landfill.
I rather like this innovative use of aluminum bottles.
Volute Wine has introduced a new line of single serve Bordeaux AOC wines packaged in aluminum bottles. Now wine lovers can enjoy wine without having to use glasses.
Just dunk the bottles in a cooler with ice and you have a convenient way to enjoy some fine Bordeaux. They come in 187 ml bottles (roughly 6 oz).
Apart from the eco-friendly advantages of aluminum, they apparently also shield wine from damaging ultraviolet light and are better able to protect the delicate aromas of wine. This is a definite must-have in my next picnic.
There’s actually a website that specializes in selling collectible Coca-Cola bottles. It’s called 2collectcola.com.
One of the more interesting bottles on sale is the “iTunes Black Coca-Cola Zero Aluminum Bottle Record Player from Belgium”. It is described as a “hot new silver aluminum Coke bottles . . .from Belgium! Each is a work of art done for the iTunes + Coke advertisements. Music is the theme of each of the three different Coca-Cola bottles were done – Classic Coke in a red bottle; Coca-Cola light in a silver bottle; and Coca-Cola zero in a black bottle.”
I wonder – does this bottle have a built-in MP3 player? It’s going for $16 per bottle. Maybe they’re just referring to the theme music played in the TV commercial? In any case, it’s one of the most interesting aluminum bottles around these days.
The “green community” is clearly having a great impact on consumer behavior and purchases. A Manchester, UK based organization called GiveMeTap has signed up restaurants and cafés willing to give free access to their tap water!
The twist is: you need to use one of GiveMeTap’s branded aluminium bottles, which you have to buy for GBP 7. GiveMeTap funnels 70% of the profits from sales of these aluminum bottles to water projects worldwide. GiveMeTap was created by a Ghanaian entrepreneur as a way to help address the global water crisis (see video below). It’s a win-win for all: the participating establishments get foot traffic and publicity, the consumer gets free water, and the environment gets less polluted. Maybe not so much of a win for the plastic bottles manufacturers 😉
I think few in the aluminum packaging industry would have imagined such an important role for the aluminum bottle!
There is an interesting article in Packagerepublic.com that gives good marks for the usability of aluminum bottles vs. aluminum cans.
According to the article, “”Aluminum cans, aside from being cool packages (largely attributable to the opening crack), are notoriously poor in usability. They also are not reclosable and they do not pour well. The lip contact area is anything but suitable for lip contact. In comparison to aluminum cans, this aluminum bottle provides better usability in almost all areas. While it did not open easily, it pours better, and it recloses. It has a well defined and rounded lip contact area. As a drink-from package, it does better than an aluminum can.”
The reuse factor is also something that is probably being studied. No doubt these bottles – because they are reclosable – are used to store other liquids once the original contents are consumed.
Further evidence of the power of aluminum bottles for building a brand. Now Playboy has its own aluminum bottle!
It’s supposedly an aluminum water bottle. Then again, it’s easy enough to put some other drinks into them.
Maybe I will try putting in some iced tea. I can fill the bottle with ice cubes and enjoy a refreshing summer’s drink. Aluminum bottles have been proven to keep their contents cooler longer than glass bottles, so it seems to be an ideal use.
Maybe I can mix a mojito and put it in the bottle. It will be like drinking from a Boston shaker 🙂
What else can you do with aluminum bottles? Play Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” with them 🙂 I can almost see it – an aluminum bottle orchestra to rival the beer bottle orchestra and the vegetable orchestra.
elementalcontainer.wordpress.com 