Innovation

Earth Bottles provide a sustainable alternative to the single use plastic bottles, coffee cups and food storage supplies. As an alternative to traditional plastic packaging, Earth Bottles has sourced sustainable material to create food grade double insulated stainless steel products, fully certified through the BSCI.

‘Coffee Nut,’ in particular, has made innovative waves in the reusable coffee cup market, remaining one of the only brands to utilise the stainless steel insulation as well as a silicone lid. This innovation has earned Earth Bottles an Eco Award at the Life Instyle Gala Awards Night in 2016.

These products are distributed through online stores, such as the Earth Bottles website, as well as a number of retail stores in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and France. This vast accessibility allows consumers to actively choose reusable food and beverage containers, reducing their household waste and improving their environmental impact on the earth, helping to achieve Goal 12, Responsible Consumption & Production, of the UN Sustainability Goals.

Earth Bottles strives to educate consumers and the community about their impact on the environment, with a strong emphasis on waterways. Consumers are reached via Earth Bottles social media and blog, where discussions are held around how ‘plastic sucks,’ sharing news on the blog to discourage single use plastic bottles, as well as providing ways consumers can leave plastic behind and become more eco-conscious.

Earth Bottles has collaborated with many like-minded organisations in an effort to clean up the beaches in Australia. The Beach Clean Up days is a way for Earth Bottles to showcase the amount of plastic waste escaping into the ocean. After collecting the vast collection of waste, it is put on display for the community to see, with visual aids and statistics to highlight the effect the waste is having on the environment, educating the local community. As Danni stated, it is important to ‘get the message out’ to the public and encourage them to engage in sustainable choices.

Similarly, in Bali, Earth Bottles is developing and funding the Yasan Manu Widya Mandala initiative. This educational program will be implemented into Balinese schools to teach the children about plastic pollution. This is aimed to the youth to encourage future conservation of the environment and sustainability in these areas. Earth Bottle’s mission is to have the program implemented into as many schools as possible to start education children on the issue of plastic pollution. These two efforts help Earth Bottle achieve Goal 6, Clean Water and Sanitation and Goal 14, Life Below Water, of the UN Sustainability Goals.

Inspiration

Earth Bottles is the brainchild of Founder Danni Carr, who sought to develop practical eco merchandise for her husband Ash Grunwald’s band.

The merchandise aimed to be practical and aesthetically pleasing, while also reflecting the earthy nature of her husband and the strong environmental values shared by the couple.

This desire was sparked from seeing the effect of single use plastics on the surf beaches and water supplies in Australia and Bali. Whilst in Bali, Danni noted the lack of choice when purchasing water. It was plastic bottle water or nothing. Nothing sustainable or reusable was on offer.

Beginning with the launch of Earth Bottles, the brand quickly grew to incorporate the food jars, ‘Coffee Nut,’ ‘Tea Totty,’ and ‘Big Bertha’ and continues to see positive growth in the brand.

Similarly, musical bands in Australia, Canada and the USA have adopted Earth Bottles into their Merchandise line-up and have taken the products on the road.

Overall impact

Earth Bottles has a positive impact on the environment, encouraging consumers to forgo single use products and understand the impact their choices have on the environment. However, it is difficult to perceive their specific impact. As Danni states, ‘it’s hard to tell’ from where she currently stands, whether or not consumers are just learning about sustainable choices and reusable alternatives to plastic or already have the knowledge. This is not a short-term solution, and therefore the benefits are more noticeable on a small scale.

Socially, there has been a shift towards sustainable choices, as seen by the growing number of Earth Bottle products purchases over the years of operation, as well as the repeat customers. Customer feedback has been positive and there is a clear shift in consumer’s sustainability awareness. This was obvious when SBS aired its documentary ‘War on Waste,’ which saw Earth Bottles sales spike by 500% for their reusable coffee cups.

Business benefit

Earth Bottles has grown to become a leader in reusable wares, especially within the coffee cup and water bottle market. With the success of their initial ‘Earth Bottle’ water bottles and ‘Coffee Nut’ coffee cup, the business is able to extend their range to include stainless steel straws, ‘Tea Tottie’ tea canisters, ‘Big Bertha’ giant water bottles, and insulated food jars.

Their overall brand image has increased, becoming associated with the music industry through their collaborations with various musical artists as well as being known for their eco-friendly products, courtesy of the Life InStyle Eco Award.

Their overall profits have increased allowing the organisation to financially contribute to external charity organisation ranging from mental health, the environment and breast cancer initiatives. Their reputation allows them to collaborate with these charities and launch products in support. This is most evident in the recent collaboration with Saltwater Dreamtime, highlighting indigenous artwork by Artist Zachary Bennett-Brook and donation $2 from every bottle to Our Hope for Health.

Social and environmental benefit

As mentioned above, Earth Bottle strives to educate consumers on the effect on single use plastic on the environment. Through their operations they have been able to work alongside many like-minded organisations to further this message and reach a larger audience. Danni stated that it is ‘important to give back to charities, clean ups etc’ in order to further their environmental message.

In Bali, Earth Bottles are spearheading a social awareness in the youth about the need to act sustainably with the increase of plastic pollution in their waterways. Closer to home, Earth Bottle is active in getting the message out to the Australian people. Danni states the importance of supporting charities and that Earth Bottle’s ‘profits [are] shared with other organisations that work tirelessly to improve the quality of like for those suffering.’

Earth Bottles supports the works of various charities such as Breast Cancer Network, Beyond Blue, Arnhem Land’s Hope For Health, Clean Coast Collective, Water Aid Australia and Fifteen Trees. A portion of sales from their products goes directly to these charities, allowing Earth Bottle and their like-minded organisation to work together for a more sustainable future.

Interview

Danni Carr, Founder & Owner