Beverage packaging for a good cause

We all have to drink – and we can all do good by purchasing cause-related beverage packaging, without having to pay more or commit to something. From CannedWater4Kids and Karma Cola to international groups like the Coca-Cola Company, consumers can support social projects and provide reconstruction and financial aid. In the following, we showcase water cans, cola bottles and other beverage packaging for a good cause.

The charitable organisation CannedWater4Kids (CW4K) aims to provide children around the world with access to clean drinking water. The US company has supported certified drinking water initiatives for years and donates 95 percent of its proceeds to finance and establish sustainable programmes for well and water treatment solutions. Product sponsors and individual donors also provide other means and resources to help carry out programmes in Guatemala, Zambia, Japan, Haiti and other countries.

CW4K also contributes to raising public awareness of the need for clean and healthy water. CW4K’s water is bottled in bottles and cans made out of recyclable aluminium. Lightproof, unbreakable and particularly light-weight, these light-alloy beverage cans have the highest recycling rate of all beverage containers in the USA, even coming out ahead of glass and plastic, according to the manufacturer. The company goes on to say that producing an average aluminium can with up to 68 percent recycled material requires 95 percent less energy and carbon dioxide than the production of cans made out of 100 % new metal.

The Karma Cola Foundation in Britain supports manufacturers in the Gola Rainforest in Sierra Leone with their cause-related beverage packaging. The proceeds of every item of Karma Cola cause-related beverage packaging is returned to the country, which has been rocked by civil war and Ebola. The company was founded in 2010 and regularly consults with the affected communities on which projects need funding. The design on the 330 millilitre bottles and 250 millilitre beverage cans depicts the riff where Mami Wata lives, a river spirit who protects the people in Boma.

Within the Coca-Cola Company, a foundation that was established for this exact purpose regularly supports various social and environmental projects. The company launched a special edition 330 millilitre can to promote diversity and tolerance, which was handed out at the 2019 Christopher Street Days in Cologne, Hamburg and Berlin. On the aluminium packaging of this limited edition, the famous “Coca-Cola” logo was replaced by the word “Love” and the German word for can was translated into English, resulting in “Love Can.” One example for the slogans on the cans: „Hate Can't Dance. Love Can".