News Release
"DRINK 2 WEAR"
COCA-COLA LAUNCHES NEW LINE OF SUSTAINABLE APPAREL
Wal-Mart Becomes First Mass Retailer to Feature Coca-Cola T-Shirts
Produced with Recycled Plastic Bottles Nationwide
ATLANTA, April 8, 2008 -
Shoppers will soon have the opportunity to make a sustainable fashion
statement. Starting this week, select Wal-Mart stores across the country
will display Coca-Cola "Drink 2 Wear" apparel made from
recycled plastic bottles. The colorful t-shirts are made from a blend
of recycled plastic bottles and cotton and feature playful, pithy
slogans such as "Make your Plastic Fantastic" and "Rehash
your Trash."
The t-shirt designs and imprinted messages on the men's and
women's shirts are intended to promote recycling of used beverage
bottles into renewable, reusable products. Accompanying graphics stamped
on the inside of each shirt depict the act of recycling a plastic
bottle and remind consumers to "re-fulfill a bottle's destiny
and become something great again." The men's t-shirt features
a "4 Inside" neck label; and the women's t-shirt features
a "3 Inside" neck label to indicate the number of PET bottles
recovered and reused to create each shirt.
"These fun t-shirts merge trend with consciousness, reminding
shoppers that small steps like recycling a few bottles
can go a long way towards helping to preserve our environment,"
said Stuart Kronauge, vice president, marketing Coca-Cola North America.
"If the 200 million Wal-Mart shoppers in the U.S. purchase these
shirts, they will help us reuse and divert more than 700 million bottles
from the waste stream."
Coca-Cola partnered with Wal-Mart to support the mass
retailer's Earth Month program designed to highlight products in-store
that can help consumers live a more sustainable lifestyle. Prominent
Wal-Mart store displays will include a selection of Coca-Cola
beverages in plastic bottles along with the t-shirts. Point of purchase
signage will serve as an additional reminder to shoppers to recycle
their used bottles. The Coca-Cola "Drink 2 Wear" t-shirt
line will be supported by a television, radio and print advertising
campaign that began airing on March 30. The shirts will be available
at select Wal-Mart stores across the country and on the Wal-mart website.
Coca-Cola RPET Merchandise
Coca-Cola first launched its sustainable fashion line of apparel and
consumer products in 2007 at the New World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta,
Ga. The innovative sustainability program gives PET bottles an "afterlife"
by transforming them into products consumers use every day. The program
is one of the ways The Coca-Cola Company is working to reduce its
environmental footprint.
The "rPET" line includes t-shirts, tote bags, messenger
bags, caps, purses and notebooks made from recycled plastic bottles.
The merchandise also features signature slogans and graphics to indicate
the number of plastic bottles used to create each item.
The recently introduced rPET merchandise is just one of many initiatives
underway in support Coca-Cola's overall goal to recycle or reuse
100 percent of its bottles and cans in the U.S. market place. The
Company has invested more than $60 million in the U.S. to support
recycling programs, including building the worlds' largest bottle-to-bottle
recycling plant in Spartanburg, S.C.
"Our long term vision is for our packaging to no longer been
seen as waste but as a value resource for future use," said Scott
Vitters, Director, Sustainable Packaging, The Coca-Cola Company. "We
have been taking steps towards this vision for decades starting with
the first lifecycle assessment of our packaging in 1969 and introducing
the first commercialized PET bottles made from recycled material in
1991. Our new line of sustainable merchandise is another step toward
this future."
Sustainable Packaging Leadership
The Coca-Cola Company has a history of designing packages
with the environment in mind. The majority of Coca-Cola
packages are not only recyclable; they are among the most recycled
in the world thanks to their high end-use value. Coca-Cola
also has continued to improve the resource efficiency of its packages.
In 2007 the DASANI bottle was redesigned to be lighter weight, reducing
plastic use by 30 percent and the 20-ounce contour bottle was reduced
by five percent across all Coca-Cola brands. More information
about The Company's environmental goals and initiatives is available
at www.environment.Coca-Cola.com.
The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage
company. Along with Coca-Cola®, recognized as the
world's most valuable brand, the Company markets four of the world's
top five nonalcoholic sparkling brands, including Diet Coke®,
Fanta® and Sprite®, and a wide range of other beverages, including
diet and light beverages, waters, juices and juice drinks, teas, coffees,
energy and sports drinks. Through the world's largest beverage distribution
system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company's beverages
at a rate of 1.5 billion servings each day. For more information about
The Coca-Cola Company, please visit our website at www.thecoca-colacompany.com.
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