Coca-Cola Japan Sells Easy-Crush Water Bottles to Save Plastic, But Is It Greenwashing?

BY Ariel SchwartzTue Jun 9, 2009 at 1:10 PM

I LOHAS bottles

Good for more than just illusory feats of strength, Coca-Cola Japan's new 520ml I LOHAS mineral water bottles can be easily crushed into a 12 gram piece of plastic--that's 40% less plastic than similar PET bottles.

Coke's minimization of plastic and easy-crush design in the I LOHAS bottle has a number of benefits: lighter delivery loads, recycling shipments with less wasted air, and a smaller number of waste disposal emissions. Still, the innovative bottle design doesn't erase the fact that I LOHAS is a bottled water brand. True LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) adherents tend to stay away from bottled water whenever possible; the product is often just tap water in a bottle anyway.

The video advertisement for I LOHAS at least attempts to bring the green movement into the mainstream with its macho depiction of a man valiantly crushing his I LOHAS bottle. It's a big step away from the idea of environmentally-conscious consumers as hippies. Coke's ad is below.