Alcohol-free spirits producer Bax Botanics has won bronze at the 2020 Global Good Awards for its eco-friendly credentials, including labels made from sugar industry waste products and packaging that uses no plastic.
The win in the Start-up Enterprise Of The Year category comes less than two years after Bax Botanics launched in January 2019. Now in its sixth year, the Global Good Awards recognise achievements in sustainable business practice across 15 categories.
Judges recognised Bax Botanics for its environmentally friendly ethos, which includes labels printed on bagasse, a pulpy waste product usually thrown away when sugarcane is crushed in the sugar industry.
The cardboard cases used to distribute Bax Botanics products are made from the highest-percentage recycled card available, and are printed with water-based inks. The boxes used to deliver single bottles have been designed to use the minimum amount of material and require no extra filling materials.
Bax Botanics’ glass bottles are reusable or recyclable, as are the stoppers, and the tamper seals used on the bottles are made from PLA, a compostable plastic substitute.
All the botanicals used in the distillations are organic and Fairtrade, and the distillery uses a closed loop cooling system to minimise water use. Bax Botanics only buys from companies who ensure fair wages are paid to their employees, and the company partners with local businesses dedicated to minimising their carbon footprint where possible.
The business aims to be paperless and plastic free. Wherever paper products are needed, recycled material is used and plant-based starch products replace plastic.
Followers of Bax Botanics on Instagram have mimicked the firm’s eco-friendly practices by reusing the glass bottles to make lamps and hold jams and preserves.
Bax Botanics won a Great Taste Award from The Guild of Fine Food for Sea Buckthorn in 2019, becoming the first Alcohol-free spirit to receive the accolade. The judges said it was “great to see something new and innovative that excites the imagination”.
