Aluminum cans – with out without color – are recyclable. But so-called naked cans, like the one above designed by Harc Lee, not only eliminate the air and water pollution involved in the initial printing process, but also save on the energy required to later remove the toxic paint before recycling can even begin. It’s a great-looking design and it certainly works for a brand like Coca-Cola, whose logo is so recognizable it hardly needs any color, but I’m not sure how lesser-known beverage companies will take to the idea. Can you imagine confronting a cooler full of aluminum cans and trying to sort through them to find your brand of choice? That’s a challenge I bet a lot of us would be willing to undertake, but how to convince advertising…?
November 18th, 2009 - 2:55 pm
This aluminum can without paint is very smart. As far as the advertising goes, why couldn’t there be a semi-permanent printed ad on each row of beverages, that way people would know which brand was which in the store. In any event, if the environment is improved and the company saves money by not needing to do the extra work adding and removing paint from their aluminum cans, then perhaps that saving could be passed on to coke customers?
November 19th, 2009 - 5:21 pm
Some of the lesser known companies might have a problem with name recognition, but Pepsi, A&W, 7-Up, etc. (all the really big companies, and thus the major producers of the offending cans) should encounter no name-recognition problems. In fact, if a “green” marketing firm were to “cast the net” to gather all the consumers who would approve of this type of “labeling,” and encourage an email-petition-signing campaign in support of such labeling, perhaps the “for-profit” companies would get the message that we consumers DO care about the environment. I, for one, would be more than willing to sign a petition stating I would purchase first from a “green” company, even if my favorite soft drink had to be forsaken for a soft drink that went “green.” Sometimes a little loss is required for a more substantial gain.
November 19th, 2009 - 10:43 pm
First, the Coca-Cola Classic can above is really elegant, and C3 is the only Coke that is consumed in our household and by our friends. (None of us drink diet versions, cherry versions, etc.) We are also into William McDonough, hybrids, and all sorts of new ideas when it come to recycling, so we would applaud Coca-Cola if it tested the colorless can. That being said, would Coke want to go colorless with its whole product line?
If so, perhaps the box or 6-can plastic harness could let the buyer know at a glance where C3 is among the other cans on the shelf … just our two cents.
November 20th, 2009 - 12:39 pm
I gave up sodas about twenty five years ago when my children were born. One way I can help our environment is stop polluting myself with the sugary chemicals in those artificial drinks. It’s an addiction, but, hey, you can beat it, too! I don’t care what the cans look like – just say no!
November 20th, 2009 - 6:00 pm
@ Heather:
It’s wonderful that you “kicked the habit.” I truly couldn’t be happier for you. Unfortunately, the “just say no” approach is equivalent to refusing to provide birth control/STD transmission information because there should just be abstinence. Great concept; doesn’t work. For those who refuse to think as you do, it would be a great first step to help reduce planet pollution through “green” consciousness. I don’t believe in sex before marriage. Should I say I don’t care about “birth control” or “STDs” amongst teenagers, because I don’t believe in premarital sex, don’t believe they should be given condoms, and therefore they deserve what they get? My feeling is, irrespective of my own individual feelings, if there is information to prevent unwanted births or STDs, or a process to reduce planet pollution, I would be very small-minded to not care.
November 23rd, 2009 - 1:07 am
Please,
forget the can people, it’s whats inside thats killing America like crazy,too much sugar, leads to diabetes in our children, like rampant artificial colors and flavors, HFCS
Water, water, natural juices,
WAKE UP PEOPLE, Montsano is a killer corporation.
These drinks are crap, go natural, go natural,go natural…….
Forget the stupid can……
November 26th, 2009 - 11:03 am
[...] Via Sundance Channel y Gizmodo [...]
January 21st, 2010 - 11:06 am
Thanks for your comments, but I ought to let you know this is not a Coca-Cola sponsored design. It’s a project proposal from an independent design company. Coke, as far as I know, has no plans to “green” their products.