Eco-Friendly Label-Free Bottled Water Succeeds... 'Isis ECO' Sells 10.1 Million Units

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] Lotte Chilsung Beverage's unlabeled bottled water "Isis ECO," launched last year, has sold approximately 10.1 million units over the past year, gaining great popularity especially among consumers who prioritize value consumption for the environment.

According to Lotte Chilsung Beverage on the 13th, Isis ECO is the first unlabeled bottled water in Korea that does not use labels on the PET bottle body. It allows for immediate separation and disposal after opening and drinking, reducing the hassle of peeling off labels from PET bottles and the amount of label usage, while enhancing convenience in separation and disposal and improving PET bottle recycling efficiency as an eco-friendly product.

Starting with the launch of the 1.5L product in January last year, 500mL and 2L products, which are popular water bottle sizes among consumers, were additionally released in June, contributing to the expansion of the domestic unlabeled bottled water market.

Isis ECO sold a total of 10.1 million units over the past year, reducing the amount of label packaging material used on the PET bottle bodies by the same quantity sold. The weight of one label is 0.8g for 1.5L and 2L bottles, and 0.3g for 500mL bottles. Converted by weight, this reduced packaging waste by a total of 6.8 tons. If the saved labels were connected horizontally, the total length would be 3,020 km (based on 32.9 cm for 1.5L and 2L, and 21.1 cm for 500mL), which is about nine times the distance between Seoul and Busan (approximately 325 km straight line), enough for about four round trips.

Isis ECO has been receiving even more attention since the end of last year, following the Ministry of Environment’s revision of the "Guidelines on Separate Collection of Recyclable Resources," which mandated the separate disposal of transparent PET bottles.

Consumers must empty and rinse PET bottles containing water and beverages, remove labels, crush the bottles, close the caps, and dispose of them in designated collection bins. Isis ECO eliminates the need to remove labels from the PET bottle body, allowing consumers to participate in recycling more conveniently.

A Lotte Chilsung Beverage official said, “Isis ECO is an eco-friendly product that prioritizes a clear and clean environment by removing the label, which is like the face of the product expressing brand identity,” adding, “Consumer response continues to grow steadily, and this year we plan to focus more on expanding sales channels.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.