Vt. Beverage Maker Goes 'Green' With Brown Bottles

Should Make Big Difference For Planet

A sea of whirling glass jetting down a production line in Middlebury Vt. may look brown, but it's really "green." "Going brown is going green, really, if you think about it," said Bret Williams, the president of the Vermont Hard Cider Company.

Last month, the alcoholic beverage maker switched from using emerald-colored glass to brown glass with the environment in mind. "Our ultimate goal is to be a zero-landfill business," Williams explained. "That we have nothing going in the landfill."

For 20 years, its adults-only Woodchuck Hard Cider came in colorful bottles. But tractor trailers had to bring the empty glass from more than 900 miles away to be filled in Middlebury. The new bottles may be more drab, but they come from just 300 miles away. The company says that savings on mileage, over the course of a year, is the equivalent of taking 150 cars off the road. "And the way that we're growing, that 150 is going to be like, 200 cars next year," Williams predicted. "Maybe more."

The little change could have such big impact because Woodchuck spins out 45-million bottles a year.

The trade group Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility says Vermont firms have been looking for ways to tread lightly on the earth even before it was trendy. With products like Woodchuck, sold nationwide, VBSR hopes hopes some of Vermont's ethics are exported, too. "We're hoping Vermont businesses can be a model to businesses in other states," executive director Andrea Cohen said.

Woodchuck's new bottles are also more easily recyclable. Its cardboard boxes were already made from recycled paper. The company has high-efficiency lighting and a low-waste water system, and buys a quarter of its power from renewable sources. "We try to emulate what the people of Vermont are all about. It's good people doing good things in a good way," Williams said.

By putting the planet at the core of its brand, this cider-maker is helping keep the Green Mountain State "green."