Introducing, the year of glass | Rawlings

It's funny, thinking about the idea of ‘The Glass Age’. We’ve grown up learning about the influence of the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages and the way they were used to create economic changes, but we’ve rarely stopped to think about the age we are in now. Glass has such a dominant presence in our lives, in all areas, so could it be now?

This is exactly how it began, a debate amongst historians which has since been presented to the United Nations. It was then noted that 2022 had been a significant year for the industry, with many anniversaries of key historical events relating to the manufacturing and use of glass. As a result, an application was made to the United Nations and was recently passed confirming that 2022 would officially be declared as a time to celebrate the ‘International Year of Glass’. This is quite a movement for the industry and one that is promising a lot of opportunities and positive outcomes not only for businesses like us at Rawlings but for the planet.

After looking into the submission made to the United Nations it is interesting to see the impact glass has had in the past, the different areas in which glass is beneficially used and the goals that are put forward for the future.

What was discussed?

The positive influence glass has on our world, which continues to grow as new glass products and processes are developed. Using this as a year to celebrate the history, current state and future of glass, goals were put forward to the UN, addressing the many challenges we face. There were many goals discussed and for a full review of them you can visit the Submission to the United Nations here. Here are a few of the goals that caught our eye:

1. To promote glass as an important, inspirational, and incredibly versatile material, and to address some of the greatest challenges the world faces. To ensure there is a focus on sustainable development and improving the quality of life everywhere, but especially in the developing world.

2. To create a significant focus on the operation of the supply chain, involving everyone from the producer to the final consumer. Sustainability has been massively pushed towards glass consumption and production, focusing on ‘doing more and better with less’. To Promote a sustainable lifestyle with a circular economy by educating consumers with appropriate information through company standards.

3. Elimination of plastics that will in effect promote the health of ourselves, animals, and oceans. Glass packaging can be used as a safe alternative to plastics and ‘single use’ materials. Glass can be made from natural and safe materials that are infinitely recyclable.

As mentioned previously, these are only a small selection of the goals decided on, with many more being pushed across a wide selection of industries from clean energy to good health and well-being. So why is glass such an important substance across so many sectors?

Why is glass beneficial?

Proven to be one of the most important materials contributing to the development of contemporary human civilization, glass is a material that helps impact humanity. Glass packaging plays a key role in the path towards reducing solid urban waste. We have all heard the phrase ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’, it’s a saying that is repeatedly voiced to the masses to promote sustainable lifestyles. Did you know that more than 60% of solid urban waste consists of containers and packaging? As you can imagine, the majority of these are single-use objects.

Right now, plastic pollution is a big problem, but it’s not too late to fix it. As a society, we have started taking steps towards a greener future and after reading the goals set out by the UN, the changes will continue to be actioned. As we know, glass is made entirely of raw materials found in nature. It is the only packaging that is both reusable and infinitely recyclable, reducing waste and cutting emissions. Aside from its benefits to the environment, glass also acts as a safety barrier to external aspects so that the contents last longer, even after it has been opened. This alongside its exclusion of BPA, is not only better for the environment but the health of the people who use it.

Our thoughts (Rawlings)

Glass to us is the centre of what we do. We love working alongside our talented clients to source and create beautiful packaging, thinking of new and innovative ways the material can be manipulated and changed. With the vast options of decoration techniques now available, it is easier than ever for brands to create attractive and sustainable packaging for their products. The most recent form of decoration is screen printing. This process is done using a stencil to apply the print design to the glass surface and then spreading the ink across a mesh screen. It Is widely used but offers fantastic results for any product. Some examples of our previous screen-printing work include Abersoch Spirit Company whose design incorporates a simplistic single-spray coloured backdrop which effectively lays behind their logo. The colour encases around our 70cl Brunel Spirit Glass Bottle, allowing customers to recognise the brand from any angle, with a slight change in font and logo colour depending on the spirit. Another example would be Angelic Celestial Colours Ltd, who similarly chose an effective block colour backing, covering the entirety of their bottles, and changing colour to match the theme of the product. Their logo and text printed in white on our 50ml Clear Glass Dropper Bottles.

Being reusable and recyclable, glass is at the forefront of circularity. The industry, including us at Rawlings remains committed to building on its sustainable values. It is difficult to say exactly what is going to happen in the future. We are confident in the continued production of glass and the positive impact it will have across the world. What we do know, is that if we all continue to choose glass, we are choosing a better future. Choosing to create and recycle glass properly is a promise to our planet and a hope that generations years from now can experience a positive outcome from.

We are incredibly excited to see what will come from the international year of glass, will the goals be reached? What will you be doing to promote the benefits of glass?