Champagne houses have earned a reputation for over-the-top gift packaging, wrapping their cuvées in everything from a
Jean-Paul Gaultier red-leather corset and
Paco Rabanne chain mail to
Lady Gaga sculpture. But Ruinart Champagne recently announced a more minimalist though no less impressive approach: Its Second Skin, a new form of eco-packaging that replaces gift boxes for its 750ml non-vintage blanc de blancs and rosé bottlings.
The distinctive wrapper is a 100 percent paper case molded to the shape of the bottle. It’s plastic-free, entirely recyclable and approximately nine times lighter than the gift boxes previously used by Ruinart. The paper is sourced from certified ecologically managed forests in Europe, and the cases are also produced in Europe, by James Cropper and Pusterla 1880, without using any air freight. All these factors ultimately reduce the Second Skin’s carbon footprint by 60 percent, particularly notable since gift-boxed wines currently account for