Insights / Sustainability

Unpacking Sustainability Impact: Turtle Wax

Turtle Wax trigger sprayer line

About Turtle Wax

Turtle Wax is a renowned auto care brand with a 70-year history and distribution in 90 countries. The company has established itself as a leader in innovative car care products, combining quality with a growing commitment to sustainability.

Our Partnership

We partnered with Turtle Wax to redesign their packaging, focusing on enhancing brand consistency and sustainability. As a first step in a broad rebranding initiative, Turtle Wax managers solicited design proposals for the 16, 23 and 26 oz PET trigger bottles used to package 10 SKUs across the Jet Black, Quick & Easy, and Performance Plus lines. The goal was to bring an element of consistency to the brand portfolio, to rationalize merchandising across categories, and to enhance brand recognition.  

Initially, different SKUs—even those within a single product category—utilized different package structures, varying shades of the company's signature green, and disparate label shapes and branding architectures adopted over time as new product lines were introduced. There was a family resemblance but no unifying visual language that tied the entire line together.

After evaluating proposals from multiple suppliers, Turtle Wax selected a concept by Berlin Packaging's Studio One Eleven design division that was quickly nicknamed the "vortex bottle" because of its unique neck and base detailing featuring whirlpool-like grooving. The dynamic line work added a sense of movement and instantly differentiated the package on the shelf.  

Our Impact

resin reduction bottle

16 oz bottle:
21% resin reduction

virgin resin

116,000 lbs
of virgin resin saved annually

resin reduction spray bottle

26 oz bottle:
19% resin reduction

plastic bottle

62,000 lbs
of plastic saved annually

The project yielded important material reduction advantages while enhancing brand recognition and appeal. All three bottles incorporate 30% post-consumer PET plastic, exceeding California's 25% PCR requirements for bottles in this size range and saving more than 116,000 pounds of virgin resin annually.

New, lighter-weight preforms dramatically reduced resin use, resulting in a 21% reduction for the 16 oz bottle (from 43 to 34 grams) and a 19% reduction for the 26 oz size (from 53 to 43 grams). This led to a total annual savings of 62,000 pounds of plastic.

The launch was so successful that 12, 20 and 64 oz molds bearing the same design are being developed for additional SKUs. This expansion demonstrates how our innovative design simultaneously addressed brand cohesion, visual appeal, and sustainability goals, setting a new standard in auto care packaging.  

By: Celine Yang

Date: August 6, 2024

We're committed to leading the future of sustainable packaging.