Why Glass

• Glass is a favorite with consumers
• Glass allows ideal manufacturing
• Glass is a sustainable and healthy material
• Glass has a long history of human use
• Glass is an ideal material for modern packaging
• Glass is a natural material

A Durable Material – The History of Glass

A Natural Material – Composition of Glass

Sand	SiO2	30%
Soda Ash	Na2CO3	10%
Aragonite	CaCO3	9%
Feldspar	SiO2-Al2O3	4%
Salt	NaCl	0.4%
Recycled Glass	(cullet)	46.6

For glass coloring, various different metal salts are added at very low overall concentrations.

A Premium Material – Modern Glass Packaging

When glass is made it is heated to around 1600 degrees Celsius, thus killing off any bacteria. Also, organic chemicals that might be present in the recycled glass are burned. This is why glass is used to pack products of premium quality – because no contamination from the packaging occurs. Glass is elegant, and glass packaged products stand out. With many unique shapes, glass containers give your product identity and character. And glass is fully recyclable: a glass bottle can be remade into a new, clean glass bottle. This is why glass is a truly environmentally friendly material – now and in future.

A Pure Material – Key Properties of Glass

Consumer’s Favorite:	Ideal Manufacturing	A Sustainable and Healthy Material:
natural pure highly aesthetic inert optimal taste and smell protection of the filled product humidity and heat resistant	inexpensive freedom of design (versatile shapes, multiple colors, multiple cap and closure options) sterile aseptic antistatic high chemical resistance pressure resistant innovation friendly	100% recyclable reusable pure inert ultimate protection of filled goods long shelf life hermetic sealing properties environmentally safe made from natural and abundant raw materials

Further Reading

Ellis, W. S. (1998). Glass: From the First Mirror to Fiber Optics, the Story of a Substance That Changed the World. New York, AVON BOOKS.
Pfaender, H. G. (1996). Schott Guide to Glass. London, Chapman & Hall.
Shelby, J. E. (2005). Introduction to Glass Science & Technology. Cambridge, The Royal Society of Chemistry.
Macfarlane, A. and G. Martin (2002). Glass: A World History. Chicago, The University of Chicago Press.
Robertson, G. L. (2006). Glass Packaging Materials. in: Food Packaging: Principles and Practice. Boca Raton, CRC Press.