A sustainable gin is one whose maker can show you the evidence: where the botanicals come from, how the spirit is distilled, what the bottle is made of, and whether the claims are backed by a certification or published numbers. “Natural” on a label is a start, not proof. The biggest environmental weight in a bottle of gin usually sits in the glass, not the still, and that changes how you should shop.
We make gin in Australia, so we have a stake in this conversation. Below we explain what really drives a gin’s footprint, which certifications are worth looking for, how to spot greenwashing, and what we think a thoughtful gin drinker can do right now.
TL;DR
- Glass is the heavy hitter: one life cycle study found the bottle made up about 82% of a 70cl gin’s carbon footprint.
- Look for verifiable proof, such as B Corp certification or published carbon data, rather than words like “eco” or “green”.
- Climate Active, the Australian Government’s carbon neutral label, is being wound up, so check the date on any carbon neutral claim.
- Local, naturally sourced botanicals and no additives are good signs, but they only tell part of the story.
- Ask any brand, us included, three questions: where are the botanicals from, what is the packaging, and what can you show me?
Table of Contents
- What “sustainable gin” actually means
- The bottle is the big one
- Botanicals: where local really helps
- Certifications worth knowing
- Greenwashing: five red flags
- How the industry is responding
- Our perspective
- How to choose a more sustainable gin: a quick checklist
- Where our range fits
- Making your gin habit lighter at home
- FAQ
- Sources
What “sustainable gin” actually means
There is no single legal definition of a sustainable gin in Australia. The phrase covers a handful of separate things, and a brand can be strong on one and silent on another:
- Ingredients: how the juniper, citrus, native botanicals and grain or grape base are grown and sourced.
- Production: energy and water use, what happens to the spent botanicals, and whether the distillery makes its own spirit or buys it in.
- Packaging and freight: the bottle, closure, label, carton and how far it all travels.
- Governance: whether anyone independent has checked the claims.
When readers search for eco friendly gin or carbon neutral gin, they are usually asking about the second and third points. That is where the data is most useful, so we start there.
The bottle is the big one
It surprises people that distilling is not the main culprit. A life cycle study of a 70cl bottle of gin put glass production at roughly 0.47 kg CO2e out of a 0.57 kg CO2e total, which is about 82% of the product’s carbon footprint. Another industry write-up on a carbon neutral Victorian distillery notes that up to 93% of a spirits bottle’s total footprint can come from glass manufacturing and transport.
The exact share depends on the bottle, the furnace, the distance and the method used to count. But the direction is consistent: packaging dominates. So when you compare gins, the questions with the biggest payoff are:
- How heavy is the bottle? A lighter bottle uses less glass and costs less to ship.
- Is there recycled content? Recycled glass generally takes less energy to melt than virgin raw material, so ask whether the maker uses it.
- Is there a refill option? Some distilleries pipe gin to taps for on-site drinking or run refill programs.
- How much extra packaging is there? Gift tubes, foam, plastic windows and oversized cartons add weight without adding gin.
The same logic is behind packaging rules elsewhere. If you want a sense of how regulators in Europe are pushing the issue, there is a useful piece on eco friendly packaging requirements for operators in the EU. Australia’s rules differ, but the pressure on single-use packaging is moving in the same direction.
Botanicals: where local really helps
Botanicals are where a gin gets its character, and also where a good chunk of the sustainability story begins. Sourcing locally cuts freight, supports regional growers and keeps the supply chain easy to explain. Several Australian distilleries have built their identity on exactly this, from growing their own fruit and herbs to composting spent botanicals on site.
There is also a self-interest angle. Juniper is the one botanical that makes gin gin, and juniper berries are vulnerable to drought and shifting climate in the regions where they grow. A drink that depends on a crop under climate pressure has a reason to care about emissions.
A sound way to think about it is field to bottle. The more a distillery knows about how its ingredients are grown, who grew them and how they travelled, the more credible any sustainability claim becomes. A Sydney distillery that recently earned B Corp certification points to long-term partnerships with local farmers for custom-grown grain and botanicals as part of that picture.
What “natural” does and doesn’t tell you
Natural ingredients matter for what is in the glass: no artificial colours, no added sugar, no mystery flavourings. They do not automatically mean a low-impact product. A gin can be made from perfectly natural botanicals and still arrive in a very heavy bottle after a long trip. Wine has had the same debate for years, and this explainer on natural wine practices and honest facts shows how a “natural” label can mean different things to different producers. Treat it as a prompt to ask questions, not as an answer.
Certifications worth knowing
Independent checks are the best defence against vague claims. Three are worth recognising in the Australian market.
| Label or proof | What it tells you | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| B Corp | A whole-of-business assessment. One Sydney distillery’s certification covered over 200 criteria, including governance, environment, community and supply chain. | It rates the company, not each individual bottle. |
| Climate Active (carbon neutral) | The Australian Government program for measuring, reducing and offsetting emissions. A Victorian distillery was certified as Australia’s first carbon neutral gin distillery after upgrading its headquarters. | The government has announced it plans to end Climate Active certification, so check how current a claim is. |
| Certified organic | Rules for how the ingredients are grown. | Organic describes farming, not packaging or freight. |
No single label covers everything. The strongest brands combine a certification with published numbers and a clear plan for packaging.
A note on carbon neutral claims
Carbon neutral usually means a business has measured its emissions, reduced what it can and offset the rest. That is a legitimate approach, but offsets are not the same as cutting emissions, and with Climate Active on its way out, the government will no longer review or monitor businesses’ voluntary climate claims. If you see a carbon neutral gin, look for the date of certification, what was included in the calculation and whether the bottle itself was counted. Anything that skips packaging is leaving out the largest part of the footprint.
Greenwashing: five red flags
Greenwashing is rarely a lie. It is more often a gap between a nice word and a missing detail. Be cautious when you see:
- Green words with no numbers. “Eco”, “planet friendly” and “conscious” mean little without a figure or a certificate behind them.
- “Natural” used as the whole argument. Natural ingredients are good, but they do not describe energy use or packaging.
- A single good deed doing the heavy lifting. A donation per bottle or a tree planted is welcome, but it does not change what the bottle is made of.
- No mention of glass. If a brand talks at length about botanicals and never about packaging, it is skipping the biggest topic.
- Old certifications. A claim without a year may describe something that has lapsed.
Transparent measurement and reporting is the opposite of all of this. As one Australian sustainability guide puts it, the best way to counter greenwashing is a robust, transparent system for measuring and reporting.
How the industry is responding
The trade is moving. The Gin Guild runs a Sustainability Toolkit and its Ten Green Bottles campaign to help distillers save money and resources. Some producers are building closed-loop systems for spent botanicals, others are investing in energy upgrades at their sites, and some are developing refill programs.
There is also a shift in what drinkers want from the glass itself. Demand is growing for serious non-alcoholic spirits made with the same botanical depth as full-strength gin, and some well-known Australian distillers now sell dedicated non-alcoholic ranges. That is a choice about moderation rather than footprint, but it shows how mindful consumption is shaping what distillers make.
It is also worth keeping the bigger picture in view. Researchers argue that the production, distribution and consumption of fast-moving consumer goods, alcohol included, contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, and have called for more research into alcohol’s environmental effects. In other words, the data is still catching up, which is one more reason to favour brands that are open about theirs.
Our perspective
We would rather be straight with you than sell you a slogan. Here is how we see it.
Our gins are distilled from all-natural, locally sourced botanicals, with no additives, and the colour in our Denim Collection comes from the botanicals themselves. They are vegan and gluten free, and we have written plainly about both on our pages about whether gin is vegan in Australia and gluten free alcohol. We take a flavour first approach and a hands on one to distilling, because a gin that is carefully made and genuinely enjoyed is a gin that does not get left at the back of a cupboard.
But we also know that natural ingredients are only one chapter. The research is clear that glass is where most of a gin’s footprint lives, and we think every gin brand, including us, should expect to be asked about it. So our advice is simple: ask, compare, and favour makers who answer with specifics. We would rather you hold us to that standard than take our word for it.
We also think one of the most useful sustainable habits is the least glamorous: buy a bottle you will actually finish. That is why we built a quiz to match you with the right gin, so you are not guessing at a flavour you may not love.
— Winston
How to choose a more sustainable gin: a quick checklist
Use this before you buy, whoever the maker is.
- Find the botanical story. Can the brand say where its main botanicals are grown, and are they local?
- Check for additives. Colour, sugar and flavourings added after distilling are worth knowing about.
- Look for proof. A B Corp badge, a dated carbon claim with a scope, or published emissions data beats a vague green label.
- Think about the glass. Lighter bottles, recycled content and minimal outer packaging all help.
- Consider the distance. A gin made closer to you has less to travel.
- Buy what you will drink. The most wasteful bottle is the one that never gets finished.
Where our range fits
If you want to try gin made with natural, locally sourced botanicals, start with The Denim Collection. Dry Cut is our take on a classic, while Slim Crop leans into a different flavour profile and Tropical Trim is brighter again. You can browse everything in our gin range, look at Limited Editions if you like small releases, or pair a bottle with something from our tonics. Bars, retailers and venues can also ask us about wholesale supply through our website.
Tailor-made spirits, naturally vibrant.
Making your gin habit lighter at home
You do not need to give up gin to make smarter choices. A few habits go a long way.
- Store it well. Gin keeps for a long time when it is sealed and kept away from heat and light, so you will not pour it away. Our guide on how long gin lasts covers it.
- Use produce well. Cocktails built around seasonal fruit make good use of what is in the fridge. Our berry gin cocktails and summer gin cocktails are written to be batched, which helps avoid half-used ingredients.
- Make a single serve. If you only want one drink, a single serve gin spritz keeps the measures tight.
- Gift thoughtfully. If you are buying for someone else, choose by taste, not packaging. Our gin gift ideas match bottles to different drinkers.
- Recycle the bottle. Rinse it and put it in your kerbside glass recycling, or reuse it for homemade syrups and infusions.
FAQ
Is there such a thing as a carbon neutral gin in Australia?
Yes, some Australian distilleries have achieved carbon neutral certification, including a Victorian distillery that was certified through Climate Active. However, the government has announced that it plans to end that certification, so check the date and scope of any claim. A good brand will tell you what its calculation included.
Is organic gin the same as sustainable gin?
Not quite. Organic certification covers how ingredients are grown, which is a real benefit for farmland and biodiversity. Sustainability also depends on packaging, energy use and freight, so an organic gin in a heavy bottle can still carry a large footprint.
What makes the biggest difference to a gin’s footprint?
The bottle. One life cycle study of a 70cl gin found glass production accounted for around 82% of the total carbon footprint. Choosing brands with lighter bottles, recycled glass or refill options usually matters more than any single botanical.
Are natural and local botanicals enough?
They are a good sign, because they reduce freight and keep the supply chain easier to trace. On their own, though, they do not describe packaging or energy use. Look for natural, local botanicals plus evidence on the rest.
Sources
- Product vs corporate carbon footprint: a case study for the spirit drinks sectors
- Four Pillars, Australia’s first carbon neutral gin distillery, Australian Design Review
- Climate Active, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
- Archie Rose gains B Corp certification, Food & Drink Business
- Sustainable liquor explained, David Suzuki Foundation
- Australian retail brands and sustainability, Workiva Carbon
- A Greener Gin, The Gin Guild
- Four Pillars non-alcoholic gin review, Sans Drinks
- Alcohol’s contribution to climate change and other environmental degradation: a call for research
