Howdy, folks! Azora Zoe, Goldune's founder here. I'm beyond excited about our first-ever Goldune-designed product launch, and I've been working behind the scenes with Sarah (our design lead!) on some reusable bottle magic for quite a while. Here to get the low down? You're in the right place!

 

The Bottle

We stan a reusable water bottle! But even our favorite Nalgene or insulated metal bottles end up in landfill when you're done with 'em. We wanted to make something that was 1.) dishwasher safe 2.) fully biodegradable and sustainably manufactured with renewable materials and 3.) fun and cute AF.

Our Biodegradable Biker Bottle is tough (we tested it on many a long hike, big drop, and roughing it around a bit), super lightweight, dishwasher-safe, purse and backpack friendly, and most importantly-- totally biodegradable.

Made by a Tour de France cyclist approved bottle manufacturer in Europe, each bottle will break down fully in landfill after you toss it-- but each bottle is also covered under our circularity program, which means if you need to, you can mail it back to us to responsibly dispose of (and we'll even send some store credit your way).  

The Packaging

We're testing out something new by way of zero waste packaging-- it's called a RePack! Simply remove the bottle and our (compostable!!) shipping label from the exterior of the package, flip the top inside out, and put in your mailbox or a USPS dropbox for the Postal Service to pick up. (You're welcome to reuse it too-- no penalties if you're not able to return it, but we want to take it off your hands if it makes your life easier.) Your bottle will come wrapped in compostable paper for insulation, and any insert is also fully compostable or recyclable and printed with responsible inks. We wanted this to be a zero waste unboxing experience (that didn't cut corners on fun!).

Want a visual how-to? Each RePack has a QR code on it you can scan to get specific details on how to best return it, or just click here for a quick vid. 

 

The Creative Inspo

I grew up with a semi-pro cyclist for a dad, with all the signature Tyler Hamilton, Marco Pantani, Greg LeMond, Lance Armstrong and George Hincapie posters on the wall. (My dad's favorite quote when I was growing up was that Lance Armstrong soundbite that may or may not have aged poorly over time-- "Pain is temporary, quitting is forever"-- thanks, Baba!)

My childhood was full of VHS tapes of the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, I knew where the Alpes d'Huez was on a map before I knew where my elementary school was, and my family worshipped at the altar of fast bikes and shapely legs.

I'm a big fan of the meteoric rise of the reusable water bottle (nearly as ubiquitous as the reusable tote!), but it sort of bugged me that most of the good ones weren't dishwasher-safe. If they were dishwasher-safe, they were usually plastic, and they could retain sort of a weird taste. When it was time to say goodbye to my plastic or insulated bottle, I was honestly not sure what to do with them. It felt wrong to chuck them in the trash, but what else could be done with them?

So we set out to make a reusable water bottle that had a kinder end of life-- one that was biodegradable and made of renewables. My research, oddly, lead me back to my childhood. I found that Team Astana (you may know it as that team Lance Armstrong joined near the end), had explored biodegradable bottles, and our design lead Sarah and I dove deep into what Goldune's take on our own bio bottle would look like.

Many (MANY!!) mock ups later, we ended up with something that felt perfectly us, with a respectful nod to some of the motifs I love the most about early aughts competitive cycling-- European newsstand headlines, the signature polka dot jersey, the picturesque Alps and fresh stream water. 

I know, I know-- it's not your typical DTC brand launch. It's personal, sustainable, funky, different, and a little weird-- pretty much like everything else we do at Goldune. I'm crossing my fingers you roll the dice on it (and us!) one of these days, and I'm so grateful you're here in our special little corner of the internet. You've got good taste.

 

Vibe check!

Oh, we promised you a playlist, and a playlist you'll get. Click here!

Questions, comments, concerns? Shoot us a note anytime at hi@goldune.com.

 

 

Thanks so much for making the fun, amazing, fulfilling work that we do possible. 

Stay hydrated ;),

Azora Zoe