South Korea will prohibit manufacturers and retailers from attaching labels to bottled drinking water from 1 January in a move expected to reduce plastic use by more than 2,200 tonnes a year.
The country produced 5.2 billion bottles of drinking water last year, and about 65 per cent of products are already sold without labels. Seoul said uptake has grown rapidly since 2020, when label-free packaging was first permitted. The market for bottled water reached KRW3.2 trillion (US$2.17 billion) last year, expanding at an average of 13.5 per cent annually over the past five years.
The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment said the shift to label-free packaging will require consumers to access product information through QR codes printed on bottle caps. Multi-pack products will display information on outer wrapping or carrying handles.
Five key details, including product name, manufacturing and expiry dates, water source and contact information, must still be printed directly on bottles or caps.
A one-year transition period will apply to single bottles sold in shops, after small retailers raised concerns over lacking point-of-sale systems capable of scanning QR codes.
Since last year, officials have held a series of consultations with manufacturers, supermarkets, convenience store chains and small retailers to prepare for the rollout. Online and multi-pack products must comply fully from 2026, while single bottles will be phased in more gradually.
To support small shops, the government plans to provide barcode stickers, pre-loaded product information for point-of-sale systems and expanded access to QR-scanning equipment, aligning with a broader global shift toward QR-based retail transactions.
“The label-free system aims to ensure safety information remains accessible while reducing plastic use and making recycling easier,” Kim Hyo-jung, a senior ministry official, said in a statement. “We will continue close communication with industry to ensure a smooth transition.”
Across Asia, similar efforts are already underway. Japanese beverage makers including Suntory and Asahi have expanded label-free water and tea products since 2020 to improve recycling rates.
Taiwan is pushing digital labelling and QR-code traceability as part of its circular-economy strategy, while China has also piloted QR-based product information for food and consumer goods in major cities.
Beyond Asia, the European Union is preparing to introduce digital product passports under its Circular Economy Action Plan, signalling a broader global shift toward reducing single-use plastics and moving essential product information onto digital platforms.
Removing external plastic labels from bottles simplifies recycling and cuts material use. A Coca-Cola Europe trial estimated that label-free bottles saved about 2.8 kg of CO2 equivalent for every 1,000 bottles produced by eliminating the label removal step in recycling.
