Companies are turning to creative strategies to decarbonize supply chains amid consumer pressure.
Some retailers have started shipping orders on "cargo sailboats" instead of container ships.
Photos show the wind-powered vessels carrying coffee, whiskey, and wine across the Atlantic.
Most companies use massive container ships like these to transport their products overseas.
The container ship Ever Forward, which ran aground in the Chesapeake Bay off the coast near Pasadena, Md., the night before, is seen Monday, March 14, 2022 Julio Cortez/AP Photo
But as shoppers put pressure on corporations to decarbonize their supply chains, some brands are opting for sustainable shipping alternatives.
Courtesy of TOWT
That's where the sail freight industry comes in. This sailboat is used by France's TransOceanic Wind Transport (TOWT) to ship goods around the world — without the levels of pollution that come with normal cargo shipping.
Courtesy of TOWT
Coffee beans, like the ones pictured in the bags below, are some of the sailing freight industry's most common cargo.
Courtesy of TOWT
Belco Coffee, one of TOWT's main clients, plans to transport at least 50% of its total coffee volume via sailboat by 2025.
TOWT's sailboats have also shipped alcohol, such as the French whiskey brand Black Mountain, as part of a "maturation-at-sea" experiment that tested how the cross-sea journey would impact the whiskey's taste.
Right now, the shipping logistics are pretty old-fashioned. Each sailboat, which can be hundreds of years old, has its own crew and shipping routes.
Courtesy of TOWT
But after seeing the demand for carbon-free maritime shipping, TOWT made plans for a modern "cargo sailboat," pictured below. The first model is scheduled for a June 2023 launch.
TOWT's current sailboats can only carry 35 tons, while the new cargo sailboat will hold 1,100 tonnes. By comparison, conventional container ships can handle loads of over 38,000 tonnes.
Companies choose to ship via sailboats because they want to decrease their carbon footprint. However, it's also a marketing strategy geared toward environmentally-minded customers, TOWT told Insider.
Courtesy of TOWT
Sail transport adds value to a product, which is one reason brands are willing to pay extra for the service, the TOWT spokesperson added.
Courtesy of TOWT
The coffee roaster Yallah Coffee found that customers are willing to pay over $60 for carbon-free coffee beans shipped via sailboat from Colombia to the UK, Bloomberg reported.
Capacity-wise, the method is "still a droplet in the ocean" compared to the amount of goods shipped on container ships, TOWT told Insider. "If you want to decarbonize shipping, it's going to be enormous," the spokesperson added.