It took a baby-shower invitation to make me realize just how far the resale economy has come. The invite steered me toward the registry of the parents-to-be, who opened their list with this line: “We always love and prefer used items over new ones.” Sure, I’ve written about Patagonia’s Worn Wear, Neiman Marcus’ pioneering partnership with Fashionphile, and the decision of retailers like Macy’s, JC Penney and H&M to sell used clothes in their stores. And I’ve been watching the steady flow of ThredUp and RealReal packages on my porch, all addressed to the resident millennial. (I’ve even scored a few items myself.) I’d always assumed the trend came from folks wanting to spend less dough, or as a good-scout choice for the planet. But the “love and prefer” line puts all this resale in a whole new light: This isn’t a trend anymore. It’s the way young consumers insist on shopping. Businesses are getting it. I wasn’t able to make it to the National Retail Federation’s Big Show this year, but attendees were buzzing about a session on circular supply chains. Speakers included execs from the Patagonia program; Yertle, the D2C company that sells used clothes from Patagonia, REI and others; and Terra Cycle’s Loop, a subscription service that lets consumers reuse packaging from major national brands, including Procter & Gamble and Unilever. And a new report from Ike Boruchow, an analyst who follows the apparel sector for Wells Fargo, says we ain’t seen nothing yet. “We continue to believe that the consumer’s willingness to transition to resale is in the very early innings,” he writes. He notes that the U.S. resale market is about $24 billion today and growing at about 15% a year. That compares to just 2% growth for the $400 billion apparel sector. While the RealReal, which specializes in used luxury items, is generating attention, other companies, like Poshmark, Rebag and StockX, are more compelling models, Boruchow writes. And he predicts used clothing will move from about 6% of total clothing sales to 10% of the pie by 2022. Boruchow writes that ThredUp, the world’s largest fashion resale marketplace, has a gross market value of about $250 million, and is growing between 40% and 50% a year. In addition to partnering with retailers, it also benefits from retail partnerships, online collaborations, a loyalty program, and its “secondhand clothes, firsthand fun” positioning. As ThredUp and other D2C brands continue to steal share from conventional retailers,  more stores will look for ways to get in on the action, Boruchow predicts. But given the digital demands of these younger shoppers, it won’t be easy. “Looking at the market demographics, the shift to wearing someone else’s clothes is dominated by the young consumer, as it seems more and more like their natural behavior,” he writes. “As millennials and Gen Z become the core customer, growth will be more exponential.”

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• When it comes to packaging, aesthetics matter.
• With Loop, companies treat packaging like an asset.
• Brands are using Loop to learn about customer habits.

  When he founded TerraCycle in 2001, Tom Szaky was in the business of keeping tough-to-recycle products out of landfills. In 2019, he expanded that mandate with a service called Loop, which focuses on reusing packaging instead of merely recycling it. In partnership with several well-known brands, Loop offers household goods from olive oil to laundry detergent in reusable containers that are either delivered direct to consumers or available through two major retail outlets, then collects, cleans and refills them—much like a modern-day milkman. When Szaky sought to better understand why people were purchasing items through Loop, he was surprised by the results. Survey data revealed that two-thirds of Loop customers were mainly drawn to the program because of its packaging design; only one-third prioritized the sustainability aspect. Since Loop is all about saving the planet by eliminating waste, Szaky had expected the inverse. “A better experience with packaging is the primary driver,” Szaky told Adweek. “The secondary driver is sustainability.” Earlier this week, during a presentation at the National Retail Federation’s annual conference in New York, Szaky stressed the importance of aesthetics in consumer decision-making. While people often buy shampoo twice as often as they buy conditioner, Loop shoppers purchase an equal amount of Pantene shampoo and conditioner, according to Szaky. Why? Although he didn’t disclose exact figures, internal polling revealed that people thought the bottles—which come in a matching gold-and-white color scheme, and feature images of sea life—looked good together. But it’s not just about beauty. Szaky argued that tubs of Häagen-Dazs ice cream sold on Loop are simply better than the typical cardboard cartons found at grocery stores because they’re dual-layered, providing thermal insulation so that consumers’ hands remain warm while the ice cream stays frozen. The inside of the container is also concave, making the ice cream easier to scoop out. Szaky added that even the product itself can benefit from better packaging. The team at Coca-Cola apparently told him Coke tastes best in a glass bottle, then aluminum, then plastic. One key change that allows for better packaging design through the Loop system, as opposed to a convenience store or vending machine, is the transfer of package ownership from consumer to manufacturer, Szaky said. When a company is responsible for a durable container meant for multiple uses, it’s treated like an asset as opposed to the cost of goods sold. Since Loop requires a security deposit with each purchase, companies are given extra leeway to invest even more money into their packaging design, generating better functions and features. “Can you imagine what you could do with a package budget of $30 per unit?” he said. He noted that customers have shown little to no sensitivity to the deposit price, either. A can of Clorox disinfecting wipes, for instance, costs $5.49 to purchase, plus an additional $10 deposit. Despite this, Szaky said Clorox wipes are one of the top five best selling products on the site. Last week, another Clorox brand, Glad, began selling sandwich bags on Loop for $4.99 with a $10 deposit. Once ordered, consumers receive 100 plastic bags in a square metal tin, along with a yellow zippered pouch to put the used bags in for recycling later. According to Nick Higgins, Glad’s marketing director, the package took six weeks to design, and consumer feedback throughout the process was positive. “If you think about our traditional manufacturing system, it’s been engineered to deliver products in a way that people use them and then it’s their responsibility for how they ultimately want to dispose of them,” Higgins said. While it’s still too early to tell how Glad’s metal tin is performing on Loop, Higgins said the brand is excited to gain insights into how people might reuse its products. “As a brand, we want to continue to make progress in this area,” he said. “Using something like Loop as a learning partner to understand consumer habits and practices, and the business models associated with that, is what makes this really attractive to us.” Loop, which debuted in May 2019 in select cities in the U.S. and France, is scheduled to roll out in the U.K., Canada, Germany and Japan later this year. Presently, the platform works with retailers Walgreens and Kroger, and about 100 major CPG conglomerates, including Pepsi, Nestle, Unilever and Procter & Gamble. While Loop has yet to make an official announcement, Szaky said the company will soon reveal new partnerships with a fast-food company and high-end cosmetics brand.         Szaky added that since Loop began, it has, on average, added a new brand every two days and a new retailer every three weeks. While the program remains in test mode, he’s optimistic that Loop will continue to grow. “Disposability is our competition,” he said. “It’s an easy enemy to hate, thank God.”

The next time you reach into your freezer for a pint of Haagen Dazs Amaretto Black Cherry Almond ice cream, or perhaps grab a bottle of Pantene Moisture Renewal shampoo, you might be putting your hands on something unusual in the world of consumer goods — a reusable container.   More than 150 companies have signed up to work with Loop, an innovative alternative to Amazon where the products ± as well as the box they arrive in — are all shipped back to where they came from.   We are talking reusable here, not recyclable. The cold container for ice cream, as well as the shampoo bottle, are made of durable products and designed to be returned, cleaned and reused dozens, if not hundreds of times.   Loop is the brainchild of entrepreneur Tom Szaky, who created TerraCycle as a Princeton drop out to recycle the food waste from the university dining halls into fertilizer — using worms. His company is now worth $20 million, and he’s branching out.   Customers order their products online from a list of name brand items, all delivered via UPS in a sturdy tote. The empties go back into the tote, which UPS takes back to Loop’s New Jersey processing center. They are cleaned and refilled by the suppliers to be shipped out by Loop again. Even though consumers are buying just the contents, the products cost about the same as those sold in single-use containers — in part to offset the cost of the development and manufacturing of the more durable containers, as well as cleaning and refilling.   Although the selection is limited compared to Amazon, there is still an array of well-known staples to fill up the pantry: Hellman’s mayo; Tropicana orange juice; Colgate toothpaste; Hidden Valley ranch dressing; Tide detergent, among many others — courtesy of some of the world’s largest consumer goods companies, including Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Danone, Mars Petcare and Mondelēz International.   Currently, Loop has about 25,000 customers in its test markets in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maryland and Washington, D.C., in the United States, and in Paris, France. But they are in the process of expanding across the United States and internationally, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and Japan. Watch how Szaky says he plans to grow his business into a juggernaut. Loop just recently announced it was partnering with Walgreens and Kroger to start offering its products in stores. So you can perhaps pick up that pint of that Amaretto Black Cherry Almond ice cream and return the container the very next day. Some video imagery courtesy of UPS and Loop.

There's more and more pressure -- both internally and externally -- for companies to help the environment. But it can help companies, too

    Recycling isn't just about protecting the planet; it's also about profit. With market rates for recycled plastics at all-time lows, companies can build new products out of used ones for a fraction of the cost of fresh materials. A McKinsey analysis found that plastics reuse and recycling could produce up to $60 billion in new profits by 2030, or almost two-thirds of the plastic industry's potential profit growth. For entrepreneurs, that's a win-win. Cheaper and more widely available recycled materials mean lower production costs. Building products from recycled materials is also a brand differentiator, particularly with the growing cohort of socially conscious consumers. Which companies are getting ahead by giving products a new life? Four firms stand out:

1. Patagonia

Long known for its environmental stewardship, Patagonia goes beyond donating money or even company time: The outdoor apparel brand's Worn Wear program buys back used Patagonia products and resells them online. What sets Worn Wear apart from other used clothing programs is its educational component. Patagonia brand ambassadors travel around the U.S., showing people how to repair their own gear. It also posts product care guides online that explain how to sew up seams and patch tears. Consumers see product education as an added value. Minimize your carbon footprint and build brand loyalists by helping customers trade in or extend the life of their purchases.

2. Pela

Pela, which makes ecofriendly smartphone accessories and sustainable products, skipped straight from packaging to product recycling. Founder Jeremy Lang was inspired to start the company after seeing piles of plastic waste floating in the pristine waters off Hawaii. To that end, Pela created the world's first fully compostable phone case. Customers who don't compost can send their old cases back to Pela, who recycles the cases for them. What about the millions of other plastic phone cases that get thrown away each year? Pela announced at CES an expansion to its Pela 360 program, which is to accommodate all phone cases, no matter the manufacturer. If you've got a plastic product, why not let customers do double duty as suppliers? Making people feel like part of your initiative is the single best way to scale it.

3. Procter & Gamble

Consumer packaged goods, by their nature, have a short life cycle. From toothpaste to dish detergent, products that make our home lives comfortable tend to be disposable. What can be done to keep them out of the trash? Procter & Gamble has partnered with TerraCycle's Loop e-commerce platform to tackle that very question. Loop is a sustainability program that cuts down on waste by using refillable and recyclable packaging. Hair care brand Pantene is introducing shampoo and conditioner bottles made from lightweight aluminum. Tide's Purclean plant-based laundry detergent will feature a stainless steel bottle instead of its conventional plastic one. Crest Platinum mouthwash will be sold in refillable glass bottles.

4. Coca-Cola

It's barely 2020, but Coca-Cola already has big plans for 2030. By the next decade, the beverage giant plans to make all its bottles and cans fully recyclable anywhere in the world. What's more, it expects to build those bottles out of at least 50 percent recycled material. For a company the size of Coca-Cola, that's a herculean task. To get there, it's investing around the world in recycling awareness. Although recycling programs exist in nearly every country, many consumers are still unsure which materials can and can't be recycled. Take your cue from Coke: Start with your product's packaging. Not only is the container the portion sure to be thrown away, but it's generally easier to build containers out of recycled materials than it is goods like computers or clothing. Doing the right thing doesn't have to be costly. Through recycling, reusable packaging, and consumer education, plenty of companies are protecting their profits by protecting the world. Keep production costs down and customer satisfaction up by giving new life to old products.

The statistics are sobering. Virtually every piece of plastic ever produced still exists and there is more microplastic in the ocean than there are stars in the Milky Way, according to Earth Day Network, Washington, D.C. It is thus little wonder that 100,000 marine creatures die every year from plastic entanglement—and those are the ones that are found, according to Ocean Crusaders, an organization based in Australia that specializes in waterway cleaning. These same creatures consume the plastic, which we humans then consume from our dinner plates, meaning there’s plastic in us too. Containers and packaging constitute 30% of all waste, per the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the large amount that isn’t recycled is dumped into landfills or is incinerated, leaving behind noxious air pollution. It’s a compounded problem that continues to mount, with forecasts predicting that the amount of plastic will increase fourfold by 2050. But moves are afoot to change this dire state of affairs. Retailers and consumer packaged goods companies are looking for new ways to provide products that eliminate or vastly reduce packaging, such as proliferating bulk food sections and experimenting with processes that use less plastic. Scientists are also devising ways to make CPG packaging compostable or 100% recyclable while circular systems are being developed in which consumers refill containers for commonly used household items. But to make change happen on a big scale, everyone needs to be on board. Urged on by consumers that are increasingly decrying excessive packaging that is perceived as being wasteful at best, and reckless at worst, many American companies, which are also not happy with the present state of affairs, are looking for solutions to what is becoming a very grave problem of crisis proportions. The solutions are complex and multifold. “When you think about the myriad products, and the ways consumers use them, we need lots of solutions,” says Meghan Stasz, VP of packaging and sustainability for the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), Arlington, Va. Reducing packaging is important not only to minimize the effect it’s having on the world but also to improve public perception. The people who care most about packaging waste are millennials and Gen Zers, who are increasingly the customers of tomorrow. “Packaging has become a hot topic of late because shoppers are becoming more concerned about their impact on the environment, especially younger shoppers,” says Tory Gundelach, VP of retail insights for New York-based consulting agency Kantar. “And more and more, they’re happy to put their dollars behind the companies that align with them.” According to research from Kantar, nearly two-thirds of millennials and Gen Z consumers say they prefer “brands that have a point of view and stand for something.”

The Circular System

The solution to plastic and packaging reduction that’s perhaps gaining the most traction is the system of refillable, reusable containers. Loop—which offers products in reusable glass and steel containers that are delivered to and picked up directly from consumers’ homes—launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, a year ago. It has since debuted pilot programs in New York and Paris. Developed by Trenton, N.J.-based TerraCycle, Loop has the backing of CPG giants such as Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Danone and Nestle, as well as smaller companies such as Nature’s Path. It offers about 100 brands and is constantly adding more, including private label items. “We treat small companies the same as large ones,” says Benjamin Weir, business development manager of North America for TerraCycle. “We help them expand and show them that packaging is a great way to differentiate.” Photograph courtesy of TerraCycle The more brands involved, the greater consumer adoption of Loop is likely to be, he says, because shoppers will be able to meet all their needs at one store—or through one e-commerce site—“and we can capture as much of their basket as possible.” Here’s how Loop works: Customers purchase products through its website, and when the products are depleted, they leave the empty packages on their doorstep for free collection by UPS, a Loop/TerraCycle partner, which returns them to Loop for sanitization and reuse. Each container requires a deposit, which is refunded upon its return or at the end of a subscription. Items that can’t be reused, such as diapers, can be collected for recycling. Retailers are joining the Loop throng too. The Kroger Co. and Walgreens are credited as founding retailers in the U.S. “Our commitment to innovative solutions on our path to Zero Hunger Zero Waste aligns perfectly with Loop’s mission to create a convenient circular packaging platform for consumers,” Jessica Adelman, president of The Kroger Co.’s Zero Hunger Zero Waste Foundation, has been quoted as saying. Being involved with Loop is almost the cost of doing business today, says Virginie Helias, chief sustainability officer of Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble. “Nine of 10 consumers now say they have a more positive image of a company when it supports a social or environmental cause, and half say they make purchase decisions based on a shared belief with the brand,” she says. Procter & Gamble is committed to making huge changes, and it fully backs the Loop system. “The idea of getting rid of disposable packaging and replacing them with beautiful, durable, refillable packaging is a huge idea and we are very committed to make it work,” Helias says. All of the companies involved with Loop are faced with a new and exciting challenge: creating new packaging. This packaging is much more durable, plastic-free and is good-looking enough to sit on any home’s counter.

In—and Out of—the Loop

Companies need to step up and take responsibility, says Darby Hoover, senior resource specialist for the Natural Resources Defense Council in New York: “If you introduce a package, your responsibility has not ended, and it should not be the responsibility of the consumer. [Companies] need to say they’re responsible for packages through the end of their life. That’s what’s powerful about a program like Loop.” Gundelach of Kantar supports a program such as Loop because it takes that responsibility away from the consumer. “It’s more likely to resonate than asking the shopper to do it themselves,” she says. And while this isn’t a perfect solution—she points to the emissions from the pickup vehicles, for example—Gundelach believes it’s a step in the right direction. “To do this on any meaningful scale is extremely complicated and takes the partnership of many different parties, but I think this is a longer-term solution,” she says, adding that companies in the CPG industry will have to reach some agreements that they will use the same sort of process. The losers in the Loop system could be the retailers, who may see sales declines for products that are now delivered by the modern-day “milkman.” But Stasz of GMA doesn’t anticipate that, noting that she “can’t imagine it would have more of an effect than e-commerce.” While the e-commerce model is phase one for Loop, eventually consumers will be able to shop for Loop in the stores of the company’s retail partners. This should start in 2020, Weir says, and is phase two. This program will be implemented through retail partners such as Kroger. It will go live in Kroger and Walgreens at 25 to 50 stores in a condensed geographic area. At these stores, consumers drop their used packaging in a Loop bin and pick up a new product in reusable packaging from the shelf. This would be a pay-as-you-go model vs. the e-commerce program, which offers consumers the option of subscription on demand. Consumers “will be able to shop and act as normal and have the option for durable, reusable packaging,” Weir says. He could well be right. According to GMA, nearly two-thirds (65%) of Americans say they’d be very likely to buy goods in refillable packages.

The Product Line

CPG companies are making their own mark on plastic reduction. Two years ago, Pepsi launched Drinkfinity, a reusable bottle/recyclable pod system for flavored water. Meanwhile, Coca-Cola is making a bottle from recycled marine plastics; Colgate unveiled a new recyclable toothpaste tube; Nestle committed to 100% reusable and recyclable packaging by 2025; and Unilever has vowed a 50% plastic reduction by the same year. London-based Unilever is also going out on many different limbs. In the Philippines, it launched the Hair Refillery, a shopping mall pilot that lets consumers refill bottles from brands such as Dove and Tresemme. In the U.K., Cif cleaning spray is now sold with refill cartridges that consumers put in existing bottles and fill with water. The trigger heads on the original spray bottles are designed to be used thousands of times. And in Chile, Unilever is piloting an app-powered, intelligent dispensing system that uses electric tricycles to deliver laundry detergent to homes. Companies are either reducing the plastic (using less per product), finding a plastic that can be 100% recycled or exploring alternatives, which include bioplastics produced with bacteria, seaweed, corn, mushroom rot, wood pulp and even shrimp shells. However, CPG companies are still facing some backlash because they’re still producing single-use products. “We’re continuing to see a major commitment by the CPG companies to improve their packaging,” says Stasz of GMA. “That means different things to different companies. To packaging design, to new kinds of materials, to delivering products to consumers in new ways and in new formats. From research we did this year, all the largest 25 CPG companies in the world have made public commitments that 100% of their packaging be recyclable or compostable by 2030 and some as soon as by 2025.” Recycling in itself has become a problem. In 2018, China stopped accepting U.S. imports of recyclable materials, and across the U.S., recycling is becoming more expensive. So much so that many towns and municipalities to eliminate curbside recycling programs. This is all the more important because recycling is becoming a big issue: Less than 14% of plastic packaging—the fastest-growing form of packaging—is recycled, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. Eighty-seven percent of Americans told GMA they are very concerned about single-use plastics and packaging waste. It’s vital that more emphasis be placed on recycling, says Melissa Craig, senior manager of packaging sustainability for Unilever North America, Englewood Cliffs, N.J. Unilever’s new packaging is designed with PCR (post-consumer resin), but in order to have sufficient PCR, “we need everyone contributing to the circular economy, which means ensuring everyone is recycling. The more we can get consumers to recycle, the greater the supply of PCR for packaging so we can use less virgin plastic.”

At the Store Level

Retailers also play a big part in reducing the amount of plastic packaging waste by taking a stance. Monrovia, Calif.-based Trader Joe’s announced it had removed nearly 4 million pounds of plastic from its stores last year. This included the introduction of biodegradable bags for flowers and greetings cards, removing excess packaging and switching to recyclable trays for fresh meat. Walmart has committed to incorporate at least 20% PCR content in the packaging of its private label line by 2025. This, the retailer says, will also be 100% recyclable, reusable or industrially compostable. The Bentonville, Ark.-based chain is also encouraging suppliers to eschew all PVC (polyvinyl chloride) by 2020. Minneapolis-based Target will eliminate expanded polystyrene foam packaging from private label products by 2022, and Issaquah, Wash.-based Costco ditched PVC clamshell packaging, which not only can’t be recycled but also releases toxic chemicals into the environment as it degrades. So it’s no surprise that Whole Foods Market is making a difference too. Its changes include switching to smaller bags for produce; replacing hard-plastic rotisserie chicken containers with bags that use about 70% less plastic; eliminating polystyrene/Styrofoam meat trays; and using salad boxes made of 100% commercially compostable material in its prepared foods department.

Away From Home

More is happening abroad. South Africa’s Pick n Pay grocery chain is experimenting with “nude zones,” where consumers fill their own containers with produce laser-etched with codes. Metro in Quebec started allowing customers last spring to fill their own reusable containers with meat, seafood, pastries and ready-to-eat meals, and Ekoplaza in Amsterdam now carries more than 700 products in plastic-free packaging, which looks like plastic but is actually made from all-natural, biodegradable materials. In the U.K., Waitrose has introduced packaging-free aisles; Tesco has asked its suppliers to look into packaging solutions and vows to have only recyclable or compostable packaging by 2025; Iceland is getting rid of plastic packaging for its entire private label line and has also committed, over the next five years, to using recyclable paper versions of food trays to enable it to become plastic-free by 2023; Sainsbury’s is halving its packaging by 2020; and the Co-op says a whopping 80% of its products will be “easy to recycle” by 2020. In Europe, there have been many moves to reduce plastic. Americans are simply less concerned than Europeans, says Neil Saunders, managing director and retail analyst for GlobalData Retail in New York. “Americans have more of an ambivalent attitude toward environmental issues and this results in less pressure on the industry to institute change,” he said. “Regulation is likely more lax in the U.S. than in some parts of Europe, where recycling is now mandatory for householders.”

Bulk Foods Bulk Up

What can make an enormous difference in the amount of packaging waste a store produces is having a bulk department. At Phoenix-based Sprouts Farmers Market, bulk food sections are large and even larger in new and remodeled stores. In some locations, bulk accounts for a massive 30% of a store’s selections. However, as anyone who’s ever used them can attest, refilling containers—particularly liquids—can be time-consuming and messy. Neil Stern, senior partner with McMillanDoolittle, Chicago, thinks bulk sections have their place in stores “where the customer is sufficiently committed, such as stores offering a broad selection of natural/organic products.” However, he says, conventional stores may need to offer more convenience and experience, such as “some sort of concierge service,” where customers would drop off their containers to be refilled and pick them up at the end of their shopping trip. Around the world, packaging-free stores are opening up, aimed at reducing the swathes of plastic and heightening consumers’ awareness of this problem. The trouble is, are these stores catching on yet, or are they just attracting the ultra-eco-conscious? In New York’s Brooklyn, there’s Precycle and in Vancouver, British Columbia, there’s Nada, where customers can use their own containers or buy them. There’s also The Refill Shoppe in Ventura, Calif.; the Filling Station in New York; and Zero Market in Denver, which sells personal care and home products. Lyndsey Manderson, co-founder of Zero Market, is planning to open a second, larger location to sell food.

 The Supply Chain Situation

The picture painted of plastic packaging is not a complimentary one, but plastic does have its place and is used for a reason. It helps preserve food and protect food during its journey to store shelves. The supply chain is responsible for a lot of packaging, says Gundelach of Kantar. “The brands aren’t adding packaging just for fun, but more times than not the packaging is designed for the end shopper [and] how is that product making it through the supply chain.” However, because of geography and distance, U.S. supply chains, especially for perishable products, can be more complex and demanding than those in Europe. “This pushes a lot of companies into using plastic to protect products,” says Saunders of Global Data. “Plastic is also a relatively cheap and lightweight solution, which helps keep distribution costs down, something that’s vital in a low-margin sector where the consumer demands low prices and value for money,” he says. “In Europe, this remains an issue but the more compressed supply chain makes it easier for many operators to look to alternatives.” Susan Selke, director and professor for the School of Packaging at Michigan State University in East Lansing, says there could be problems if packaging is reduced because it could lead to more product waste if the interior goods are damaged. “There are generally more environmental costs associated with that product waste than benefits associated with less packaging,” she says.

What’s the ultimate destination of consumer goods? For many if not most products, it’s not actually the customer or end user – landfill is the last link in the chain. We have come a long way since King Camp Gillette created the first product designed to be thrown away. Today our whole culture seems designed to be disposable: from single-use plastics to chain store coffee cups; from needlessly shrink-wrapped fruit and veg to huge swaths of cardboard used to protect sheets of paper (yes, really). But revolution is in the air, with consumers increasingly concerned about the world of waste that we have created. There’s just one problem: as a species, we simply haven’t learned how to wean ourselves off our addiction to plastic and other waste generated in the supply chain. Much as we might want to reduce our waste, not many of us are quite ready for bamboo toothbrushes and home-made washing powder. If we’re serious about reducing the billions of tons of plastic and other waste that gets sent to landfill or pollutes our rivers and seas, we need the corporate world to come up with creative solutions that will enable us to enjoy our products – without further contributing to the environmental apocalypse. Garbage pile in trash dump or landfill   Circular supply chains As with so much in life, it is often as useful to look backwards as forwards for solutions to today’s waste crisis. People from the past would think it absurd to use a cup just once before chucking it in the bin, and we are belatedly coming back to this rather obvious conclusion, with many coffee shops offering discounts for customers who bring their own. PROMOTED Important as small steps like these may be, it will take much more to win the world’s wider waste problem. Yet the same principles of reduce, reuse and repurpose – usually overshadowed by the other “R”, recycle – will be absolutely critical in this battle. And that will require fundamental and far-reaching changes in our supply chains. Where once the supply chain was linear and ended with the customer – or, more realistically, in landfill or the oceans – tomorrow’s supply chain will be circular, designed to foster more reduction, reuse and repurpose through secondary, sustainable business models. In fact, we’re already seeing important steps in this direction, not least in the Loop shopping platform. A partnership between major consumer goods firms including P&G, Unilever and Nestle, together with recycling firm TerraCycle, Loop will enable shoppers to consume products in refillable, reusable packaging. This model, barely any different from old bottle deposit schemes that many can still remember, can be taken still further. In theory, there’s nothing to stop us buying products like shampoo in our own personal bottles which we fill up from a tap in the supermarket. But if we are to move from landfill to refill, the corporate world will have to rethink their entire approach to supply chains, moving from linear to circular models. Moreover, circularity is not only about returns. It’s also about the front end of the supply chain – procurement, provenance of product and ethical sourcing. Only then can a supply chain be truly sustainable, ethical, and circular. The technology challenge Let’s not pretend that circular supply chains are going to be easy or cheap to implement. They will, for example, require investment in new infrastructure to change the way that goods are stored and delivered. Let’s also not forget that one of the roles of packaging is to make stacking and storage easier, and also to keep perishable products properly preserved. Changing the way that we ship these goods around the world and to their final destination will be an enormous challenge. How we move IT towards circularity lies in technologies such as knowledge databases, or knowledge graphs, which allow for many-to-many relationships with data, thus moving away from linear, point-to-point, start and end processes. This is critical if enterprises are to make a switch to circularity sooner rather than later. For example, integrating AI and machine learning can give a supply chain its ‘eyes and ears’. Connecting physical technology like smart sensors and cameras to back-end systems will introduce ‘guaranteed’ transparency, making provenance and ethical operations visible in real-time. Machine learning increases demand accuracy, which makes supply more efficient, reducing unnecessary production and thus waste. ing new models of reuse, where creative use of new and existing technologies will be key. Playing into growing consumer interest in ethical supply chains, returnable packaging company CupClub tracks cups, lids and cases using RFID technology, enabling consumers to see where their packaging travels and ends up. Technology can also educate and incentivise people to engage in recycling, reusing and reducing their waste – like QR codes that inform customers that their packaging is recyclable. Future supply chain technology is also likely to have a strong emphasis on social media integration, which will be key for educating and informing consumers about new ways to reduce and reuse, while incentivising them to take part in sustainability initiatives. Beyond technology But the real challenge is not technological. If we are to create truly circular supply chains, it will require a thoroughly holistic approach; one that brings retailers, manufacturers and customers together in a fully integrated way, so that each one understands their own unique responsibilities in winning the war on waste. While supply chain technology today is focused on issues such as optimising journeys and enabling just-in-time delivery, the next generation of tools will be about bringing together these disparate groups in the shared endeavour of reducing waste. To ensure sustainable, circular supply chains actually make an impact and improve a business from the ground up – and to sell in sustainability to any naysaying board members – thinking outside the box is key. The name of the game is establishing new, sustainable business models which bring new revenue possibilities. This could be taking accountability for no-longer-wanted products – let’s take servers for example. Businesses could up the possibility for customers to return their old server and get a discount on a new one, and then involve suppliers in refashioning and repurposing the old server to create a new line of second hand business. This way, every player in the supply chain benefits, while also doing the right thing for the planet. Only then can organisations create a triple bottom line structure that delivers unmatched business value. Everyone has a role to play in building a cleaner, less wasteful world. We have a golden opportunity to deliver a better future with today’s technologies – all it takes is the will to make it happen. Businesses and consumers alike should do everything they can to not throw this golden opportunity away.

Consumer giants are trying switch to other materials and convince customers to use refillable containers, but those efforts face big challenges

It’s been nine months since the startup Loop, brainchild of TerraCycle founder and CEO Tom Szaky, took the world by storm with its zero-waste circular delivery service. If you’re like us at TriplePundit, you’re probably wondering how it is doing as it nears the one-year mark. While the company does not disclose its total number of subscribers, Szaky gave a candid update at last week’s Bloomberg Sustainable Business Summit in New York.

Adding one brand per day

First announced at the World Economic Forum in January, Loop made its initial start with pilots in metro New York and Paris. Ever since, Szaky says, business has been quickly growing. Today, Loop is available in select areas in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maryland and Washington, D.C. It is in the process of expanding throughout the United States, as well as the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and Japan, Szaky said. And with comments such as “When is Loop coming to Illinois….I can’t wait!” sprinkled across Loop’s Instagram account, it seems expansion can’t come soon enough for many. Loop’s value proposition is enabling the consumer “to responsibly consume a variety of commonly used products from leading consumer brands in customized, brand-specific durable packaging delivered in a specially designed reusable shipping tote.” When finished with the product, the packaging is collected, cleaned, refilled and reused. There are no monthly membership fees or subscriptions, although customers do pay a refundable one-time deposit to borrow the reusable container. “Loop will not just eliminate the idea of packaging waste, but greatly improve the product experience and shopping convenience,” Szaky said at the launch. The initial coalition included 28 partners such as Procter & Gamble, Unilever, PepsiCo, Mondelez International, Nestlé, Danone and UPS.  Today, the list has grown to 42 partners selling brands such as Häagen-Dazs, Tide, Tropicana and Colgate. Essential to Loop’s success is its ability to offer consumers the same choice they would find in brick-and-mortar retail stores, and the Loop management team knew that quickly scaling up offerings was key. According to Szaky, Loop is now adding approximately one new brand per day. The brands themselves seem to be having fun with new packaging design, such as Procter & Gamble, whose ProPantene shampoo and conditioner containers are emblazoned with “I Reuse….I Love the Oceans.”

Shoppers love ice cream from Loop, but not for the reason expected

While the products do come shipped in reusable Loop containers, critics on social media have pointed out that some of the products that Loop sells—including detergent pods and wipes—contain plastic that is not recyclable. But it turns out that this may not be relevant to the majority of Loop consumers: Only a third of Loop subscribers joined the service based on sustainability concerns, Szaky said; the majority claim to have joined because of the model itself, including its convenience, something that even Szaky found surprising—and, it seems, a little frustrating given his zero-waste zeal. To date, the company says beverages in glass bottles such as Evian and Tropicana have been among the top-selling products among Loop subscribers in France. In the United States, top sellers include Clorox wipes, Cascade dishwasher detergent tabs, Pantene shampoo and Häagen-Dazs ice cream.

A few habits that throw this circular economy model for a loop

Another interesting learning that Szaky shared was that while Loop customers want similar prices for products they would buy in traditional stores, they have not been price sensitive to the deposit fees. “It’s exciting that consumers are willing to temporarily invest in the reusable containers,” he remarked. While temporary, the cost of the containers, in some cases, are not inexpensive. Take two of the top-selling products: The container for Clorox Wipes requires a $10 deposit, while the deposit for the Häagen-Dazs ice cream container is $5. Only time will tell if the model will continue to be successful, especially as more and more companies, from Unilever to Nestlé, pledge to reduce their use of plastic packaging in the next 10 to 20 years. For now, however, this service seems to be a model in high demand.

Before many households had refrigerators, milk was typically delivered directly to doorsteps all over the United States, first by horse-and-cart and later by truck. While from today’s perspective it may seem like a less efficient delivery approach, it did have one major benefit we can emulate in 2019: the milk bottles were made of glass. These empty glass bottles were collected, cleaned, and reused over and over again. Today, most consumers buy their milk in plastic containers or plastic-coated cardboard – which go straight into garbage or recycling bins. 80% of all plastic ends up in our oceans or landfills; there are 6.9 billion tons of plastic waste on the planet. Unfortunately, recycling isn’t anywhere near efficient enough to cope with growing economies, and it’s predicted that we’ll run out of landfill space in some states within 25 years. To address these ominous forecasts, an innovative recycling company called TerraCycle earlier this year invested $10 million in Loop, a start-up aiming to revolutionize the way we reuse packaging and make e-commerce a zero-waste operation.

How Does Loop Work?

Known as the “milkman model,” this closed-loop initiative operates through the following steps:

• Step 1: Consumers set up a Loop account from which they can order groceries from all participating brands via the Loop platform or associated stores such as Walgreens or Kroger.
• Step 2: Purchases are delivered to the consumer’s door using Loop’s waste-free delivery system.
• Step 3: Consumers pay a small deposit to receive their shopping in reusable, sustainable packaging made from glass, metal, and plastic.
• Step 4: Empty containers are collected and returned to Loop HQ for cleaning, refilling and future reuse.

Other companies like The Wally Shop and Infinity Goods offer similar services but Loop is making waves with over 25 high-profile partnerships including Nestle, Unilever, Procter & Gamble, and PepsiCo. Despite the additional round of shipping, this process is estimated to be 75% better for the environment thanks to the colossal savings made on materials and energy compared with single-use packaging.

What are the Advantages of Adopting the Milkman Model?

For consumers, it’s waste-free shopping made easy. For the brands, upfront costs include redesign and the development of hardy packaging which must be able to withstand multiple washes while still looking clean and untampered. However, these expenses are outweighed by positive brand awareness and the fact that customers will develop long-term loyalty to participating brands via a platform like Loop. This service is currently available in select zip codes in a handful of U.S. states and France, with plans to launch soon in Canada, Germany, Japan, and the UK. But could closed-loop initiatives like this be applied on an industrial scale? The automotive industry is leading the way with reusable packaging, in part because the robust materials provide safer transit for car parts and safer working environments for employees. General Motors, for example, reports it has made 142 of its facilities landfill-free, including 79 manufacturing plants worldwide. For manufacturers interested in applying the milkman model, the first step is to examine all packaging throughout your organization, from the wrapping used for consumables in the facility kitchen to the large pallets used to transport manufacturing equipment. Procurement can then work with suppliers to eliminate single-use packaging wherever possible and investigate the cost of the logistics involved in shipping empty containers back to suppliers. Whether a company such as Loop will one day offer this sort of service on an industrial scale remains to be seen. Reusable packaging is achievable, but brands that are truly committed to waste-free packaging will need to formalize their policies and standards across the board, collaborate with their suppliers, and make an upfront investment in sustainable packaging.