Davos 2019: TerraCycle launches reusable and refillable packaging initiative for e-commerce
TerraCycle pepsico Nestle Unilever BIC Include USA Danone P&G Mondelez International Loop Mars Petcare The Body Shop Coca-Cola European Partners Jacobs Douwe Egberts Lesieur Beiersdorf People Against Dirty Nature’s Path Thousand Fell Greenhouse Grilliance Burlap & Barrel Single Origin Spices The Clorox Company RB Reinberger Nut Butter CoZie Preserve
24 Jan 2019 --- Recycling specialist TerraCycle has launched a first-of-its-kind reusable packaging home delivery service in partnership with a host of leading global brands. Taking place today in Davos at the World Economic Forum (WEF), the launch fuses e-commerce and sustainability in a way that a green-minded public has long been calling for. Consumers will be able to use durable, reusable or fully recyclable packaging made from materials such as alloys, glass and engineered plastics. Could this be a step closer to saying goodbye to single-use plastics?
Innovation in the booming e-commerce market must, arguably, go further than recyclability. Within the online groceries market alone, growth is occurring at a double-digit rate in the past years. However, the levels of waste in e-commerce packaging remain high, which coupled with extended fuel usage for personal deliveries, makes it a market with sustainability issues. Within the booming industry, only 2 percent of companies use reusable or returnable packaging models, according to Jan Berbee, Partner in the reusable packaging for e-commerce startup, RePack, tells PackagingInsights.
Global giant P&G will be introducing reusable and refillable packaging on some of its most popular products.
The freshly launched Loop is a global packaging and shopping circular solution which aims to offer an improved environmental performance compared to current e-commerce solutions. The basic premise of the initiative is that consumers will order their product, receive it via shipping then after use it will be picked up at their homes. The products are then cleaned, refilled and either reused or recycled. Available products range from detergent and toothbrushes to ice-cream and peanut butter. The platform will launch in Paris and New York in the spring of 2019.
Among the brands taking part are Procter & Gamble (P&G), Nestlé, PepsiCo, Unilever, Mars Petcare, The Clorox Company, The Body Shop, Coca-Cola European Partners, Mondelēz International, Danone, Jacobs Douwe Egberts, Lesieur, BIC, Beiersdorf, RB, People Against Dirty, Nature’s Path, Thousand Fell, Greenhouse, Grilliance, Burlap & Barrel Single Origin Spices, Reinberger Nut Butter, CoZie and Preserve.
“As a response to the global challenge in managing waste and the opportunity to improve consumers’ experience, a group of committed global brands, retailers, infrastructure companies, along with the World Economic Forum, have come together to create a new way to more responsibly consume products,” says TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky.
“Loop will not just eliminate the idea of packaging waste, but greatly improve the product experience and the convenience in how we shop. Through Loop, consumers can now responsibly consume products in specially designed durable, reusable or fully recyclable packaging made from materials like alloys, glass and engineered plastics. When a consumer returns the packaging, it is refilled, or the content is reused or recycled through groundbreaking technology.”
Personal care
Global giant P&G will be introducing reusable and refillable packaging on some of its most popular products. An array of the company’s brands, including Pantene, Tide and Oral-B, will be participating.
- Pantene is introducing a unique bottle made with lightweight, durable aluminum for its shampoo and conditioner.
- Tide's purclean plant-based laundry detergent will be available in a new durable bottle made from stainless steel with a simple twist-cap and easy pour spout.
- Cascade has developed a new ultra-durable packaging for Cascade ActionPacs which enable consumers to skip the prewash.
- Ariel and Febreze are participating with durable, refillable packaging that is also available in stores, testing a new direct-to-consumer refill and reuse model.
- Oral-B will test circular solutions for both its electric rechargeable and manual toothbrushes.
- Oral-B CLIC, a new iconic design for manual toothbrushes features a durable handle equipped with a unique mechanism that allows consumers to only exchange the brush head. The Loop platform will recycle used brush heads for both manual and electrical brushes.
- Pampers and Always will test collecting used hygiene products from consumer homes for further recycling using ground-breaking proprietary technology developed by Fater, a P&G and Angelini Group Joint Venture. The technology turns used absorbent hygiene products into secondary raw materials for higher value applications.