Loop is now a reality in nine states in the northeastern United States, Washington, and plans to grow more in that country, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom and Japan. In less than a year of operation, Loop , a circular purchasing platform for consumer products designed not to generate packaging waste - developed by Tom Szaky and his team - has had an undeniable receptivity on the part of several brand-owned companies and retail chains around the world; and it is increasingly welcomed and used by final consumers, who see it as an efficient way to contribute to the mitigation of the environmental impact of waste. (More about Loop in this article from Mundo PMMI). From New York, Tom Szaky spoke with Mundo PMMI and explained the dimension that the platform has been charging. He also referred to the challenges and priorities that have been established for its consolidation and strengthening in different countries and regions of the world, and its future in other regions of the globe. PMMI World: Some define Loop as one of the most disruptive advances in Circular Economy and packaging to date. What is the balance after these eight months after its launch and has it been proven whether our society is ready for Loop? Tom Szaky: Loop is an engine for producers to create reusable versions of their products and for retail chains to integrate those offers, both physically, in stores, and in their online sales. There are many ways to assess the success of Loop and one of them is the number of people who are joining the initiative, that is, how large this ecosystem is becoming. And I must say that since we opened we are adding a brand every two business days; The number of new revenues is astronomical, it grows very quickly with some medium-sized brands and startups , but also with many large companies. The same goes for retail companies, we are receiving a retail firm every three weeks. In fact, in March of this year we will be going out with Tesco in the United Kingdom, with the Loblaws food and pharmacy chain in Canada in June, in Japan in November, and also in Germany. Australia is also on its way. Another way to measure the success of Loop is the availability to consumers. I am very pleased to say that this year, both in the United States and in France, you can see the products in the physical stores of retailers and they will be able to return the containers to the store, which is very important to be able to take the model to great scale. Additionally, retail chains such as Carrefour are inserting Loop products into their e-commerce pages, and the cost will be associated with shipping and collection. This brings great operational challenges and is the result of trials conducted during 2019. In general, what we have seen is that consumers are responding very well to the Loop model, and this is the reason we will continue to grow. In summary, today we have around 200 brands and we are adding a brand every two days, we also have about 50 retailers and we are adding one every three weeks. PMMI World: What is Loop's biggest challenge today?  Tom Szaky: Our biggest challenge and priority is to make Loop feel as “disposable” as possible, that is to say that the consumer lives the experience of feeling like on a platform exactly the same as what he experiences when he consumes a disposable product. One of the things that people have told us in the first presentations, and one of the main challenges, is that they would like to see more and more Loop products available in the market. In the beginning the products were only obtained online and the user bought them by this means; Now, through the retail chains, it is possible to find the products in the stores, which allows the buyer to acquire both the Loop products and the others that he usually buys. This is why it is important that the product feels disposable but works towards the consumer as reusable. This is what leads us to focus on the disposable experience, because that is what the user is looking for.   Loop is a circular buying platform for mass consumption products designed not to generate packaging waste, developed by Tom Szaky and his team.   PMMI World: The difference between the generation of millennials and the most senior generates an impact? Is it possible that it is easier to convince a millennial to buy through Loop than a Baby Boomer?   Tom Szaky: It's an interesting approach, but I don't share it. I think millennials join an initiative like Loop because they are tired of garbage; They have lived their entire lives using disposables and want to get out of that and do something different. But, in the case of a Baby Boomers or the parents of a millennial , the experience is very familiar, since that way the purchases worked before. Loop returns them to their childhood where there was no garbage, this is why an interest is generated for them, and for these reasons arouses emotion in both generations. PMMI World: What is Loop's biggest opportunity today? Tom Szaky: The main focus is to attract a large number of fast-moving consumer products and many retail chains that sell their products on the platform. Secondly, it is reaching fast food restaurants, and then there would be the clothing sector. PMMI World: How is Loop attracting fast food companies? Tom Szaky: We are now working with one of the largest fast food brands in the world, developing a type of reusable potato chip packaging, so that when ordering the customer can choose the reusable option and get an aesthetically pleasing packaging , beautiful, that works under the same method. PMMI World: What has been the main reason why TerraCycle has managed to convince big brands like Nestlé, Unilever, Pepsico, Danone - to name a few - to join and be part of Loop? Tom Szaky: I think that basically there have been two factors, which occurred simultaneously: the moment and the immense capacity that Loop offers to innovate and turn products into something exciting, with aesthetically beautiful packaging, that work. Those two factors together have been tremendously important for the development we are seeing today for Loop. PMMI World: What could you say about the innovations that Loop has encouraged in the design of reusable packaging?   Tom Szaky: I think consumers want to have the feeling and experience of disposable. The important thing about returning ownership of the container to the manufacturing company is that it becomes an asset, and being an asset manufacturers can make more significant investments in it. Loop gave brands and their designers the ability to achieve in the packaging aspects that they had always wanted to do and that the system had not allowed them basically due to cost factors. PMMI World: What is the power of the packaging reusability model? Tom Szaky: Reusability is an idea that everyone understands; Children today understand packaging more than its contents, they know that garbage is wrong and that recycling is fine, although they cannot explain anything about palm oil, or climate change. PMMI World: How was the task of convincing the consumer that reusability is possible? Tom Szaky: I think showing them that it works; Initially the consumer doubts, and once they see it in operation, everyone believes: none of this is new, this is how it was done around the 1930s. It is not impossible to sell this concept, it is simply to refresh an old idea. PMMI World: Could you mention any statistics that reflect the impact of the reusability model on packaging in terms of carbon footprint reduction? Tom Szaky: This depends on the packaging, of course. Statistically, around the first three years, the impact is equal to that of the disposable model. In the first use, the reuse is worse than in the case of the disposable; at all three uses it is the same; at five uses it is 15% better than waste; and in the tenth use it is 75% better. These are statistics of our allies and Loop, which we have also obtained through life cycle analysis, LCA. PMMI World: Infrastructure has been a very important challenge for you. Tom Szaky: Yes it has been a great challenge, but not the greatest. We are now present in France, in the United States, we are going to inaugurate Loop in the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan and Germany this year. We have very good infrastructure partners and with very good capital, so this has been a setback, but it is not an issue that cannot be overcome. PMMI World: What is the next step in the global expansion of Loop? Do you contemplate the possibility of being in Latin America soon? Tom Szaky: We are looking to enter Latin America, in Brazil we have been with TerraCycle for many years and we believe that by 2021 we will be there, with the Loop model. PMMI World: Having a reusable product means that it has an important value that exceeds the value of disposables, if the brands gave a value to the single-use container, do you think this would promote collection and recycling? Tom Szaky: Yes, definitely. The more value a single-use container is given, the greater its recyclability. PMMI World: TerraCycle has been recognized for recycling difficult materials. Do you think that migrating to reusability can affect recyclability? Tom Szaky: TerraCycle is growing very fast, we had an organic growth of 30% this year. The two initiatives are growing and have different roles; I believe that reusability has a projection towards the future and recyclability is more related to what we are doing in the present. The main focus on the production of disposable packaging is to make them as economical as possible, and when the packaging is cheaper the overall cost is reduced and it ends with a more complex packaging in terms of material, as in the case of multilayer. In my opinion that is the biggest problem, that the main objective of the brands, which is to reduce costs, goes in reverse of the recyclability of the packaging. PMMI World: How do you see the future? What is the greatest contribution that could be made to mitigate the impact of waste? Tom Szaky: For us it's about creating more reusable alternatives for the products and making them more available for more retailers to distribute. Our way of calculating success is by measuring how much users migrate from single-use containers to multi-use products and packages. That is our goal in general.

In this interview, TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky talks to Arnaud Meysselle, CEO of REN Clean Skincare about the later's partnership with Loop - TerraCycle's global circular shopping platform. REN Clean Skincare has a substantial sustainability platform. Please tell us about it. REN Clean Skincare has adopted a holistic approach to sustainability, especially since pledging to be Zero Waste by 2021. There’s no silver bullet to sustainability, but the changes we've made demonstrate a commitment toward reducing waste through the use of recycled materials and recyclable and refillable packaging solutions. We’ve included as much PCR as is currently viable in the packaging of our latest launches, Clean Screen Mineral SPF, Non-Drying Spot Treatment and Clean Jelly Oil Cleanser, which have been designed with circularity in mind. We’ve also used reclaimed ocean plastic sourced by TerraCycle® in the production of a 100% recycled bottle, raising awareness of a larger climate waste problem. With Loop, we’re aiming to avoid waste creation altogether, providing refillable solutions that allow customers to return their packaging to be cleaned, refilled, and delivered time and time again. How did the partnership with TerraCycle and its circular shopping platform Loop start? Our partnership with Loop is an essential - and exciting - step forward in our pledge to become Zero Waste by 2021. REN Clean Skincare first partnered with leading recycling innovator TerraCycle in 2018 as one of the first prestige skincare brands to offer a product in a 100% recycled PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) bottle, 20% of which is reclaimed from the ocean. Showcased in our award-winning Atlantic Kelp and Magnesium Body Wash and Lotion, with more packs to follow, the reclaimed plastic content is collected from oceans, beaches, rivers, lakes and the banks of those waterways by global NGOs mobilized through TerraCycle’s network. How does the partnership with Loop fit with REN’s priorities? Loop’s vision to create a circular refillable system aligned with our Zero Waste initiative so well that we were the first premium beauty brand to sign up. A subscription service can be daunting for some customers, but to ours, who engage with our sustainability ethos, we are delighted to offer a mess-free, convenient refill option that keeps our packaging from becoming waste in the first place. What can consumers expect from REN Clean Skincare in Loop? Six of our bestselling products will be available in glass bottles, making them easier to clean and refill, with a single-material plastic pump, which is easier to recycle than standard pumps with metal springs. Loop has an entire team dedicated to creating stringent design specifications for Loop packages to ensure they are durable, transport well, hold temperature, and protect the products inside. With this collaboration, consumers can expect the same luxury products with clean, high-quality ingredients, now in beautiful, durable packaging with the added premium service and convenience of delivery and pickup. What was REN’s process with its packaging in order to join Loop? As the first premium beauty brand to join Loop, there was an element of learning together. We were lucky to have a transparent relationship where we could test packaging and adapt on the go. Many ideas and packaging concepts later, we have our refillable glass bottles that are durable enough to be cleaned and reused over and over, while our pumps are being dismantled and recycled. With advancing technology, the aim is that these pumps can be cleaned and reused alongside our bottles before eventually being recycled. However, it’s an ongoing process. With Loop, we will be continually reviewing and testing our refillable solutions to ensure they are compatible with the Loop circular model while staying true to the REN Clean Skincare brand. What are the learnings to carry into 2020, be they issues of packaging design, supply chain, logistics, marketing, public opinion, or educating consumers around the circular economy? Education is the key factor in minimising waste. We know our customers are keen to lessen their environmental impact. As recycling methods differ from country to country, and even council to council, it can be hard to find relevant information. It’s up to us to lobby councils to become more waste-conscious, while also designing packaging that can be recycled more easily within current facilities and educating customers through our communications to dispose of it correctly to ensure it reaches the appropriate recycling stream. In addition to Loop, what are REN’s other plans for innovating for the future? We have exciting upcoming projects that fulfill the three key areas of our Zero Waste pledge. With Loop, we explore refillable and reusable solutions, but we’re also working to redesign our packaging into fully recyclable vessels, with no metal pumps and single-type plastic. We’ve broken new ground with Infinity Recycling, which involves the launch of a new pack using circular polymers certified by SABIC, a global leader in pioneering sustainable material solutions by facilitating reuse of the planet’s natural resources. We are proud to be the first luxury beauty brand to support this groundbreaking recycling technology that is capable of regenerating plastic waste to deliver certified recycled plastic identical to virgin, a great addition to current technologies. Our upcoming launches will maximise the use of PCR plastic usage and recyclability, working towards our pledge of being Zero Waste by 2021. What is your advice for other companies (big and small) who want to design into the circular economy but don’t know where to start? It’s not being wrong you should fear - it’s not trying. With new technologies constantly arising, sustainability can be complex and takes constant review to stay up to date. At REN Clean Skincare our main ethos was Clean to Skin and we have proudly evolved by adding Clean to Planet with a 50/50 importance. If you build it into your brand, it will soon become intrinsic to your processes. Remember, there is not one solution to sustainability, the approach you take will depend on your vision of sustainability, your consumer and your product. Don’t follow other brands for their action, make your actions as part of your product offering and brand purpose.

Tom Szaky fell in love with tackling big problems while he was still in college: He founded his first company as a freshman at Princeton. Then he dropped out his sophomore year. "The irony in this country is if you leave one of those places, your credibility actually goes up," says the 38-year-old CEO of TerraCycle, who immigrated to Canada and then the U.S. in the 1980s. "I was born in communism in Budapest, and we left effectively as political refugees," he says. "I went from effectively communism to the heartland of capitalism and fell in love with entrepreneurship for all the obvious reasons." Originally created to recycle food waste from university dining halls into fertilizer, TerraCycle, based in Trenton, N.J., has grown into a company worth more than $20 million. In 2019, TerraCycle introduced Loop, a platform that harkens back to the simple days of the milkman. Loop collects and refills reusable containers for everyday household products — from Hellman's mayo to Tropicana orange juice and Tide detergent, among other big-name brands. 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 them. Szaky's ascent from refugee to sustainability tech leader has not been without some inevitable stumbles along the way, but he notes how crucial that is to the process of entrepreneurship. "If you're a young entrepreneur, it's a really exciting path you may embark on. It's gonna be a ridiculous amount of work," he notes. "Chances are you will fail multiple times, so be prepared for that. Now the payoff is amazing. You get to really manifest your dream."  

Proponents of the circular economy say recycling isn’t enough to solve our waste issue. But how far are consumers willing to go with reusable packaging?

The circular economy is creating a buzz as startups pop up across the globe. But innovators are counting on consumers to opt-in, and behavior change isn't always easy. I gave the latest circular economy trend a try and found that it wasn't what I expected.   In 2014, I made a New Year's resolution to stop purchasing beverages in single-use plastic containers. A year later, I included snack food. But when I tried to go plastic-free, I was stumped. Plastic is everywhere. My local grocery store sold broccoli wrapped in plastic. I couldn't find the food, supplies, or things I wanted, without throwaway packaging — and I wasn't willing to part with my essentials. Since then, I've been keeping an eye out for innovative ways to reduce disposable plastic — a growing interest for consumers, to which innovators are responding.

Innovators Lead the Way

Some companies are making products from recycled materials, like Adidas, who partnered with Parley for the Oceans to make sneakers from ocean-plastic yarn. Others opt for making products that can be repaired, like FairPhone, which makes smartphones with modular, upgradeable components. Companies like Loop, GreenToGo, and Humankind aim to reduce packaging waste by replacing disposable containers with tough ones and creating a system to return and reuse.   "The real garbage problem comes from the idea of disposables, and that is where we need to start." ANTHONY ROSSI, VICE PRESIDENT OF GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT, LOOP   Unlike the linear "take-and-trash" economy, the circular economy, also known as circularity, strives to cut waste completely while embracing alternatives like refurbishment, repair, and reuse. Experts argue that "recycling" doesn't always come into play because circularity isn't only about reducing trash. It takes into account resources. Recycling reduces an object down to the "material" level. The inherent value gained from other resource inputs like design, manufacturing, shipping, etc. is lost when an item is recycled. Proponents of circularity say "recycling is a last resort." Being steps ahead of me, tossing an item in the trash, wasn't even on their mind. "The idea of the circular economy is that we need to be preventing waste. Solid waste, but also waste that comes from inefficient systems or inefficient design," says Jennifer Russell, Assistant professor at Virginia Tech Department of Sustainable Biomaterials. She was a lead author on a UN report that quantified the benefits and impact of transitioning to a circular economy. She says while reuse and repair may be the most energy-efficient options, remanufacturing and refurbishment isn't too far behind. "Even in the most intensive remanufacturing process, it's still significantly less than the effort and energy required to make a brand new one. If we start to design (products) better, we can get more efficient at those circular processes, and we can reduce the impacts even more," Russell says, adding that of the products she surveyed, refurbishing industrial digital printers had the highest impact, which was still lower than building a new one.   Illustration by Andrew Brumagen / Freethink.

Changing Behavior

When I was in Durham, North Carolina, I gave GreenToGo a try. You can bring your own container to restaurants for leftovers, but the FDA doesn't allow restaurants to prepare take-out food in containers customers provide. Their only option is disposable containers, often of the plastic clam-shell variety. GreenToGo created a workaround. They stock restaurants with reusable take-out containers, then wash and sanitize them after they are returned by patrons at stations across downtown Durham. I ordered a sandwich from the restaurant Toast, to-go. Ordering was easy. For people that frequent downtown, it is just as easy to slip the container in the return bin during the next visit. Being a visitor, I made a special detour. Not everyone is as willing as I am to try a new system. Anthony Rossi, Loop's Vice President of Global Development, says that behavior change is one of the biggest challenges they face at Loop. The startup launched last year and is still in the early stages. "We don't believe in garbage, and we want to eliminate it," Rossi says. The company partnered with big brands like Clorox, Glad, and Haagen Dazs. Through a mail-order service, Loop offers patrons their favorite food or household supplies in durable — and admittedly adorable — reusable containers for a deposit. Then, they take the empty containers back, refund the deposit, and reuse the containers.   The US produces approximately 234lb of plastic waste per person per year. Studies show that if present trends continue there will be 12 billion metric tons of plastic in landfills around the world by 2050. Photo Courtesy of Pixabay. "What remains to be seen, and something worth studying, and I think that it's true, even if you are making it more durable and cleaning it multiple times and shipping something slightly heavier, it's still going to create a net benefit from an environmental impact perspective, relative to if we just keep making things brand new," Russell says. Rossi says companies have honed their production and distribution down to a smooth, efficient process. Asking them to change... well, it takes a lot of convincing. What's more, Loop is also asking consumers to consume a product differently. "Innately people want to do the right thing. People don't like garbage," Rossi says, adding that, "Behavior change doesn't come easy. If we tried this three years ago, I'm not sure we would have had the reception we have."

Recycling Won’t Solve the Plastic Problem

Loop is a corporate startup of TerraCycle. Rossi says the idea was born during a company conversation about innovative recycling efforts. CEO Tom Szaky asked the team if recycling was the goal they should have in 50 years. The resounding answer was "no." "Recycling everything and making everything out of recycled content is a utopian idea. We are very far from that. The real garbage problem comes from the idea of disposables, and that is where we need to start," Rossi says.   A repurposed aluminum bottle for laundry detergent. Image courtesy of Loop. Daniella Russo, CEO of Think Beyond Plastic, says recycling plastic is a challenge. Today's low oil prices render new plastic the cheapest and most durable option for packaging. "Recycling (plastic) is non-viable economically because the recycled material is more expensive than the use of virgin plastic," she says, adding that metal, glass, and paper are economically viable because manufacturing them costs more than recycled material. What's more, plastic is a catch-22. It is durable and cheap but comes with a hefty waste burden and potential public health concerns due to chemicals that can leach into food or beverages stored in plastic containers. Think Beyond Plastics helps organizations find alternatives to plastic. "We're not against recycling, we just don't think it will solve the plastic problem. Not everything needs to be packaged and overpackaged in plastic," she says.

Eliminating Plastics Could Bring Additional Challenges

Still, plastic has its upsides. For example, a product's weight drives negative environmental impacts — heavier objects require more energy to produce and ship. But heavier doesn't always mean reusable, unless there is a system designed to collect and clean them. Recently, packaging designs have been evolving to be lighter and thinner. "Light-weighting" packages use fewer materials and less energy to manufacture and transport, when compared per unit, such as thinner plastic water bottles. Thin plastic wrap, which is so hard to avoid at the supermarket, has been shown to reduce food waste in commercial settings, Russell says. (At home, however, glass containers or Tupperware will work just fine.) Finally, plastic is durable and cheap. Companies can easily have it designed to meet their needs. So, it is a balancing act. Tipping the scale away from plastics will solve some problems, but could present additional challenges. I sat down to give Loop a try earlier this week. I planned to order my household essentials — granola, dried fruits, shampoo, laundry detergent, etc. I'm a sucker for attractive packaging — and Loop nailed that one. I'll admit, doing laundry would be a lot more fun with a cute aluminum bottle of laundry soap. But as I added items to my virtual shopping cart, the cost, plus deposit made my jaw drop. Also, I couldn't find enough products that I wanted that would put me into the minimum order size for free shipping. The $15 shipping fee for small orders was the final dealbreaker. Rossi says there are 300 more products in development. I'm keeping an eye on Loop's progress and plan to try their subscription option when they have more of my favorites.

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.”

Like many environmentalists, Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle, believes reuse must play a large role in solving eco-challenges, but he doesn’t think sustainability guilt will be enough to change behaviors. Aesthetics, however, might. At a session at the NRF Big Show, Mr. Szaky provided some early learnings on Loop, a service the waste recycling company developed that allows shoppers to purchase orange juice, laundry detergent and other CPG items in reusable containers. Users put down a refundable deposit via the Loop website when ordering. Loop delivers the items in reusable glass or metal bottles to shoppers’ doors and then retrieves the empties for cleaning and reuse. Participating retailers, including Carrefour, Kroger and Walgreens, act as pickup and drop-off points.   Mr. Szaky assumed consumers would embrace Loop due to sustainability concerns. He admits, however, that it’s hard to overcome the “unparalleled convenience and affordability” that came when the “disposable lifestyle” was commercialized in the 1950s. “Even with all that awareness, even the enlightened folks are constantly voting over and over again for a disposable world with their money,” he said. Encouragingly, many consumers are embracing Loop because of the aesthetic appeal from upgraded packaging that includes stainless steel. “Most people come into it because of beautiful design, then love that it is sustainable,” said Mr. Szaky. In some cases, upgraded packaging adds features. A Häagen-Dazs stainless-steel reusable in the Loop program is thermally insulated to not only keep the ice cream frozen longer but to keep the surface warm to the touch. The concave vessel also makes the ice cream easier to scoop. Said Mr. Szaky, “It’s just a way better overall experience.” Some containers may even help improve flavors. Coca Cola, which is bringing back its original iconic package, said Coke tastes best in a glass, followed by aluminum and finally PET plastic. Convenience may also play a role in converting shoppers. With hand or dish soap, many households already pour store-bought bottles into different containers. Mr. Szaky stresses that the ease of returning reusables has to match the ease of disposables. “Our overall mission here is to give consumers a disposable experience where they throw out the packaging, don’t clean it, don’t sort it — a completely disposable experience. But act reusable behind the scenes,” he said.

• Kroger and Loop Announce Exclusive Grocery Retail Partnership – Loop
• Can Loop make packaging reusability a reality at scale? – RetailWire

The company has partnered with PopSockets and The Clorox Co.’s Glad business in January to launch new recycling programs.   January 21, 2020   Trenton, New Jersey-based TerraCycle has announced it has entered into new partnerships with Boulder, Colorado-based PopSockets and Oakland, California-based The Clorox Co.’s Glad business this January to launch new recycling programs.   With PopSockets, which makes expandable phone grips, mobile tech and lifestyle accessories, TerraCycle is creating a free recycling program for PopSockets products, packaging and cellphone cases, TerraCycle reports in a news release on the partnership. As an added incentive, for every shipment of PopSockets sent to TerraCycle through the PopSockets Recycling Program, collectors earn points that can be used for charity gifts or converted to cash and donated to the nonprofit, school or charitable organization of their choice.   According to a news release from TerraCycle, through the PopSockets Recycling Program, consumers can now send in the following products and packaging to be recycled for free: PopGrips, PopMinis, PopGrip Slide, PopWallet and PopWallet+, PopChains, PopSockets PopMounts, PopSockets packaging, Otter + Pop Phone Cases, PopThirst, PopGrip Lips, PopGrip Mirror and PopGrip AirPods Holder, PopStation and any brand of cellular phone case.   TerraCycle reports that people can sign up for the program on its website and mail in the accepted waste using a prepaid shipping label. Once collected, the waste is broken down, separated by material and the plastics are cleaned and melted into hard plastic that can be remolded to make new recycled products. The PopSockets Recycling Program is open to any interested individual, school, office or community organization.   “Through the free recycling program, PopSockets is offering consumers a powerful, sustainable option to divert waste from landfills,” says TerraCycle CEO and Founder Tom Szaky. “By collecting and recycling items that are typically not recyclable, consumers are given the opportunity to think twice about what is recyclable and what truly is garbage.”   Also, TerraCycle has introduced recyclable food bags are now being integrated into TerraCycle’s Loop pilot program. Through this program, consumers can order products online and then receive and recycle the bags through a reusable steel container and return pouch. The partnership with Glad gives people convenient, in-home recycling for plastic bags, TerraCycle reports in a news release on that partnership.   “Glad’s purpose is to help consumers outsmart waste,” says Drew Kozlak, brand manager for Glad. “Offering responsible consumer product solutions is just one of the ways we’re committed to sustainability, so we’re really excited to explore this option that lets you easily recycle your food bags.”   The Glad brand’s participation in Loop advances The Clorox Co.’s packaging-related environmental, social and governance goals announced in October 2019 as part of its new IGNITE corporate strategy. As a signatory to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, the company has also pledged to pilot new business models and solutions like Loop that enable consumers to refill and reuse primary packaging.

The beauty industry is embracing innovative solutions for tackling waste–and winning more customer loyalty in the process.   There’s no doubt that the beauty industry does a lot of good, from enhancing personal hygiene and contributing to self-esteem, to giving back through charitable causes. There is also no way to ignore the environmental impact packaging from such a massive business has on the Earth. With plastic taking some 400 years to degrade and filling what’s believed to be more than 70 percent of landfills, the prediction that there’ll be more plastic in the ocean than fish by the year 2050 seems devastatingly plausible.   According to TerraCycle, a company that helps brands and individuals recycle and upcycle to reduce the level of unnecessary landfill waste, the global cosmetics industry produces 120 billion units of packaging annually, contributing to the loss of 18 million acres of forest each year.   Motivating consumers to recycle personal care items has challenges. For one, it takes extra effort since these products are often housed in bathrooms, away from the standard kitchen recycle bin. TerraCycle reports that 50 percent of people don’t recycle bathroom waste including shampoo and shower gel bottles because they feel it is inconvenient. That said, the industry has taken responsibility in the past and made an impact. “While statistics are dire, the beauty industry has had success stories with the banning of plastic microbeads in the U.S., U.K. and Canada but has plenty of room for improvement to become environmentally friendly,” says Alex Payne, a spokesperson for TerraCycle.   While swapping plastic for eco-friendly packaging may increase manufacturing costs initially, the increase can likely be offset with potential government subsidies and more customers who prefer sustainable packaging. In fact, the decision to "go green" in formulation, manufacturing practices and packaging could pay off big. Fifty-five percent of people polled in a recent report by J. Walter Thompson Intelligence titled The New Sustainability: Regeneration stated they are more likely to buy beauty products if the company claims to be sustainable. Interestingly, the same report found that 77 percent of people think products with a negative environmental impact should cost more.   Recycling and Reusing   A handful of beauty brands including Burt’s Bees, Eos Products, LimeLife by Alcone and L’Occitane have teamed up with TerraCycle to offer consum- ers easy and free options for recycling. Customers can access a prepaid shipping label from TerraCycle’s website, fill any box with the brand’s cleaned waste and ship it out to be remolded into new products. Herbal Essences, Josie Maran, Garnier, Tom’s of Maine and Weleda are also part of TerraCycle’s free recycling solution. For a fee, TerraCycle offers an option for other cosmetic brands in the form of their zero-waste box. Empty eye shadow palettes, lipstick tubes, makeup brushes and deodorant sticks can be shipped to the company, and thus saved from the landfill.   Just this year, TerraCycle launched an intiative called Loop to introduce a new circular shopping system in Paris and select states within the U.S. designed to eliminate plastic packaging. “The world is in a waste crisis and we can’t recycle our way out of it. We must attack the issue at the root cause, which is single-use packaging,” explains Eric Rosen, spokesperson for Loop. The concept of Loop is like a modern-day milkman delivery system, rebooted with loads of items from personal care to household. Consumers go online and choose the products they’d like to order, which arrive in durable, reusable containers inside Loop’s exclusively designed reusable tote. “Consumers will no longer own the packaging, only the product,” Rosen explains. Beauty brands with products available from Loop include Soapply, Herbal Essences, The Body Shop, Love Beauty and Planet, Ren Clean Skincare and Pantene.   After use, consumers schedule a pickup time and send Loop’s containers to be cleaned, sanitized and reused again and again, removing plastic and shipping cardboard from the equation completely. Loop is currently available in select states and planning on expanding to new cities in 2020. Loop is made possible with the help of partner retailers like Walgreens and Kroger in each market launched. There is no membership or subscription fee; the only cost a consumer incurs is for the product and a refundable deposit for containers, tote and shipping. Brands big and small are stepping up and making commitments to change. Both Unilever and L’Oreìal have promised by the year 2025 to convert plastic packaging to reusable, recyclable or compostable. Esteìe Lauder Companies are on board too, aiming to have 75 to 100 percent of packaging recyclable, reusable or refillable by 2025 and increasing postconsumer recycled material in packaging by up to 50 percent.   Procter & Gamble (P&G) plans to offer 100 percent recyclable packaging by 2030 and has partnered with Loop to offer refillable options. Just this year, P&G’s brand Pantene launched an aluminum bottle for shampoo and conditioner through the service.   Green Materials and Rethinking Plastic   Alternative material options are gaining popularity in the beauty packaging world as brands shift into a “greener” mindset. Bamboo, for example, is biodegradable, compostable and one of the fastest-growing plants in the world. Cosmetic companies like Antonym are using bamboo for eyeshadow and blush palettes and as the base for makeup brushes. Reusable and refillable, glass is an ideal alternative for companies looking to stay clean and minimal, such as RMS Beauty. Like glass, metal is another smart option. Kjaer Weis uses quality metal in makeup palettes meant to be kept and reused as part of the company’s refill system. Already recycled solutions such as paperboard made from recycled paper pulp and recycled plastic are widely used alternatives. Garnier Fructis has adapted this practice for its shampoo and conditioner bottles, with 50 percent of the material coming from postconsumer recycled plastic.   Since plastic isn’t going away overnight, savvy solutions for repurposing are key. The Body Shop recently launched Community Trade recycled plastic from Bengaluru, India, an initiative in partnership with Plastics for Change: “We don’t think plastic–as a material–is bad. In fact, it’s one of the most versatile materials ever made and, if used responsibly, can be sustainable. The problem is when we don’t value plastic and see it as trash, rather than something we can recycle and reuse,” says Lee Mann, global community trade manager for The Body Shop.   With this initiative, The Body Shop also recognizes the human side of the plastic story. The program helps to empower the marginalized waste pickers in Bengaluru, who can receive a fair price for their work, predictable income and access to better working conditions. By the end of the year, The Body Shop will have purchased 250 tons of Community Trade recycled plastic to use in the brand’s 250 milliliter haircare bottles, with plans to scale up purchasing to 900 tons within three years. The bottles created contain 100 percent recycled plastic (excluding the bottle caps) with 15 percent derived from Community Trade recycled plastic. “Brands are starting to be more sustainable and aware of their plastic use. We absolutely want to encourage other brands to start using recycled plastic picked by waste pickers,” Mann says.   It appears that all generations, not just millennials and Generation Z, are taking a stand on sustainability. According to J. Walter Thompson Intelligence’s recent sustainability study, 90 percent of adult consumers think companies and brands have a responsibility to take care of the planet and its people. The same report concluded 91 percent of adults think companies and brands that pollute the environment should be fined.   We have officially entered the age of “less is more.” Retailers must factor sustainability into the brands they work with–and they may even want to go a step further and green their own business. Manufacturers and retailers alike will win by delivering big on product, but light on packaging.

Old car seats. Cigarette butts. Used contact lenses. Most people think of this kind of detritus as future landfill, but Tom Szaky sees all this and more as recyclable. He’s the CEO and founder of TerraCycle and its newest initiative, Loop. Both are circular economy solutions that bridge the gaps between consumers, corporations, and waste. TerraCycle, founded in 2001, is a private recycling company that focuses on capturing and repurposing hard-to-recycle items by partnering with corporations and governments. Loop, launched publicly in mid-2019, takes on the problem of waste even more aggressively by working with brands to provide reusable packaging for common consumer products — think Tide laundry detergent or Häagen-Dazs ice cream. HBR asked Szaky, a global leader on reducing waste, about what he’s learned about how consumers, companies, and the government are — or aren’t — helping to reduce the massive amounts of waste humans create on a daily basis. In this edited interview, he also offers advice for business leaders who are interested in pursuing circular models. You’re sitting in a unique position between brands and consumers. What conversations are you having on each side? And which side is more resistant to the argument for sustainability? In the past two years I’ve seen a big shift in how consumers view waste. They’ve woken up to all the negatives of garbage and have started to see it as more of a crisis. That said, consumers are still voting with their dollar for things that benefit them personally, like convenience, performance, and overall price. They’re very vocal, but they’re not necessarily shifting their actual purchasing. Now, the vocal nature of the consumer alone does create a really exciting thing: Brands are waking up to this trend. Even more so, lawmakers are waking up and passing legislation that is affecting consumer product companies, like banning plastic bags and straws. In France in a few years, takeaway food packaging — plastic plates, cups, and utensils — will not be used if you eat in restaurants. These laws are then creating ripples across the consumer product retail industry. Is your feeling that governments are filling gaps that businesses have left? Or are they nudging consumers along, encouraging them to take the action they profess to support? It’s more complicated than that. Plastic straws weren’t seen as a problem up until maybe two years ago; then they became the icon of what’s wrong with plastic and disposability. After a huge public outcry, lawmakers started passing legislation banning the straw. Then companies proactively banned straws before even more legislation actually took hold. So a push from consumers led lawmakers to take action and then corporations jumped in. Now the plastic straw is effectively dying. But it took all three nudging each other. Tell me about the kinds of conversations you’re having with investors and other stakeholders as part of starting and leading two companies. What’s it like to be in the sustainability sphere, especially as a new startup? We started developing the concept for Loop just two years ago, which absolutely makes it a startup. TerraCycle is 16 years old and more of a growth company. So I have two different perspectives. TerraCycle has grown every year since the beginning, but in the past two years it has exploded. Corporations that wouldn’t have signed with us before are now signing on. And corporations that are signed on are going deeper. We grew our revenue 30% organically in 2019, compared to 2018, and expect the same in 2020. This is driven primarily by everything moving faster and companies wanting to go deeper versus big new surprises or new industries that have been asleep now waking up. In parallel, we also raised about $20 million for Loop Global and about $20 million for TerraCycle US. The key change there is that investors are looking much more for authentic impact investments. This is entirely correlated to garbage becoming a crisis. I don’t think Loop could have existed even five years ago because of the ask. Essentially, we’re asking CPG [consumer packaged goods] companies and retailers to fundamentally redesign packaging and accept major changes to the economics of packaged goods delivery — in other words, to treat packaging as an asset instead of a cost. Because of changing views on garbage, they’re increasingly willing to say yes to that. So what is happening now in the startup world is that more audacious ideas that solve these issues — like Loop — are on the table. Do you think existing companies are going to be able to make this shift? Or is it going to have to be new companies that are entering the market? Both. I think that we’re going to see some organizations die because of this. Others will pivot. And new companies will fill out the balance, just as with any shift. Look at tech, for instance. How many retailers survived it? Some did a great job, right? And some, like specialty big-box retailers — Toys “R” Us, Linens ’n Things, Staples in Europe, et cetera — died in the process. The key in this instance is to pivot and reinvent the organization, noting that this is easier said than done, as it takes tremendous short-term sacrifice. I believe that it won’t be industries or sectors that pivot versus die, but individual companies. Some organizations, like Nestlé, Unilever, and P&G, are taking these issues seriously and making the difficult decisions that may negatively impact the short term but lay the foundation to be relevant in the long term. Inversely, organizations — like many big food companies in the U.S. — are blind to what’s coming and will likely be overtaken by startups that are building their business models around the new reality that is emerging. When you’re having conversations with investors for TerraCycle or Loop, what are they concerned about? What do they want to know? There’s suddenly a lot more interest in this topic in the investment community, and I think investors would tell you that they really think sustainability is almost a requirement for the future. Fifteen years ago, when we were raising capital for TerraCycle, people invested because of impact and purpose; it was like they were considering giving money to an NGO. Today, investors would tell you that they really think sustainability is a requirement for the future. They are looking at the sustainability index not just as “Oh, I am feeling good about where I’m putting my money” — now it’s moved to sustainability being critical for business longevity. A lot of what we’ve seen major corporations do is market sustainability in that “purpose” bucket, and not in the “business” bucket, with pledges and other high-profile commitments. Is this changing? Are large corporations able to move from the emotional bucket to the business bucket the same way investors are? The most famous of the pledges is the Ellen MacArthur Foundation pledge, which more than 400 businesses and organizations have signed, signaling their intent to eliminate their use of new plastic. It basically says that, by 2025, they will make their products compostable, recyclable, and reusable. And they will significantly increase their use of recycled content by this date. Now, let’s be candid about why they’re pledging. Since waste has become a crisis in the past two years, many companies have come to the position that they have to solve it or they will be legislated out of it. The best way to get ahead is to make future promises, partly because you don’t have to do anything between today and the promise day, right? If everyone promises that by 2025 all this great stuff will happen, they are not really responsible in the present. I’ve talked to chief sustainability officers of some of the world’s largest CPG companies who honestly have no idea how they’re going to pull it off. They have no f—cking idea what they’re going to do and are saying things like, “Well, the industry will figure it out.” That’s scary. Here’s what I think will happen come 2025 with this particular promise. There is a difference between the promises to be “recyclable” and made from “recycled content.” In other words, most companies, via the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, have pledged that by 2025 they will be 100% recyclable and independently made from a high percentage (typically 25%) of recycled content. I think that the majority of companies will say that they made their package “technically recyclable” but that the recycling industry is to blame for not then “practically recycling” them. I think maybe 90% of companies making these promises will fail and then point to the fine print, saying, “Oh, we made our packaging recyclable, but the recycling systems don’t have the capability to recycle it today.” That’s going to create a big reckoning that will piss off consumers even more, backfiring on brands. So those 10% that succeed, how do they do that? They’re just getting ahead of it. Here’s an example: Some companies are now buying futures on recycled plastic so they know they will have the volume, which is an unheard-of thing in procuring plastic. A good example is Nestlé. The key line in their recent press release is this: “To create a market, Nestlé is therefore committed to sourcing up to 2 million metric tons of food-grade recycled plastics and allocating more than CHF 1.5 billion to pay a premium for these materials between now and 2025.” One of the things that interest me about your company is how you collaborate with so many companies. How difficult is this? Could you go it alone? We absolutely need to collaborate. These are systemic problems, and to solve the system you need multi-stakeholder collaboration. Loop could only exist with massive multi-stakeholder collaboration. There would be no other way to pull it off. And I think we need more and more of that. What makes collaborations like this work? Trade groups and consortiums don’t work. The problem with an industry group, at least in my experience, is to get the group together so they can publicly say that there is a multi-stakeholder discussion. But the outcomes are usually nothing. So how do we create true multi-stakeholder system change? Because if you’re going to change the system, you need all the stakeholders to agree. With Loop, we consciously tried to create a multi-stakeholder collaboration. And look at what happened: It’s working. We’re adding a brand every two days since we launched, and most major multinational CPG companies have joined: Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Mars, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, et cetera. We’ve also added a retailer every three weeks since our launch, including retailers around the world. Loop is live in France (via Carrefour) and the U.S. (via Kroger and Walgreens) via e-com, and is expanding in both countries to in-store later this year. It is also launching in Canada (via Loblaw), the UK (via Tesco), Germany (via a retailer we will announce in February), and Japan (via AEON), all this year. And finally, we have seen tremendously positive consumer insights — people want Loop, and they like the experience when they get access to it. I don’t see too many companies with similar models out there yet. Loop is a major systems change that requires a large coalition of multi-stakeholders. That is, no company can do it on their own — everyone has to act together. What I am seeing is a lot of groups calling us and saying, “How did you do the Loop thing, and how can we apply that type of system or process to whatever our topic may be?” They ask this because, typically, multi-stakeholder collaborations are slow and hard to drive results from. What do you tell them? I tell them that you cannot run such a platform by committee. There needs to be a “chair” that makes the decisions, even if the decisions are unpopular, and creates the urgency to make sure everything is moving forward quickly. You also set public deadlines that everyone can agree to. For example, it’s why we launched at the World Economic Forum last year — that was a deadline everyone could align on.

• 
• 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.”