Less than a year ago, I told you about Loop, the company launched by Trenton-based Terracycle. Basically, Loop is seeking to completely change the way Americans purchase and use disposable containers. The change is dramatic; if Loop gets its way, all containers will be reusable. Basically, the company is taking the old milkman model and applying to everything, from Haagan Dazs ice cream to Clorox Wipes. Instead of buying those products and throwing away the container when you’re done, Loop sends you the products in branded stainless steel packaging, and when you’re done, you send it back. Zero waste. “We’re stopping and thinking and saying that even if 100 percent of products and packaging were recyclable, and even if 100 percent of products are made from recycled content, is that still the best?” Anthony Rossi, the vice-president of Global Business Development at Loop, told me for the original article. “Two years ago Tom (Szaky, Terracycle founder and CEO) got to thinking and said ‘no, we can’t stop there.’ One, it’s utopian. I don’t think we’ll ever get close to that number, but two the real problem here is disposability. And so we’re attacking disposability by working with partners to reengineer their packaging to be durable and reusable while providing infrastructure to get products to consumers and back.” OK. That was about 10 months ago. Today? “Time” has named Loop one of the 100 best inventions of 2019, 5,000 people are using LoopStore.com to do tons of their shopping, and another 85,000 are on the waiting list to get into Loop’s pilot program. I’d say so far, so … really freaking fantastic. “It’s rethinking trash,” said Donna Liu, a Princeton resident who is a Loop customer. “And it’s easy to use. Honestly, in the beginning, I was a little bit puzzled as to when you order, how do you time it. But it’s much simpler than I thought it would be. You schedule your order online and it comes within a day a two.” Liu said she orders about once a month, with the order including many of the typical grocery store purchases. “Personal care products, shampoo, conditioner, cleaning products, some foods, snacks, dried grains, rice, quinoa, cashews … I just kind of browse their store, look at the things I’d be using anyway, and order it,” Liu said. Granted, Liu admits it is slightly more expensive to order through Loop, but she sees it as a long-term investment that will pay off down the road. “I call it the ‘green margin,’ Liu said. “It’s the cost of not generating more trash, it’s the cost of not adding to the environment’s problems.” And that’s, obviously, the whole reason Loop exists. To create a system in which our purchases don’t add to the problem. And really: Even if you’re a staunch anti-environmentalist, there’s no downside to Loop’s model becoming the dominant force in the industry. And it could certainly happen, and might even happen sooner that anyone dare hope. “At launch, we were in the early phase of the pilot and since May, we have added over 120 products and have doubled our coverage in the United States, adding six new states,” said Eric Rosen, the publicist for Loop/Terracycle. “We have also recently announced committed retail partners in the UK (Tesco), Canada (Loblaws), and Australia (Woolworths). We are also beginning to engage in scale-up conversations with our U.S. retail partners and planning for how we will bring the Loop platform into retailers’ e-commerce platforms and brick-and-mortar stores. And in 2020, you can expect Loop to be available in Canada, the UK, Germany and Japan. And we anticipate being in-store in select locations in the United States.” It would not surprise me one bit if we blinked ourselves to 2030 and saw that Loop has very legitimately changed the way the world’s system of product packaging. Trenton makes, the world reuses.

This year, Coca Cola unveiled a bottle made from 25% recycled plastic while PepsiCo announced it will be investing $25 million in recycling infrastructure. As mbg recently reported in our natural beauty trends forecast, Dove also switched to bottles made from 100% recycled plastic in 2019, and its parent brand, Unilever, announced that it will use half as much new plastic in its products by 2025. Meanwhile, Olay began testing refillable pods for its most popular moisturizer. For mindbodygreen's brand-new line of nr+ supplements—released as a limited-edition run last month, to be launched in broader distribution in January 2020—we've packaged the recyclable glass bottles in completely compostable trays, made from mushrooms. Public awareness and unrest about plastic pollution have been building for years (hello, straw bans), but it wasn't until 2019 that major corporations really started to do something about it.  

What's driving the shift away from plastic packaging?

A new service called Loop has helped kick-start the push away from plastic. Launched in May of this year in Paris and a handful of states across the northeastern U.S, the service allows people to shop for grocery, household, and personal care products from brands like Tide, Febreze, and Crest. The kicker? For a small markup, these goods are shipped out in durable, reusable packaging that can be sent back in to be reused and refilled. Loop is a direct rebuttal to the idea that recycling can save us from the waste crisis: "Recycling is like Tylenol: You take it when you have a headache, but there are better ways to never get the headache to begin with," Tom Szaky, the CEO of TerraCycle and Loop, told mbg last year. In the six months since launch, Loop has kicked off in another five states and plans to enter six new markets before early 2021: The U.K., Canada, Germany, Japan, Australia, and potentially the West Coast of the U.S. Loop is also onboarding about one new brand to their platform every business day. "There's been a lot of organic demand from consumers. We just hear nonstop from people that they're really excited about the service, and they want to see it available in their state," explains Heather Crawford, the VP of marketing and e-commerce at Loop. Upward of 85,000 people have signed on to the waitlist so far, and they're not the only ones who want to see the service take off: Crawford has seen that the massive names—the Unilevers and P&Gs of the world—are eager to get involved and rethink the delivery of their products to keep up with the times. When mbg heard Unilever's CEO Alan Jope speak at this year's Climate Week NYC, he confirmed that Unilever is working to make its business more environmentally responsible— a change that investors are insisting on more often. "I'm noticing our investors increasingly asking us to run our business for the long term. This idea that the Street is only interested in short-term performance, I don't accept," Jope said. "We're going to see capital inflows into responsible business and capital outflows out of polluting and carbon-dense industries. It's that simple." For another signal that the low-waste life is trending in the business realm, we can look to Williamsburg's Package Free Shop: Opened in 2017 by zero-waste poster child Lauren Singer, the shop sells health, beauty, and living essentials that are free of single-use plastic parts and packaging (think shampoo bars wrapped in paper and compostable vegetable brushes). The company's recent $4.5 million seed funding round proves that investors are confident that people beyond the trendy Brooklyn 'hood want to opt into its zero-waste ethos. "In the past year, more people than ever before have realized the impact that single-use plastic and waste has on the environment," Singer tells mbg. The recent funding will help the Package Free team work toward their mission to make zero-waste products hyper-accessible to the average Joe or Jane: "Our goal is to manufacture products that are both the most sustainable ones on the market and are as accessible and convenient as buying a Unilever or P&G product."

All signs point to more packaging innovation in 2020.

David Feber, a partner at McKinsey & Company who works primarily in the consumer packaged goods space, tells mbg, "Sustainability is combining with other powerful trends such as e-commerce and digitalization to drive major disruption in packaging over the next several years in the consumer products space." This year, a McKinsey report on Gen Z buying habits found that this "hypercognitive" generation, born between 1995 and 2010, will likely only push the needle toward more sustainable packaging solutions as they come of age. And sustainable packaging is just the start: A report by BBMG and GlobeScan predicts that in order to stay relevant with the next generation, companies will have to take more mission-driven action. "While Gen Z is ready to champion brands who show bravery on the issues that matter, they are also the first to call bullshit when they see it, especially when they see brands promoting their commitment to 'doing well by doing good' while staying silent about the negative impacts at the heart of the business practices that make their success possible," it reads.  

In 2020, Colgate-Palmolive will finally deliver a recyclable toothpaste container. After more than two decades of mounting concern around plastic waste and discussions about sustainable initiatives, the 213-year-old company announced it would release a fully recyclable tube under its Tom's of Main brand, with plans to convert all products to 100% recyclable packaging by 2025: “Building a future to smile about means finding new packaging solutions that are better for the planet, but until now there hasn’t been a way to make toothpaste tubes part of the recycling stream,” said Justin Skala, Chief Growth & Strategy Officer for Colgate-Palmolive, in a statement.   But is this move by Colgate too little, too late? By 2025, the focus of corporate sustainability will have shifted, evolving from the use of recyclable materials to creating circular business strategies.   While Colgate pottered with laboratory testing, the recycling market collapsed. The exchange rate between the U.S. and China made a lot of recycling unprofitable, leading a number of municipalities to stop their recycling collection altogether. With the collapse of the international market, cities like Philadelphia have had to turn to burning much of their recyclable waste.   Compounding this problem is the fact that the majority of recyclable plastics doesn’t get recycled anyway. Only 9% of plastic packaging in the U.S. is recycled, 12% is burned and the rest ends up in a landfill—or even the sea. And while Adidas creates sneakers out of Pacific Ocean plastic and Walmart’s Asda uses similar debris to pave a parking lot, these programs are just delaying the inevitable: society ultimately has to deal with that plastic when it turns up in the waste system again.   What use is a new tee made from a mix of upcycled cotton and recycled fishing nets anyway when the used product needs to be processed again? Maybe we need to stop differentiating ‘single-use' from ‘recyclable' and come to the conclusion that nearly all plastic is used once. If we can grasp this notion, then we might be able to judge how corporations offload the responsibility to efficiently recycle on our local governments, which could seem an unfair and undue burden on them and our taxes.   Some retailers are already taking matters into their own hands. “We’re working with our suppliers and packaging manufacturers, looking at alternatives to plastics,” says Karen Graley, packaging manager at U.K. grocer Waitrose,” while the CEO of REI co-op explains, “We are in the throes of an environmental crisis that threatens not only the next 81 years of REI, but the incredible outdoor places that we love.” His recent call-to-action letter reads, “Climate change is the greatest existential threat facing our co-op. I believe we do not have the luxury of calling climate change a political issue. This is a human issue. And we must act now.”   When our researchers at PSFK studied hundreds of new ideas and signals developing within the sustainability space, we identified several emerging short- and long-term trends. Over the next 12-24 months, the focus for corporate sustainability programs dealing with product waste is likely to be what is defined as the Circular Economy. Beyond that, we spotted trends around new ways to avoid waste and inefficiencies. In this article, we explore the former set of trends and share them in a framework to help you as a business executive or even a consumer to consider how to approach sustainability.   No doubt, you’ve already read stories and reports on the Circular Economy, a concept around a cycle where we keep resources in use for as long as possible, extract the maximum value from those resources while in use, then recover and regenerate those resources at the end of their lives. By conducting pattern recognition on the latest ideas developing within this space, we identified a number of key pillars: receive, recycle, repair, refill, rent and resell. As corporations look to evolve their sustainability efforts, these six themes will guide them in developing a more holistic strategy. First we define the pillars, then explore what they look like in practice.   1. Receiving Receiving involves retailers and brands facilitating the simple return of their products and packaging at the end of what their owner thinks is their useful life. Sometimes this collection happens in the store, but at other times this gathering of used product may be more proactive. These materials are used to make new products, passed to external facilities to recycle, or end up in a landfill—which is currently the most likely result.   2. Recycling Building off of the notion of receiving, recycling concerns the reuse of materials as new products that the retailer and brand can leverage as part of their commercial business. The passing on of consumed materials to an external recycling facility or partner is not a part of this strategy.   3. Repairing Repairing involves fixing or upcycling product so that it either has a longer life or can be sold as new. This pillar includes both the servicing of products owned by customers and the repair of previously owned items.   4. Reselling Reselling concerns the creation of marketplaces that allow retailers or consumers to sell previously owned products.   5. Refilling Refilling is a system of avoiding packaging by expecting consumers to replenish the core product with their own reusable vessel. This creates efficiencies in production (mainly, bulk orders) and improves the frequency of brand-consumer interaction.   6. Renting Renting is the short-term loan of products so that they can be reused by different consumers. The items are therefore more frequently employed and not left in storage, plus there is less demand for virgin product. Pillars defined, now let’s take a closer look at how this framework for sustainability can manifest in business:

Receiving

When it comes to the ways retailers and brands are facilitating the simple return of their products and packaging, there are several tactics. Sometimes stores choose simplicity and accept returns on premise. For example, U.K. grocer Sainsbury’s is planning to accept milk and glass soda bottles as part of a drive to halve the amount of plastic packaging it uses over the next six years. Department store John Lewis is also now taking back beauty packaging, which is traditionally hard to recycle. Levi Strauss has a take-back program that sells wares to a third-party who transforms old denim into insulation for community buildings.   But how effective is that drop box by the store door? It assumes consumers will remember to carry their products into a store—when on most trips, they still forget their reusable grocery bags. Some firms are therefore incentivizing the returns: Patagonia will accept any good-condition product that is not a “next-to-skin garment” and provide a gift card for up to $100. Similarly, Canadian outdoor clothing company Arc’teryx has a new program called Rock Solid Used Gear that incentivizes customers to bring their lightly used products back to the store in exchange for a gift card valued at 20% of the item’s original retail price. IKEA Canada also allows customers to “sell back” their gently used furniture to the store and receive store credit. Adidas has a new system in the U.K. called Infinite Play that lets consumers return any branded products purchased within the past five years in exchange for a gift card and loyalty points.       Meanwhile, some companies aren’t just waiting for the shoppers to turn up; they’re going out to get their used product: H&M ran a test earlier this year in New York where it offered Lyft rides to the store for shoppers planning to deliver used product and John Lewis is sending trucks out to collect larger items in the U.K. Vogue Business says that “at a time when brands are finding it increasingly expensive to attract and retain customers, take-back programs are a way to stand out.”

Recycling

Receiving product doesn’t necessarily imply the recycling and regeneration of materials into new products for the retailer and brand to use in commercial business. There are companies developing enterprise-level strategies when it comes to the pre-recycling stage: For instance, H&M picks up clothing and shoes in more than 60 countries and sells some of the materials back to the companies who made the original clothes. The actual reprocessing of the materials into new product is burdened with challenges, not the least of which is the presence of potentially harmful constituents: The fabric from a used pair of jeans could contain formaldehyde, carcinogenic dyes, toxic heavy metals and more, which poses problem for enterprises looking to avoid including an unknown assortment of nefarious chemicals in the next generation of product. One solution to this issue is implementing new recycling processes: a startup called Evrnu breaks down used fabric into constituent molecules, enabling the isolation of any unwanted materials as well as desired ones, like pure cellulose, for repurposing.

Repairing

While used items often get shredded and returned as raw ingredients for the product, some companies are fixing, or upcycling, product so that it either has a longer life or can be sold as new.   Luxury U.K. department store Harvey Nichols now has an after-care service called The Restory that offers not only to repair and restore premium items but even “reimagine” them.  After years of criticism, Apple is finally shipping official parts to repair shops that have had to use third-party materials in the past.   Atelier & Repairs is a boutique fashion label that specializes in the remaking of old and used products. Brands like Gap and Deckers have collaborated with them to explore the repair of old hoodies and jeans to create fresh fashion that’s not made of virgin stock. At the announcement of the Gap collaboration, the brand’s Head of Adult Design, John Caruso, told reporters that the partnership with Atelier & Repairs allowed the company to reinterpret and “reimagine their classic styles, lengthening the traditional product life cycle.” California-based b-corp Dhana takes this remake concept further by upcycling a customer’s memories into a new outdoor coat, including their concert tees, Comic-Con costumes and other memorabilia into the lining.   Patagonia seems to be one of the most progressive brands in the repair and remake space, reportedly fixing 100,000 items each year in 72 repair centers globally. Some of these items are now appearing on the site of its sub-brand WornWear, which has an online presence and recently opened its first store in Denver, Colorado. WornWear doesn’t just repair and resell items: the designers also reimagine them by mixing pieces from recycled products they have. Vogue Business reports that the new line doesn’t cannibalize existing sales, but “brings in customers who are, on average, ten years younger than the typical Patagonia shopper.”      

Reselling

As products get returned, repaired or remade, we’re witnessing the creation of marketplaces that allow retailers or consumers to sell previously owned products. German online fashion retailer Zalando has been testing a second-hand store concept for women's fashion items called Zircle. The store sells used fashion items that were purchased back from customers on their Zalando Wardrobe app. One objective of the test is to understand if the company can reach new customers.   Premium U.K. department store Selfridges has been working with third parties like Vestiaire and Depop to develop shop-in-shops that resell shoppers' apparel. The Vestiaire Collective space also comes with a resale point where customers can deposit items that subsequently appear on the brand’s app for sale.   Online retail platform Farfetch recently launched Second Life, a pilot initiative that allows consumers to resell the designer bags sitting in their wardrobe. “We're on a mission to become the global platform for good in luxury fashion—empowering everyone to think, act and choose positively,” reads their site. “Services like Farfetch Second Life help our customers extend the life of the clothes they buy.”   Meanwhile, with every new purchase, fashion brand Cuyana is including a shipping label that helps consumers send unwanted clothes to reseller thredUP, who will in turn send coupons for every successful resale. “Young shoppers like pre-owned goods for their lower prices and ability to express concern for causes like sustainability,” says fashion editor Lucy McGuire. Research commissioned by thredUP reports that the total secondhand apparel market will reach $51 billion in the next 5 years and will be larger than Fast Fashion in 10 Years.

Refilling

Retailers and service providers are also providing more ways to refill and restock certain products. U.K. grocer Waitrose has launched trials of its Unpacked system to gauge shoppers’ reactions to packaging-free food and drink options including the use of refills. They encourage shoppers to not only bring along reusable shopping bags but also their containers for filling up with the products during their Unpacked shop. The containers can be any material, size, shape or weight, but if shoppers don’t have anything to hand at home, they're welcome to buy bags/containers in store. Waitrose even encourages customers to bring their own coffee cup to enjoy a brew in the aisles.         In London, The Body Shop now offers a product refill station, while at Bleach London shoppers can buy glass bottles filled with their favorite shampoo and conditioner, then return for refills. To track the growing number of zero-waste/refill stores in the U.K. capital, an advertising agency created the Useless London online map.   On U.S. college campuses, rather than selling new bottles of water, The Coca-Cola Company has been trialling PureFill refill stations. In Sydney, the vegan online retailer Flora&Fauna has a new brick-and-mortar store that offers refills of zero-waste goods.   NYC's fast-casual chain Dig is testing a closed-loop dishware program where restaurant goers receive a reusable bowl and lid with the expectation that they return with it every time they visit the brand's Washington Square Park outpost.   Similar to a pattern observed with receiving, this refill service is not only taking place in the store, but also in the home. Terracycle has been a pioneer in the recycling movement: its Loop system delivers everything in a returnable container. Brands like P&G and retailers like Krueger have partnered with Loop, now letting shoppers enjoy an array of package-free products, including Crest oral rinse, Tide laundry detergent and even Haaen Dazs ice-cream. “The response has been overwhelmingly positive. It's phenomenal how many people have signed up for it,” said Loop co-founder Tom Skazy to PSFK. “Consumers understand that there's a garbage problem. While some prioritize the environmental aspect, others really like the design aspect, and some really like the convenience aspect. When you put all that together, it's a pretty big ecosystem of benefits.”

Renting

And finally, brands are also exploring the short-term loan of products so that they can be reused by different consumers. Some of this has been pioneered in the luxury fashion space for a few years now (think services like Rent the Runway), but there are signs of more mainstream options. H&M, for example, has launched its first clothing rental service at a newly refurbished store in Stockholm, following similar efforts by Banana Republic, Urban Outfitters and Ann Taylor Loft. Levi’s is exploring the space through a partnership with Rent The Runway. “For this crowd, consignment sites like thredUP and Poshmark, as well as the rental services, offer a lower-cost way to keep the ‘Gram fresh without hoarding clothes,” writes Ankita Rao in an article entitled ‘Clothes Are Canceled’ on Vice.com.   Rental goes well beyond apparel—IKEA is renting furniture, Lego has the service Netbricks for the rental of its little plastic building blocks—but fashion is where the groundswell is. According to research by GlobalData, the U.S. garment rental market was worth $1 billion in 2018, less than 1% of the total apparel market, but it also grew 24% in that year compared to 5% for the wider clothing market. Different ways to rent, like P2P platforms, are cropping up in the clothing rental space as well: Wardrobe is a just-launched sharing network operating out of local dry cleaners in Manhattan, letting members borrow high-end, designer and even vintage pieces from each other's closets and solving for the common issues around renting like convenience and value.       As retailers evolve beyond the classic Reduce, Reuse, Recycle mantra to embrace the six pillars described above, they ultimately are moving toward enabling closed-loop systems, embedding sustainability into their business model in a way that merges seamlessness and customer satisfaction with avoidance of waste creation in the first place and repurposing of original materials. This focus is not without good incentive: consumers are a driving factor in the push for true sustainability, wielding their spending power with retailers effecting the changes they want to see. Nielsen found that 81% of surveyed consumers think companies should support improving the environment (this sentiment was particularly strong among millennials and Gen Z), while 50% of CPG growth between 2013 and 2018 came from sustainability-marketed products.   Based on these signals, what could the future look like? A zero-waste restaurant in Brooklyn may give us a glimpse. Mettā re-opened earlier this fall in Fort Greene, partnering with regional farmers to secure ingredients from the source at their peak, concentrating on eco-friendly transportation and preservation methods, and curbing water waste wherever possible. Further, the business purchases electricity from 100% renewable sources, and offsets the 75% of its carbon footprint generated from food production by buying sequestration initiatives, which harness or avoid releasing an equivalent+ amount of carbon into the environment, according to the company's website.       While perhaps a more extreme example, Mettā's viability proves that businesses are taking the next generation of sustainability seriously, moving beyond the ineffectiveness of recycling into an era of inherent sustainability and investing in thoughtful strategies to enable consumption without destruction.   But why should businesses really bother about what a restauranteur is creating in Brooklyn or a grocery store is doing in London? Maybe because a massive population of young, militant people are emerging as potential consumers, who know things can be different and are determined to make them better. They have Greta Thunberg and now there are activists like Feroz Aziz. These passionate minds have better and faster communications tools than your social listening platform can offer and can amass faster than your staff can fire-drill. Moreover, there is infinitely more of them than there are of you, so businesses need to align to a new framework for sustainability and retool for a new set of practices.

 

There's been an explosion in the natural, clean, and sustainable beauty space that few could have seen coming—or few could have seen coming at this scale and rate of growth. But mindbodygreen did so with many trends: Ancient traditions of ayurvedic beauty are now smartphone-friendly. Waterless formulations are going mainstream. Adding ingestibles to your beauty routine is about as common as adding an eye cream.    So what were some of the year's biggest trends that we'll likely see explode in 2020? Read on to find out, and consider yourself an early adopter.

Beauty gets serious about using less.

As we entered "The climate decade," we now know that simply recycling might not be enough. That's why brands are moving toward refillable, reusable, and biodegradable, and, on the consumer front, just using less in general.   The most innovative was Terracycle's Loop program. People in New York, London, and Paris are able to order products from participating brands (like one of our faves, Ren), which arrive in more eco-friendly packaging, like glass bottles. Once you're done, you send the packaging back to the facilities where they're washed, refilled, and sent out again, totally eliminating single-use plastic. And smaller, natural-leaning brands have launched refillable glass jars (Follain and Bathing Culture come to mind) with an option to refill in store where available or order a refill pouch in bulk.   Olay started testing out refillable pods that you can pop in and out of the larger package. This means that people need to purchase the larger jar only once and then can keep refilling it with less-plastic options. "It seems very obvious, a refillable pod, but it does not exist for mass brands," says Anitra Marsh, who is the associate director of brand communications, global skin, and personal care brands at P&G (Olay's parent company). Marsh also leads the global sustainability task force for the brands. "The accumulation of plastic in our environment is everyone's problem. We know that the challenges we face in reducing plastic waste are complex. This offers one important step that we are looking toward, but really we're going to need a multipronged approach to really improve the sustainability of the skin care market."   But if people can't commit to a circular system, some mass brands are almost fully committing to recycled plastic. A few months ago, all of Dove's brands announced that by year's end, almost all of their packaging would be completely recycled plastic. And their parent company, Unilever, has hinted at more developments to come in the new year.   And for consumer? In a pendulum swing away from 10-step routines and closet-sized personal beauty stashes, women are opting for less. Anecdotally, people are just fed up with too many steps and generally just doing too much. Call it beauty minimalism. If you want further proof, we even saw the trend in the beauty influencer world (which is about as much proof as you'll need). It's being dubbed the anti-excess movement. Influencers and vloggers like YouTubers Samantha Ravndahl and RawBeautyKristi are all eschewing the overabundance of products. Ravndahl went off PR mailing lists entirely. "I felt I was producing a lot of waste, what with the shipping and packing materials—and on top of that, the gifts that came with it. So many of these, too, I couldn't recycle," Ravndahl said in a video, who also noted she was starting a three-month "no-buy" cleanse. "It was getting more and more over the top, so I finally was like I'm going to step away. I've been really happy with my decision."      Less is really starting to look like more.  

The best in clean beauty:

 

Beauty addresses disability access.

  Social media has acted as kindling for a long-needed conversation in beauty: how we address access and representation.   A few years ago, you might remember the conversation around foundation skin tones. Nearly overnight, Instagram set a standard in inclusivity in makeup hues, and makeup brands followed offering ranges north of 40 shades. (Call it the Fenty Beauty effect.) And now, anytime a brand launches a campaign that's not diverse, they're often rightly called out on these platforms.   There have been other conversations swirling around, too. Take, for example, gender-inclusivity: Brands are now encouraging people to participate in beauty no matter where they fall on the spectrum.   And finally, we're seeing a larger push for disability access and representation: There are 61 million adults in the U.S. who have a functional disability, and many are creating a flourishing community for themselves on Instagram and YouTube.   One of those people is Instagram influencer Madison Lawson (aka @WheelchairBarbie), who dons some of the best eye looks I've ever seen—she's a master of bold color. "It all started when I had this incredibly painful surgery that had a long recovery time," she tells me. "And they try to teach you ways to cope with the pain, and I found trying to master that a cat-eye flick was a way for me to do something other than thinking about what I was going through."   Soon, she was collecting Instagram followers who said they saw themselves in her—as well as just loving her makeup looks. "Social media is such an incredible tool. You can find people to connect to and bond with—it brings me so much joy to see women like me thriving," she says. And there's the added element that it feels more genuine and authentic, she notes: This isn't a campaign with the token girl in a wheelchair. "I always longed to see women who looked similar to me, and I found that through social media," she says. "And it's such an honor to be that person for other girls too. I'm grateful for it."   I'd be remiss not to include Franceso Clark, the founder Clark's Botanicals, who was severely injured in his early 20s, leaving him paralyzed. His natural skin care company is beloved in the industry for its efficacy, and Clark himself has amassed a crew of editorial fans (largely due to his wit and charm). He actually started his career in fashion editorial and is now a beauty founder and insider—so he's seen firsthand how much the industry has changed.   "It's really a product of user-generated content on these channels like Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Now there is power in being a consumer that didn't exist before," he says. "It used to be that you'd see an ad, and in an instant your thought would be, That's beautiful, but I'll never look like that. It happened in a split second. But now you can find people on social media that look like you. And brands are tapping into that too."   As for the brands doing something about it? There's Herbal Essences, who introduced tactile markings on a number of their bottles so sight-impaired consumers can identify what product they're using. And it all started because Procter & Gamble (the parent company) employee Sam Latif, their accessibility leader, pushed for change. She, herself sight-impaired, encouraged her co-workers to experience the world as she did. "She opened our minds and hearts to ways we could make her life more enjoyable and easier to navigate, even if it is just a simple shower. Sam has shown us that designing with diversity and inclusion in mind benefits everyone," says Herbal Essences' beauty scientist Rachel Zipperian. From there, the brand started looking into what can be done to make their packaging more accessible to everyone. And in January 2020 they are rolling out phase two: Every single shampoo and conditioner bottle will come with tactile markings.   Or when Clark started his own brand (this was years ago that he started making his own products), formulating multitasking products with functioning packing wasn't just priority—it was a personal need. "This is less a trend and more a way of life; the simple truth is that it takes me longer to get ready in the morning than normal people, and I need products that aren't going to take a long time," says Clark. "Making an effective, multiuse product easier to use for people with dexterity disabilities isn't just good for the people who need it, it's better for everyone."   "There are actually a lot of products and technologies that began as tools for people with disabilities—like Alexa or Echo—but became mainstream products because they were just useful," he aptly notes. Making better-functioning products is just good business.   And as Lawson tells me, it's usually just little things that Big Beauty might be overlooking. "Things like magnetic closures go a long way. You might not think about it, but take eye-shadow palettes: Some types will snap shut and I can't get them back open. I'm not afraid to ask for help, but makeup is one of the few things that I can do totally alone, and that independence is important to me."   And a few new, smaller brands are popping up to address it too. There's Kohl Kreatives, a U.K.-based brand of brushes created for a line specifically for those with motor disabilities, like hand tremors: The line is more flexible than standard makeup brushes. Or Grace cosmetics, which makes makeup basics with easier-to-hold handles and thoughtful designs, is looking to launch soon, a rep from the brand noted on social media.   It's just a start—but a promising one at that.  

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Clean embraces bold color.

  Lots of clean makeup brands are moving away from "barely there" and stepping into bold. Why? Well, makeup trends are never an exact science, as fads are dictated more by mood and aesthetics than numbers and research.   But if I had to wager, I'd say this: As more and more women start dabbling in clean and natural products, that also means there's a brand-new clientele group and a new set of needs and wants.   "The space is expanding because today's consumer is more savvy. New standards are being set," says Sheena Yaitanes, founder of makeup brand Kosas. One survey from Ispos found that 59% of women in the U.S. would be interested in trying new brands if they were clean, and an astonishing 66% said they'd be interested in trying a new brand if it was natural. That's a lot of natural- and clean-curious customers to account for. And some of these new consumers are likely the type of beauty fan that dons a smoky eye, loves a lacquered lip, or wants a full-coverage foundation.   "There are a lot of women out there who want high pigment formulas that are rich and luxurious. You can always dial it down and sheer it out, but daring to use unadulterated, bold color? It has an element of confidence," says Kristine Keheley, Vapour co-founder and clean makeup formulator.   I'll use myself as a prime example: Recently I wrote about how when I would wear a red lipstick, I always defaulted to the more traditional beauty brands (the Armanis and MACs of the world). But as I started playing with these newer, cleaner, and extremely sophisticated formulas from natural-leaning brands, I finally made the switch. Not only can clean do bold, but it does bold very well.   "Clean beauty brands are now leveling the playing field. By achieving amazing color pay-off and luxury product performance, we are now competing with long-established conventional brands and are less and less relegated to the eco-sideshow," says Kehely.   Now when you scroll through clean beauty retailer sites, you'll see naturally pigmented hues and saturated finishes of all kinds: Honest & Co launched a Longwear Matte Liquid Lipstick that rivals any liquid lip you'll pick up at the department store—in terms of color and staying power (they use a blend of clays to get hold, the brand tells me.) Jane Iredale's Liquid Matte Foundation does not mess around: The mineral-based liquid gives you medium-to-full coverage and a velvet finish. Kosas launched a 10-Second Liquid Eyeshadow in eight vibrant shades, including one cobalt blue so rich it'll make other blues jealous. And finally, there's the Vapour's relaunch: The brand not only went nearly waterless, but they punched up the pigments in their shades, from lipstick to blush.

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Classics make a cleaner comeback.

The first beauty product I remember falling in love with was my mother's Guerlain Meteorites Highlighting Powder Pearls. My parents came home from a weekend away, and she had a very special package with her. These, she told me, were a very fancy treat that I was not to play with. It wasn't until years later when I grew up and became a beauty editor that I realized how special those little powder pearls must have been for her. See, Guerlain is this classic, heritage French beauty brand (known for lush fragrances and beautiful makeup; their most iconic products are those highlighting pearls.) For my mom, who sticks to drug- (or maybe department) store, beauty products like this, they were something special. I've always held a small fascination with Guerlain because of this.   Imagine my surprise when I saw the news this year that the Guerlain was launching a silky, satin-smooth foundation that was 97% natural. I immediately called in a bottle, and it's been my go-to foundation since.   They're not the only iconic brand to make a cleaner comeback.   At the tail end of last year, famed hairstylist Frederic Fekkai bought back his namesake brand—after a few years of bouncing ownership—and one of the first things he did with it was launch a natural line, The One by Frederic Fekkai The Pure collection. "I realized that I was eating organic foods and really paying attention to my well-being, and that I should be putting that same focus into my hair care line," he said at the time of the launch.   So why now? "It was very important to me to come back after acquiring my namesake brand to be relevant with formulas that are safe, natural, and high-performing," he told me later. "I believe today, more than ever, we have access to and can produce and formulate products with natural and powerful ingredients. Historically, natural ingredients were more difficult to source and were more expensive to infuse into products. These ingredients are more accessible today."   But it's not just heritage or traditional brands making a cleaner comeback; just this year Aveda reintroduced their absolute cult status Aveda Sap Moss collection after a decade-long hiatus. At the time of launch, the brand told me they had finally been able to reformulate it to meet their new, higher standards—without sacrificing any of the elements users adored in the original. "The product was last sold in the '90s, and ever since then, Aveda fans have requested that the products make a comeback. It was discontinued for a few reasons, such as changing mission requirements and ingredient availability," says Christine Hall, vice president of research and development hair care, color, and innovation at Aveda. But with better, more modern technology, they were able to formulate a product they were proud of.   The beauty industry is a market that's always looking for that next big thing, that next marketing hook—but it's also an industry deeply rooted in the past and traditions. And sometimes, in the midst of new, new, new, it's nice to see a familiar face or two.  

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Sensitive skin care gets trendy.

  Sensitive skin has become something of a hot topic. More and more women are claiming they have sensitive skin; according to a 2019 report, now 60 to 70% of women claim the title, up from the previously reported 50% that was the long-held standard percentage. And the "dry skin" treatment market is expected to see a "substantial" increase until 2026, according to market research.   As board-certified dermatologist Whitney Bowe, M.D., tells us, sensitive skin is an "intrinsic quality. Naturally, the skin is not as capable of keeping in moisture and acting as a barrier, which is one of the most critical roles of the skin."   So why the sudden increase in self-reported sensitive skin? One reasoning is that people with otherwise healthy skin barriers are "sensitizing" their skin with overexfoliation and overly complex routines. "It's a tricky balance: You want to remove dead skin cells so you get a nice glow but don't want to do it too much and thin out that layer," warns Bowe. But what's more alarming is that we've seen an increase in sensitive-skin-related conditions and diseases. Adult acne, especially among women, is on the rise, too (according to the International Dermal Institute, one of the culprits is likely the rising stress levels). Recent research shows that eczema is on the rise for both children and adults. Researchers haven't quite figured out why this is so in both cases.   Regardless, the market is exploding: In the past, "sensitive skin" brands were seen as plain, simple, and, dare I say, boring? They were stripped down of all flash and glamour in order to show how serious they were; all the while, people with "normal" skin (whatever that is!) got to have all the fun. Now? Sensitive skin is in—and the sensitive skin brands are all the rage.   Take, for example, Tower28. The clean brand has distinctly modern flare. Just take a peek at their Instagram for a collection of so-chic editorials. Or test out their Superdew Shimmer-Free Highlighter, which gives that so-juicy finish coveted by the 20-something crowd. Not only was the brand founded on the bases of treating irritated skin, but a few of the products come with the National Eczema Association stamp of approval. "I have had eczema my entire adult life, and it's something I have really struggled with," says the brand founder, Amy Lui. Because hers is a chronic condition, she was inspired to create something that she'd be excited to use every day. "There are actually a lot of brands and products out there targeted at sensitive skin, but I felt like the approach was clinical and medicinal. For some people, sensitive skin is a moment in time, and you reach for these for a temporary solution. But for me, sensitive skin is chronic, and I didn't want to reach for products every day that felt like a man in a lab coat sold them to me. Our products are meant to be fun, colorful, and approachable."   Or SkinFix's major makeover this year. The natural brand, always known for their soothing, healing balms and ointments, got a fresh update with bold, bright, look-at-me packaging. "We may offer clean, clinically proven, dermatologist-endorsed solutions, but we don't want our packaging to look medicinal with big red crosses and language about skin problems," says founder Amy Risley.   Or C'est Moi, a clean brand now likely at a drugstore near you, is made and marketed for younger women who have sensitive skin (read: acne- and irritation-prone). But the packaging here is all neon and playfulness—with an added affection toward trendy masks and fun makeup. And in that vein: There's the just-launched Kinship, which launched with five microbiome-friendly products.   Of course, if you're still one to default to the classic natural brands: These brands stepped it up too. Perhaps not with Instagram-attention-grabbing colors and typeface, but by releasing their most innovative sensitive skin collections yet. This year Burt's Bees launched their Sensitive Skin collection, which has six National Eczema Association–approved products. As did Kemedis, the natural derm-approved favorite.  

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Mass makes a major investment.

  Of course, mass has been playing in this space for a while now. But over the past year, efforts to capitalize in the space have ramped up. This isju no doubt led by the market's general swing toward clean and natural in general. Natural products had more than $1.5 billion in sales in 2017, according to Nielsen. Grand View Research notes in a report that the organic beauty category will reach nearly $25 billion by 2025 globally.   As we've talked about before, Sephora, somewhat surprisingly, emerged as a leader in the clean market: This summer they expanded their Clean at Sephora section and seal—from 13 "no" ingredients to over 50. "We were getting so many questions about ingredients and clean from our customers—it was in stores, comment sections, reviews," Cindy Deily, Sephora's vice president of skin care merchandising told us. Also worth noting: Sephora's own skin care collection dons the seal.   It says something when a mass brand launches its own clean line, no?   And on that note: There was Walmart's very first in-house skin care line. In a very telling, and almost shocking, move, the line was clean and natural-leaning. Earth to Skin was a 30-plus collection of skin care products (each product had at least one superfood active) that nixed ingredients like parabens, phthalates, and often silicones.   Also earlier this year, Target launched its own clean seal that covers beauty, home, and food. They've also been recruiting and helping launch a plethora of clean brands. One of our favorites? Versed, which dropped this May. "It's pretty impressive how much shelf space Target is giving to clean and natural brands," says Melanie Bender, the brand's general manager. "It used to be only a sliver in stores, and now they're making room for our type of brands."   CVS now has CVS Clean, which highlights products formulated without parabens, phthalates, and formaldehyde donors. (And they continue to roll out affordable clean options at their stores—even those that are EWG-verified.)   Or Ulta, which hosts a wide assortment of our natural favorites like their new launch The Handmade Soap Co., or W3ll People, AHAVA, and so on.

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In the name of sustainability, ingredients get interesting.

  The hunt for unique, one-of-a-kind ingredients has always been at the core of beauty. The driving force, however, used to be about efficacy. (Or, sometimes, a marketing ploy.) But now the driving force behind ingredient stories? Sustainability.   This year we've seen an explosion of creative and innovative ingredients, sourced from the most unlikely of spots—when Birkenstock launched their skin care line nationally a few months ago. The hero ingredient was a new active called suberin, which was actually derived from the cork they use to make their shoes. When formulated in skin care, however, the substance reduces skin redness, stimulates collagen formation, and can protect against free radicals. And it's harvested from the bark of the cork trees, making the process much more eco- and planet-friendly. So much so, they earned themselves COSMOS's quality seal, which is the international mark that certifies that ingredients are from renewable resources and manufactured in an environmentally friendly manner.   Or, instead of cleansing with single-use wipes or exfoliating with microplastics, don't be surprised if you'll soon be encouraged to opt for sea sponges. Argentum Apothecary is a natural, organic, clean London-based brand that recently came out with their milk and fina sea sponge duo. And other than the fact that using the "tool" feels like washing yourself with a cashmere blanket, it's grown and harvested using better-for-the-earth practices. "These are ethically harvested fina silk sea sponges, sourced from the Mediterranean Sea and handpicked using traditional methods," says brand founder Joy Issacs, noting that the sponges are cut at the base so they can regenerate.   Also from the sea: One Oceans' skin care collection. Sea microorganisms might not be anything new, but this brand searched the globe to find the most active options and ocean-friendly tech. They utilize two you might be familiar with, hydrolyzed marine collagen and brown sea kelp but also two lesser-well known strains of algae found in the Antarctic (Biofermented pseudoalteromonas microorganism and Glycoprotein derived from a biofermented Antarctic Pseudoalteromonas). They also use cutting-edge blue biotechnology to help regrow their strains that are put into their serums, moisturizers, and masks. But it's not creating a synthetic version; it's a natural replica of the original. This means they're not depleting the ocean's natural supply. Reports show that the blue biotechnology is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years—and one of the main reasons is the clean and natural cosmetic industry.   There's even a brand-new ingredient that's yet to hit the market, called activated silk, a protein extracted from natural silk fiber. The brand currently making it, Evolved By Nature (EBN), imports discarded silkworm cocoons. They purify the cocoon in a water and salt mixture—which leaves them with a natural silk fiber—and dissolve the fiber to release the silk protein in its liquid form. When put in oils and serums, it can help spur collagen production.   But it doesn't have to be brand-new ingredients to be innovative: Many brands are finding totally unique ways to harvest some of our classic favorites.   One of my favorite examples is from the natural, luxury oil brand Milèo New York, learned how to sustainably harvest Indian sandalwood, which was on the brink of extinction before the government shut down deforesting to preserve the native tree. (It's historically been used as one of the most sacred and powerful ingredients in ayurveda, and today, according to recent reports, the sandalwood market is expected to grow 10% annually until at least 2022, due largely in part to the rising interest in aromatherapy.) What makes the sandalwood harvesting process so damaging is the oil comes from the heartwood resin: The tree must be cut down to extract it. But this brand uses a special drilling process, which extracts the essential oil from old tree stumps from long-since harvested trees. That's not all they do: Once each stump is fully extracted, 30 saplings are planted, tagged, and protected.   Ah, what's that saying? Necessity is the mother of invention. Sounds about right.  

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Bespoke beauty gets even bigger.

  Customization, personalization, bespoke: Call it what you want, but beauty tailored to you—and just you—is by all accounts, the future of beauty. We started seeing more customizable beauty brands pop up in the beauty industry a few years ago. It's likely spurred on for a few reasons. First, by how easy technology has made the concept. Right now, you can take a hair-type quiz on your phone or "try on" a new look with filter-like technology. And in the future, many speculate we'll be 3D printing our own shades of makeup.   But it also comes from how much the new crop of social-media-savvy beauty consumers crave individuality. It's not enough to have a totally unique look or routine—the formulas in those products must be totally unique to you, too.   And this isn't just speculation; according to beauty market insider Cosmoprof, 2020 will be the year of customization in beauty. And it will be global, too. Their report showed that in Italy, 35% of consumers are interested in beauty products that can be personalized/tailored for them. In China, 31% of consumers say that the word "individuality" defines luxury. In the U.S., 40% of makeup users aged 25 to 34 are frustrated by products that don't match their skin tone.   In the meantime, there are a few brands already harnessing the power of Silicon Valley tech and cutting-edge medicine. NakedPoppy, a clean beauty retailer that launched just earlier this year, starts with an online quiz that determines your skin's needs, factors in your personal wants, and even decodes your skin tone with the camera function. Once done, it will suggest products—from SPF and serums to eyeliner and foundations—tailored to you, then sent right to your door. I tried it out at the time of launch, and the foundation match was my favorite part: I didn't have to sift through pages of foundations to find one that just might have my shade; it only suggested foundations that would work for my very specific skin tone, undertones and all. "We want to remove the 'what would work for me' out of the shopping equation," says brand co-founder Jaleh Bisharat at the time of launch.    Then there's Atolla, a skin care brand that creates a unique sequence based on your skin's moisture levels, oil, pH, concerns, and the time of year. You take a self-assessment test (where they learn about your wants and needs), but they also send you a kit with special, proprietary strips that you press to various points on your skin to test moisture, pH, oil, and so on, to create a customized serum just for you.   "Our proprietary algorithms use a combination of the data you report and the information we collect from your skin with our easy-to-use testing kit. Done in your home with nothing to send back, you get an instant read on where your skin is at now and are able to follow along over time. Our tech even allows us to provide predictive skin care, i.e., helping you with preventing skin problems before they happen," says Ranella Hirsch, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist, CSO, and co-founder of the brand. "For such a long time, a guess was the best there was. There's no going back now!"   But we also love them because they are clean, too. They also nix artificial fragrance, artificial preservatives, phthalates, parabens, or sulfates and are also gluten-free and vegan. But their clean stance isn't just because it's trendy; if the technology makes it that, they don't need to rely on these preservatives: Since you're getting a new shipment regularly, they're not concerned about a multi-month shelf life.   The future? Looking shockingly like you.  

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Here, leaders at the forefront of the industry explain why brands are more successful when they improve upon the food system as a whole. Working at the farmers market during college, Patrick Mateer was excited by what he saw: consumers and farmers connecting over eager demand for fresh and local food. But he was concerned, too, about the excess that was coming back from the market unsold with no other clear outlet, and about the problem of aligning the daily output of the farm with the weekly opportunity of the market. Attempting to solve these problems for farmers, and meet consumer demand for local, Mateer created Seal the Seasons, a frozen fruit brand hitting the market with an unprecedented model. “We wanted to replicate that same local feel in the grocery store by introducing lines of locally sourced, locally frozen, and locally sold products,” says the company’s COO Alex Piasecki. That means contracting with local farmers, freezing the goods locally and distributing only to markets in the region—all within about a 300-mile radius. On the shelf, the frozen, bagged fruit Seal the Seasons brings to market, is nothing new. The innovation demonstrated is in the way it serves farmers, communities, consumers and retailers behind the product. And this may be the next wave of innovation in the natural products space. “It’s not always about engineering something new,” Piasecki says, “because we can always engineer something new. It’s all about understanding the story and who you’re supporting with your dollars, more so than what you’re buying.” In many ways, this view is the core and founding ethos of the natural and organic products industry, and the influence the industry exerts throughout the U.S. food system is undeniable. But even as innovation and competition in this now $219 billion industry reaches a fever pitch, many experts witness an ironic stagnation in meaningful change. Does the market need more flavor choices in popcorn or more format choices for matcha? Maybe. But what the world urgently needs is innovations that work to regenerate the systems—ecological, financial, cultural and climatic—so threatened by rampant consumption. “We brought this just amazing innovation to the food industry,” Robyn O’Brien says about the natural products industry, “and we’ve reinvented these toxic products, brought them back into this wholesome, nutritious product.” The author, speaker and vice president of impact investing firm rePlant Capital has been tracking the industry throughout her career. “But then we just got stuck, and we kind of kept trying to reinvent ourselves on that wheel. And it just became a wheel that, instead of moving us forward, started spinning in place.” Too much of the industry today, O’Brien believes, is focused on the end-user product. “But if you think about everything it takes to get there, we need innovation at every level, from distribution to packaging, to transportation.” Seal the Seasons may not hit every level, but it is pioneering something meaningfully different in distribution. The company has now replicated its model in six growing regions across the country, working with nearly 60 farmers and selling frozen fruit in 3,000 grocery stores, proving that a local focus doesn’t inhibit a company’s national growth potential. There are clear ecological benefits to its model (Piasecki says each two pounds of fruit eliminates one pound of greenhouse gases when compared to average frozen food), but the motivation for the brand is really in the people it serves: the farmers struggling in a global market, the retailers attempting to satisfy demand for local, and the consumers seeking that local product—whether to support the farmer they met at the farmers market or just to buy American. It’s only going to become more important, Piasecki predicts, as consumers increasingly care “not only what their food is, but where it’s coming from, what it’s treated with, who’s growing it, are they paid a fair wage?” Quality matters, too, and he believes Seal the Seasons delivers on this. But he distinguishes between brand promise and product promise, which is just a matter of quality standards. “Consumers want that product to be great,” he says about the interaction of those promises. “They want that product to be sold to them at a value they think is fair, and they want that product to be produced in a way that is fair to everyone.”

Taking a step back

TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky distinguishes between two different types of innovation. Even when trying to solve big problems, innovators often employ what he calls “twist innovation,” wherein tweaks are made to existing product concepts to make incremental improvements. What inspires Szaky, is what he calls “step back” innovation. By stepping back to look at the problem being solved, Szaky says, innovations can stimulate monumental leaps into the future. “Uber’s a good example, right? It’s not a better cab or a better price, it’s thinking about the concept of mobility within what resources are on the road today,” he says. “Or taking an arbitrary example of oral hygiene, I take a step back and first understand why it is the problem of oral hygiene even exists, what are the causes?” That, he says, is when innovators start thinking about not just the object, but the way the consumer receives it and interactes with it. Once the source problem is understood, he says, “you may land on an answer that doesn’t look like a toothbrush at all.” That would be a unique market advantage compared to a toothbrush “incrementally twisted” to feature new bristles or a better handle. “And I think that’s where you’re going to get the biggest opportunity to succeed, especially as an entrepreneur or a smaller company.”

Package deal

TerraCycle exists to eliminate the very idea of waste through collection and remanufacture programs. This intersects with the food and household goods industry on packaging. After all, even as islands of single-use plastics continue to pollute the oceans, “packaged” remains the middle name of the CPG world. (Indeed, TerraCycle’s programs include working with P&G to package the world’s top-selling shampoo, Head & Shoulders, in recycled ocean plastic.) For TerraCycle’s most ambitious program to date, the team applied a step back approach to packaging, asking why packaging exists and how those needs can be met without giving in to single-use materials. This step back also included a look back. “In the past, garbage didn’t exist,” Szaky says. “Things were reusable, things were beautiful, things were more durable, things were higher quality.” All major positives, he says, especially when compared to the disposable, low-quality packages we use today that don’t often deliver a particularly good consumer experience beyond the most basic function. The exploration resulted in Loop, a bold plan to create packaging that is both durable and appealing to consumers and can be returned, cleaned and reused—not recycled—at the same value level again and again, and to build it with the biggest players in household goods: P&G, Nestle, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Clorox and Unilever. This required “thinking beyond the three-dimensional design of the product and the two-dimensional artwork that adorns it,” Szaky says, and tackling the system behind it. Each of these brands, and others, are participating to create what Szaky calls an ecosystem, and thereby a critical mass of offerings consumers can interact with—something he believes is required to create the momentum necessary for Loop to be successful. Presently the programs are handled by mail, but eventually will involve major retailers selling goods and collecting empties. In other words, not settling for a new twist on packaging has the potential to be, Szaky says, “a monumental reinvention of the very concept of that idea in a very futuristic way.” The program is off to a good start. Since its launch early this year—with a few hundred products in a handful of cities—Project Loop has engaged over 10,000 consumers. “The world is falling deeply out of love with packaging,” Szaky says. “Seeing the negative, losing the delight on the positives, it’s an existential crisis for packaging at the moment, which is the perfect time to open and question all the foundations around it.” Any potential success is a product of timing, Szaky says. “If you go back to the 1970s and 1980s, people were so in love with [packaging], you couldn’t foundationally have those discussions, because people didn’t see the problems. They had the love but not the negative.” Now, he says, everything is open to change. “It’s a massive ask of these brands,” Szaky says, “to ask them to reinvent everything: how they account for physical product itself, how it’s filled, the entire economic backbone to it, so on and so forth. But now with this particular time where we are, those conversations are on the table. Enthusiastically.”

Now’s the time

Innovation, of course, is always a question of timing. Changes in the collective consciousness make way for new opportunities to solve more fundamental problems. Are sufficient numbers of consumers eager enough to embrace the motivation behind the innovation? Are we ready to reassess some of the fundamental assumptions of capitalism? “In a way, it’s the same problem Wall Street has, where it’s just this insatiable drive to consistently be on your earnings model, quarter after quarter after quarter,” says O’Brien. “And when you get into that mindset of demanded, extracted growth, we pay a price.” O’Brien would like the industry to go deeper, like Seal the Seasons and TerraCycle have. “The invitation is to really think of the entire supply chain, the entire sourcing process, and think about ways we can do this in a smarter, more holistic way,” she says. “That’s the higher calling. I mean, that’s really what we’ve been called to do in the industry, is to innovate on the food system, not just the food product.”

It is easier than you think and can be an important part of your office culture. Thinking about going zero waste at work? Whether your office is focused on sustainable design or you just want to reduce your garbage output, going zero-waste can be an important—and beneficial—part of your office culture. Diverting all or most waste into reuse or recycling may sound challenging, of course, but there’s a pretty easy roadmap to getting there. “The word ‘zero’ can be daunting,” says Tiffany Threadgould, global vice president at waste management company TerraCycle, which offers a broad, national recycling program. Begin where you are, she advises, and look for the low-hanging fruit. “Our office is a great example of one that’s evolved over time,” she says. To get started, conduct an audit to determine what waste materials your office is generating most. Is it fabric samples? Junk mail? Chip bags? The audit doesn’t need to be formal, but it should include observing the contents of garbage cans, amount of paper on desks, and single-use items in break rooms. To go zero-waste, it’s crucial to heed the three Rs—reduce, reuse, recycle, and in that order. Once you’ve identified your biggest culprits, figure out how to cut back. For many offices, lunch is a problem area. Replace disposable drink- and flatware with reusables. Terracycle’s Loop program offers snacks, cleaning products, and more in reusable packaging that can be returned and refilled. And increasingly, subscription compost services will pick up your organic matter, too. Pre-cycling—the concept of considering how much waste a product will create before you even buy it—is also essential. How recyclable or reusable is a particular office supply? Do you really need it? “It’s about being cognizant of what you’re buying and what you’re using,” says Threadgould. Where it comes to paper, for example, by some accounts the average American office worker uses 10,000 sheets of paper annually. Reduce that by sharing documents digitally. When printing is necessary, a high-efficiency printer will use less ink and toner. Invest in quality, durable goods built to last, consider renting equipment you use only occasionally, and look for manufacturers—like office furnishings leaders Herman Miller and Humanscale—that meet high sustainable standards and offer take-back programs. And for materials that can’t be easily recycled regionally, check out Terracycle’s extensive recycling programs, many of which are free. At LPA, a sustainable architecture firm based in Southern California, the zero-waste program includes eliminating personal garbage cans at desks, which reduced bins in their 280-person office from 300 to 24. The goal was twofold: minimizing waste by changing behavior, but also increasing collaboration by getting workers up from their desks. The move saves on maintenance costs, too. The program is also a talking point with clients, many of whom feel inspired to go zero-waste, too. “It’s a great PR opportunity for us,” says Rick D’Amato, the design director and principal who steered the effort. “But the minute you start talking about the bottom line, that really gets their attention.” For any zero-waste program to succeed, educating employees is critical, and chances are good you’ll meet a little resistance. It helps to clearly spell out benefits to staff, says D’Amato, who admits he’s had to nudge a few co-workers into compliance. “Stick to your guns, though,” he says. “If everyone is on board, change happens much more quickly.”

The home cleaning market has been saddled with lackluster growth for years. New players, with new ideas, hope to shake up this $3.4 billion category. The only thing worse than cleaning the home is purchasing cleaning products, a process that wastes time and resources, according to detractors. No wonder that the newest ideas in home cleaning have less to do with cleaning spills than cleaning up the buying process. While few people admit to enjoy cleaning their homes, there’s no denying that the home cleaning category, when taken together, is a giant business. According to IRI, household cleaner sales in grocery, drug, mass market, military and select club and dollar retailers, rose 1.2% to more than $3.46 billion for the 52 weeks ended Sept. 8, 2019. Of course, some segments performed better than others. For example, all-purpose cleaner/disinfectant sales rose 4.7% to nearly $1.3 billion, but national brand managers should temper their enthusiasm, considering that private label sales surged more than 35% during the period. Oven and appliance cleaners and degreasers also outpaced overall industry growth, rising 8.3% to more than $203 million. The category has been a boon for Procter & Gamble, as its sales jumped more than 58% during the period, according to IRI. Meanwhile, sales were flat in multimillion-dollar categories like toilet bowl cleaners/deodorizers. But with sales limping along with a growth rate lower than the population growth, some entrepreneurs insist that the category is ripe for dramatic change through simplification. According to the founders of Truman’s, a new line of cleaning products, the cleaning process has become extremely complicated with a variety of formulas, SKUs, colors and scents. Their answer is four spray cleaners that work effectively on a variety of surfaces. There’s Everything And The Kitchen Sink kitchen cleaner, Floors Truly floor cleaner, More Shower To You bathroom cleaner and The Glass is Always Cleaner glass cleaner. What’s more, all four formulas come in concentrated cartridges. Consumers fill and refill spray bottles using water and cleaner formulas that are about the size of a Lifesavers package. It all adds up to a big savings in packaging and shipping costs—issues that have moved front and center with consumers. For Truman’s co-founders, reinventing an existing business model is nothing new. Jon Bostock and Alex Reed co-founded Truman’s after shaking up the staid industrial fan business. Bostock is the former president and COO of Big Ass Fans (BAF), which designs and sells large fans and lighting systems for industrial, commercial and farm use. Reed was BAF’s global marketing director. BAF was sold at the end of 2017, but Bostock and Reed wanted to do something entrepreneurial together. “We believe in the direct-to-consumer model and innovative products, and we felt that cleaning had been left behind,” Reed told Happi. “The supply chain is broken; products are primarily water, so companies are basically shipping and warehousing a small amount of active.” Problems continued once palettes are unloaded and products are placed on retail store shelves, according to Reed. “With so many unnecessary cleaners and fragrances, it is all very confusing,” he insisted. “No brand was born in the digital age of listening to the consumer. The category needed to be reimagined throughout the value chain.” Truman’s is a startup, but in its short existence company executives realized that consumers have an appetite for easy-to-use products that are “non-toxic.” People like to engage with us via social media and our website (www.Trumans.com),” insists Reed. “Household cleaning is a sleepy category and it doesn’t have to be.” In fact, Truman’s woke up Henkel to the possibility of a fun, DTC model. Two months ago, the multinational took a stake in the Louisville, KY-based startup. With the minority investment in Truman’s, Henkel is taking over the role as lead investor in a seed round totaling $5 million. “Convenience and sustainability today are top-of-mind for an increasing number of today’s consumers and we continuously advance our portfolio while addressing these topics. Specifically, when it comes to packaging, Henkel pursues ambitious targets for sustainable packaging to promote a circular economy and reduce plastic waste,” said Robert Günther, corporate director, Henkel Ventures, in statement. “We look forward to gaining insights from the Truman’s team, as well as supporting them with our expertise and resources.” The feeling is definitely mutual, said Reed, who noted that Henkel has broad manufacturing capabilities and international distribution. “We wanted to do more than take a paycheck,” he recalled. “Henkel has expertise in international trade and compliance, and has new technology, too. Now we have access to it.” Will Henkel ultimately offer the founders a buyout? Not necessarily. “Henkel’s venture arm made the investment and they want to see the value of the investment increase; this isn’t an acquisition nor is it a path to acquisition,” explained Reed. “We aren’t seeking new funds at this time, but it shows that the multinationals are interested (in a new model).” New from P&G Multinationals want new, whether its home grown or brought inside. Procter & Gamble expanded the Mr. Clean franchise earlier this year with two new formulas. Clean Freak is said to have three times the cleaning power of conventional all-purpose cleaners, and acts on contact to remove 100% of dirt, grease and grime leaving nothing behind but a perfect shine, according to Mary Johnson, a spokesperson for Procter & Gamble. The brand also launched Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Sheets that have Magic Eraser’s cleaning power but are thin and flexible. “Recently, we’ve focused on designing more plant-based products, to meet consumer needs and help increase our use of renewable materials,” explained Johnson. “We’ve introduced a plant-based portfolio in Fabric Care, with Tide purclean, Downy Nature Blends, Dreft purtouch and Gain Botanicals, and we’ve launched Home Made Simple, a plant-based home care & cleaning line designed to meet EPA Safer Choice and USDA Standards.” The Home Made Simple line includes detergent, fabric softener, multipurpose cleaner, hand soap and dish soap. According to P&G research, about 8% of consumers are committed to a lifestyle that includes natural products, but up to 76% of consumers are interested in trying such products. About 24% of consumers aren’t interested in naturals. Cleaner products that help consumers clean their homes has other benefits, too. “Consumers across the country are increasingly tapping into the mental clarity and peace of mind that comes from not only a clean home, but from the act of cleaning itself,” observed Johnson. “Most consumers are aware of the physical benefits of a good clean, but more and more consumers are turning to cleaning as a way to clear their minds, take a pause from the hectic pace of daily life and use that as a moment of ‘me time.’” Johnson pointed to the new phenomenon of “clean with me” videos has caught fire on YouTube. These videos, which literally take the viewer around a stranger’s home as they clean it, have been viewed more than 200 million times, with more than 5,000 new video uploads in the past few months alone. She told Happi that for P&G brands, sustainability comes to life in everyday moments, like washing laundry and doing dishes. “For example, as more and more people strive to adopt resource-efficient habits, it becomes increasingly important to use products designed to perform in the toughest conditions. If you’re washing clothes in shorter, colder cycles, you need a detergent like Tide, that’s been designed with a specific enzyme to clean in the quickest, coldest wash. If you want to use less water to get clean dishes, you need a product that doesn’t require a pre-rinse, like Cascade, which lets you skip the rinse and save up to 15 gallons of water per load. If you’re using a lower performing product and something doesn’t get clean, chances are you’ll compensate for that by washing it again—this time with more water or more product, driving your footprint up. So that’s why we design products like Tide and Cascade specifically to help save water, time and energy, without sacrificing the clean you need.” At the same time, P&G is aware that the way its products are made matters too. So, the company makes its brands at facilities that use 100% renewable wind power electricity and send zero manufacturing waste to landfill. “We’ve helped the industry tackle important challenges like the creation of a recycling stream for colored PET, and we’re working to find alternatives to plastics, like Cascade cartons made from 100% recycled wood pulp,” said Johnson. Finally, P&G is being transparent about what’s in its products and why. Johnson noted that P&G was one of the first firms to participate in the online SmartLabel system, where you can find information about all of P&G’s fabric and home care products listed. “Today, we working to incorporate more of this information onto our packaging to further our transparency efforts and enable you to make informed choices,” she said. SC Johnson has been the leader in ingredient transparency for years. In September, SC Johnson released its 2018/19 Sustainability Report. During the past year, the company has removed 1.7 million kilograms of plastic from primary packaging. Furthermore, 94% of the company’s plastic packaging is now recyclable, reusable or compostable. Recently, SC Johnson let its membership in the Plastics Industry Association expire. In a statement, SCJ said it strongly believes governments should be able to democratically ban plastics if that’s what its citizens want. “Leaving the Plastics Industry Association was a difficult situation because we respect the work they’re doing on recycling and plastic innovation,” a company spokesperson told Happi. “However, its connection to the American Progressive Bag Alliance became confusing. SC Johnson is committed to packaging innovation and post-consumer recycled content and you’ll see more from us in the future.” Are You in the Loop? Whether startup or multinational, nearly every FMCG company is determined to reduce its packaging footprint. Last year, more than 250 companies, including PepsiCo and H&M, pledged to cut back on their use of plastic, including making all of their packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. Packaging is the hot-button issue of the moment and TerraCycle, the creator of Loop, is pushing all the right buttons. Launched in May, Loop is billed as a global circular shopping platform that’s designed to eliminate the idea of waste by transforming the products and packaging of everyday items from single-use to durable, multi-use, feature-packed designs, according to TerraCycle, which developed Loop more than a year ago, introduced the concept at Davos and has expanded from three US states to 11 in six months. Loop is also available in Paris and, most recently, London. “The growth and acceptance has been wonderful,” said Anthony Rossi, VP-global business development, Loop. “We are adding nearly a brand a day.” At press time, Loop offered 150 products and Rossi expected that number to climb to 350 by year-end. So, who’s in the Loop? Well-known companies such as Clorox, P&G, Seventh Generation and Unilever offer an array of cleaners, detergents and personal care products in reusable, returnable, often stainless-steel packaging. Loop delivers products to its members’ doors and picks up the packaging when it’s depleted. Products are reordered online and after seven or eight uses, The Loop process turns positive for the environment, according to TerraCycle. For now, consumers can order products at Loopstore.com, and Kroger and Walgreens are the official retail partners. Loop is just getting started, but there have already been a lot of lessons learned, according to Rossi. “Faster moving products, such as snacks and beverage, create a lot of engagement with consumers,” he told Happi. “On the home care side, autodish pods and all-purpose cleaners have been performing very well.” Getting in the Loop isn’t easy. Suppliers are making heavy investment in packaging and filling lines, but as Rossi notes, “they wouldn’t do it if the reaction wasn’t positive and there wasn’t demand for our products.” Procter & Gamble was one of the first companies to join the Loop program. P&G designed packaging that is both reusable and recyclable for Febreze One, an ultra-durable package for Cascade and a stainless-steel refillable package for Tide Purclean. All three of these solutions are designed for consumer convenience and reuse, and to enable ongoing learning within the new platform, according to Johnson. “While it’s still very early in the test markets, we have seen that consumer appeal increases when the product offering broadens, so we are encouraging more brands to join Loop as we all learn together in this important space,” she said. Coming Next Month A different kind of packaging issue was front and center earlier this year. The household cleaning industry won a key battle in August when the Supreme Court of the State of New York ruled in favor of a lawsuit filed by the Household & Commercial Product Association (HCPA) and the American Cleaning Institute (ACI) against the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) attempts to force cleaning product manufacturers to disclose chemical ingredients and identify any ingredients that appear on authoritative lists of chemicals of concern on their websites. The Court found that the NYSDEC Disclosure Program is “null and void” and remitted the matter back to NYSDEC with the directive to comply with State Administrative Procedure Act. “It was a huge decision,” recalled Steve Caldeira, president and CEO, HCPA. “Any time you litigate against a state it is a big undertaking.” According to Caldeira, the ruling underscores HCPA’s successful strategy to collaborate with other stakeholders on key issues. “The HCPA has a good reputation of being collaborative and inclusive. Engagement and collaboration is our mantra and we will continue to do so.” At the same time, however, Caldeira observed that the association is willing to go it alone when it involves critical issues. Two years ago, when California passed the Cleaning Product Right to Know Act, HCPA engaged in intense negotiations with NGOs and other stakeholders, when many other associations, were neutral on the issue. HCPA also played a leading role in the reauthorization of the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA), which was signed by President Donald J. Trump this Spring and will remain in effect through 2023. Also this year, HCPA earned the 2019 Safer Choice Partner of the Year from the US Environmental Protection Agency. “To win this award is humbling and we are very grateful. It speaks to the vision and mission of our board and the engagement of our membership,” said Caldeira. “We have a lot of big wins, because we have a talented staff, an engaged board and are focused on the right issues.” Of course, more issues are on the horizon. For example, the California legislature adjourned before acting on the Circular Economy and Pollution Reduction Act, which would require all single-use packaging sold in California on or after Jan. 1, 2030 to be recyclable or compostable. HCPA member companies are part of the Alliance To End Plastic Waste, a group made up of some the leading suppliers and marketers in the home came industry. These companies have pledged $1.5 billion over the next five years to solve some of the issues surrounding plastic. “Plastic is an issue that consumers care about and one that we must address,” said Caldeira. “Whatever we can do as companies and trade associations to become smarter and innovate around plastic is important.” During XPand 2019, the HCPA Annual Meeting, several important issues will be in focus. The event takes place in Fort Lauderdale, FL, Dec. 8-11, 2019. The overarching theme of the Annual Meeting is innovation and, for the first time, the HCPA will honor members with its Innovation Awards, which will be granted in five categories—ingredients, sustainability, consumer communication, technology and game-changing innovation. Annual Meeting programming will center on operational excellence, consumer education and sustainability stewardship. There will be sessions on consumer habits, ecommerce, retailer updates, supply chain disruption and diversity. The keynote speaker is Nancy Giordano, a strategic futurist and corporate strategist who has guided transformation projects with The Coca Cola Company, Brinker International, Sprint, Nestle, Acumen, Energizer, Mercedes Benz and many other Fortune 500 companies. On Dec. 11, HCPA will host a Preservation Summit that will feature presentations by Beth Ann Browne of DuPont, Tony Rook and Doug Mazeffa of Sherwin Williams, Petra Kern and Jeff Van Komen of Procter & Gamble, and other key stakeholders to further the discussion about the benefits of product preservation. According to HCPA, the goal of the Summit is to help inform legislators, retailers, decision makers and NGOs about the benefits of product preservation by developing scientific and consumer-friendly data and educational content that can be used to communicate effectively with a range of target audiences. In 2020, HCPA staff will continue to collaborate with other groups to find a solution at the national level regarding ingredient communication. “We will continue to the use the California model for a national solution. Patchwork regulations can be onerous and costly,” observed Caldeira. “We need common sense solutions. We will continue to work with the Grocery Manufacturers Association, ACI and others to find a solution. There are a lot of great things going on, but we have to stay focused, collaborate with NGOs and like-minded trade groups.” The strategy is paying off, as HCPA membership and revenue continue to grow slowly and steadily. During his three years at the helm of the association, HCPA has been rebranded, developed economic data to better tell its story on Capitol Hill and at the state level, updated its strategic plan and and expanded its board and officers. “There is growing interest among companies to have a voice as we expand,” Caldeira concluded. “If you stay stagnant, you get left behind.”

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.