TerraCycle

Loop

 

 

The story of how one piece of useless foil got us thinking about sustainability. We explore our options with the help of forward-thinkers from TerraCycle and Unboxed Market. APRIL 5, 2019 / DESIGN BY ANDREA PACE   Brand loyalty is an overwhelmingly strong force. A force that can go both ways for brands – winning you undying devotion or making you the recipient of an onslaught of ALL CAP rants of damnation. We write this as we’re still licking the wounds from a recent brand disappointment. We’ve been worshipping at the altar of Glossier for years now – singing their praises at every opportunity. While this chorus of adoration will continue, our voices have lost some conviction – growing hushed while we wait to see their next move. As undying fans of the brand, we’re quick to fill our online carts at the first sight of a new product launch, so when Glossier Play came out, you could barely bat a Lash Slicked eyelash before our pink eyeliner and pots of glitter were en route to our homes. However, upon arrival we realized the usual glee that accompanied a Glossier unboxing session wasn’t there. Why? Because it went on for way too long. First there was the box, then there was the plastic pink pouch, then there was another box, and no – it did not end there, folks. Within that box, the product was wrapped in a piece of colourful foil, like a precious piece of plastic candy. Our brows immediately furrowed. What, pray tell, is the point of this colourful litter?? It may not have been until this multicoloured waste came into our lives – or perhaps it started when we were first staring at an empty container of Boy Brow and realized it may not be recyclable – but now it’s clear that this is a problem. A problem that all brands and consumers face at a time when excessive waste must be called into question. This seems like such a miss. Given that the company’s target is between 18 and 35 years of age – the lucrative Millennial and Gen Z consumer – you’d think a brand like Glossier – consumer-centric, progressive – would realize how important sustainability should be in their strategy around innovation and design. With two-thirds of Gen Z consumers saying they consider sustainability when making a purchase, it just seems like these considerations should be a no-brainer for any brand seeking the dollars of those savvy, young consumers. This cause doesn’t just align with consumer thinking, it can prove to be very good for a brand’s bottom line. Not only do 92% of consumers have a more favourable impression of a company that supports environmental causes, but 75% of Millennials and 72% of Gen Zers say they would pay more for a product with sustainable packaging. With more than half of Americans saying they have “packaging pet peeves”, this is clearly a pain point brands need to address. Companies like Loop are trying to change things. Loop is the company you’ve been reading about in the news – the one that’s helping Haagen-Dazs, among other big name, household brands (think P&G, Nestle, and Unilever), put their ice cream in reusable, stainless steel containers. The concept harkens back to a simpler time – one when the milkman was a familiar face. Rather than recycling the containers your products come in and purchasing new ones when they run out, the used containers will be picked up, washed, refilled, and sent out for delivery to another customer. We asked CEO of TerraCycle and Loop, Tom Szaky, what the root cause of brands’ waste woes is. Unsurprisingly Szaky said, “The root of the problem is the tremendous amount of disposable packaging in the marketplace. We can’t recycle our way out of the garbage crisis, as that solves the symptom, not the root cause of disposability”. Of the three R’s, recycle shouldn’t be the first action taken (as explained by Tom Szaky in a #TomTime moment on Loop’s Instagram). First, you should reduce your consumption and then find ways to reuse the remnants of what you still must consume. This is what companies like Loop are attempting to do. “Packages are designed to be durable and aesthetically pleasing,” Szaky said, “While the lifespan of each package will vary, Loop encourages manufacturers to design packaging that can last at least 100 cycles.” The option of redesigning not just your packaging, but also the process in which the product makes its way to the consumer, admittedly requires a hefty financial investment – often costing seven figures. That’s why other companies, like Unboxed Market – Toronto’s new waste-free grocery store, are creating local opportunities for consumers to shop sustainably. Here you can buy your produce, meat, spices, and household products with next to no single-use packaging, instead placing these products in jars, reusable bags, or containers brought from home or bought in the shop. Michelle Genttner, co-owner of the waste-free store, thinks the issue comes back to the need for convenience. “Brands are crowded more and more on to smaller shelf spaces, and they are constantly searching for ways to stand out – to make life easier, to get things done faster. All of this, often unncessarily, leads to extra waste.”, she says. Michelle agrees with the Loop way of thinking, suggesting that, ‘We need to look at earlier times in manufacturing. We had products that lasted a long time and that weren’t overly packaged. Garbage for a family of four was incredibly minimal, as many things were in something that could be repurposed.” Count that as another vote to bring back the milkman! We reached out to Glossier for a list of containers that can be recycled. Thankfully, many of the containers are (including the pink pouches!!!), but not necessarily all parts of the product. While that eased our minds slightly, these are still examples of single-use packages. The great thing about Glossier as a brand is that they listen to their customers. We want more shades of concealer? They make them. We want a highlighter that you don’t have to be a makeup artist to apply? Our wish is granted. Imagine if innovative companies like Glossier would take note of the Instagram comments, the agency blog posts, the indisputable evidence and form a sustainability task force or partner with forward-thinkers like Loop – investing time and money, and leading the way to change how things are done in production and packaging? Not just that, but if the consumers who are at risk of living in this mess started to speak up, problem-solve, and take action more often? Well, that would be beautiful. With big players in e-commerce and beauty making strides, the trail is one that is soon to be ablaze and one that any modern company should want to be on.  

Many contend that the single-use plastic culture has to change to really solve the plastics problem, and Loop, founded by TerraCycle and several brands, aims to reduce waste by setting up a closed loop system of reusable packaging that it is piloting in Paris and New York. Logistics and cost issues would seem to be paramount here, as Loop will provide pickup and cleaning, much less consumer appetite for the idea.

New Loop circular platform promotes reusable consumer product packaging

 

The Loop system, created by New Jersey-based Terracycle, could change the way people consume goods.

By Kevin J. RyanStaff writer, Inc.@wheresKR

CREDIT: Terracycle

 

Loop's co-founder explains how the sustainable packaging platform works with brands like P&G, Unilever and more to enable ecologically sound consumption patterns with durable containers designed for refill and reuse   In today’s climate that favors “out with the old and in with the new,” the world has become used to the convenience of disposability—and at huge cost to the environment. However, consumers and retailers alike are more aware than ever of the consequences of throwaway culture, and the opportunity is ripe for new ways of buying and using goods.   Enter Loop, a circular shopping platform that transforms the packaging of everyday essentials from single-use disposable to durable and refillable designs, curbing waste while also offering the same products consumers already buy in premium-quality containers. PSFK spoke to Loop’s co-founder Tom Szaky, also CEO and co-founder of recycling company TerraCycle, to learn about the platform’s imminent launch, and how it functions to help consumers truly own their product while placing the ownership of the packaging in the hands of the producer. Ultimately, Szaky emphasizes that recycling needs to be as convenient as disposing to sustain mainstream adoption—something Loop is striving to achieve.   PSFK: Could you describe the work that you do at Loop? Tom: I run and founded TerraCycle, now 16 years ago. TerraCycle’s mission is to eliminate the idea of waste. We don’t want to see ourselves as a waste management company, but more of a waste elimination organization.   We have a number of divisions to accomplish that. What we have been doing the longest and are effectively the most known for is turning things that have been considered not recyclable into nationally recyclable items, everything from dirty diaper recycling, which we’ve just launched with Pampers in Holland, to chewing gum recycling, which we do with Cadbury in Mexico, and hundreds of other waste streams.   Our second division is about making products from recycled materials. We take ocean plastic and turn it into Head & Shoulders bottles or Dawn dish soap bottles, for example. At the World Economic Forum in Davos about a month ago, we launched Loop, which is our third business unit. It’s entirely focused on how we solve waste at the root cause, which comes down to rethinking disposable items.   Could you elaborate on how Loop works? Loop is really an engine for brands and retailers. For brands, Loop enables them to develop durable versions of their products, like making Tropicana bottles in extremely durable glass instead of cartons.   There’s an ecosystem of products that most of the world’s biggest producers are involved in, from Unilever to P&G and many others, so that consumers can access the materials.   As a consumer, you would be able to go into your favorite store, see your favorite products, but instead of in disposable packaging, it’s in this beautiful, premium, reusable package. And instead of having to clean it yourself, to wash it out and refill it, we do that for customers. At Loop, we enable the benefits of disposability without the negatives. How did you approach designing a process that would fit into consumers’ lives and integrate recycling into them seamlessly? The first question we asked when we came up with the idea for Loop was, “Why does garbage exist?” We landed on, “Well, disposability.” But you can’t just vilify disposability. We wanted to think about, “Why are people, even today, just absolutely in love with the concept of disposability?”   The answer is that it brings unparalleled convenience and affordability. To solve the problem, we have to look at the positives, at what the value of it is for consumers, as problematic as it is. The thesis for Loop was, “How do we solve for the negatives of disposability while maintaining its positives?”   We realized it came down to ownership. One of the strange things about the products we buy, anything from our coffee cup to our shampoo, is that we really want the content, but we end up owning the package at the end. I’d argue, none of us really wants to own the package. If the manufacturer could own the package forever, they would be motivated to make it long lasting and durable. Suddenly, everything clicks.   How did you approach shifting that ownership from consumers to the retailers? It started with the producers of the products. It begins with the visible part, the package design, and making it into something durable. There are two ways to make something physically durable: One is to make it out of strong materials, but the other is to allow it to age. Actually allowing something to age dramatically increases the total number of times it can go around, which is a different concept in a world where everything is always brand spanking new.   Then, it needs to be cleanable, strong enough to endure being cleaned many times, and needs to be refillable. Those elements are the first major hurdle.   The second is integrating it for retailers. The key learning here is that retailers are very limited on resources these days, so they can’t do a lot of development. The want to enable a packaging-free aisle, if you will, a popular idea right now. At Loop, the goal is to enable this while forcing them to change as little as possible in their ecosystem.   The benefit of working with existing brands and existing retailers is they don’t have to convince consumers to buy their products—they’re already being sold effectively at a location where consumers already shop. The difference is just offering the option to have it in disposable and durable packaging.   The last piece is sustainability.We very quickly learned that durability brings about not just reuse, but also an amazing increase in luxury—in design based on the materials required. What happens is, then we can appeal not just to those concerned about the environment, but also to those who just want a better-looking product.   Did retailers and the partners you work with understand the benefit right away? Did Loop have to convince them?  Our very first partner was Procter & Gamble. We’ve been working with them through TerraCycle for many years. It did take a phenomenal amount of discussion, convincing and meetings because it’s a risk, on their time as well as money.   The second one was NestlÈ, and then Pepsi, Mars and Unilever, and things became progressively easier. Once those were established, it was a whirlwind. Almost every week a new partner is joining. You mentioned the side benefit of durable packaging is that it can create a better overall product experience. Could you expand on this? Did this appeal to retailers? With Loop, one of the things we focus on is helping retailers make distinguished packaging. The benefit to them is that it’s still the same product from the same brand, but with upgraded packaging.   How have consumers reacted to the concept? The response has been overwhelmingly positive. It’s phenomenal how many people have signed up for it. One of the things consumers are hoping for is that Loop scales quickly. We’re going to be starting in Paris, then New York, then London and Toronto, but they’d like to see it in more and more places. They also want a range of goods.   It’s good that we were able to start with the really big retailers, but based on consumer feedback we’re also going after some of the smaller startups to enable a diversity of products. 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. It doesn’t really matter which side of that consumers are on, as long as they get on board.   Could you explain the timing of your launch? The world is really strong right now for a system like this. People have woken up to the problem of garbage, as have retailers. They have made big commitments, big pledges, big promises. The companies that have to take part are ready to go, and that wasn’t the case two, three years ago.   How have consumer expectations for at-home delivery and online shopping influenced your work? It absolutely helps. A lot of what Loop relies on is existing supply chains, and by having a lot of ecommerce drivers already in place, we’re not putting more trucks on the road. Consumer comfortability with ecommerce supports us. Overall what is important to us is that customers feel that Loop is as convenient if not more convenient than the way they already consume. What can we expect for your launch this spring? May is when New York and Paris go live. We’ll be announcing the U.S. retailers at that time. There’ll be even more products than what’s already available. Every day more and more companies join and leverage more products. What’s also great is that they’re pushing each other, competing to foster innovation.   Could you speak about the future avenues for product reuse that Loop has the potential to open as it changes consumer behavior toward recycling? Establishing relationships with consumers related to reuse unlocks huge layers of opportunity. For example, if you go into a normal retailer like Amazon.com, you can see your order history. That’s pretty straightforward, and you’ll be able to see your order history in Loop as well, but you’ll get one more thing. Because we know what you bought and also when you returned it, we know what’s in your house. By definition, that’s everything that you bought but haven’t returned yet.   That is really interesting for the consumer because imagine if suddenly you have someone in your family that is allergic to peanuts. You can suddenly click one button and it would say, “Here is everything in your home that has peanuts in it.” Instead of having to go on the back of every product and figure it out yourself, can you imagine if with one click it would just highlight for you everything that’s a problem? Then with a second click, you could send that all in and substitute it for the non-peanut versions of the same type of product. There’s a lot of potential there.   Another is a feature that’s enabled right at the beginning: Shoppers can set their account so that their empty product triggers a reorder. They shop with their used product, which means they never get the wrong amount. If you think about it, what are the challenges with subscription models? Consumers love them, but one of the big complaints is it’s a box every month, and what if they go on vacation? What if they stop using that product? If they set it by having their used items trigger their reorders, then it’s by definition perfectly timed.   Another example of something we’re developing now is diagnostics. Imagine, since we know it’s your used motor oil container when you send back your used oil in your oil container, we could diagnose it for you by measuring the engine scrapings that are left diluted in your oil. That could then tell you what the health of the inside of your car are. Imagine cat litter. If we take the used cat litter, we could diagnose it and tell you about the health of your cat. What about a used dirty diaper and the health of your child?   There is a lot uncharted territory in knowing that a used product came from a certain consumer. Those are just a few examples of where that relationship could go in the future.   Tom Szaky. Loop Loop is combining consumer insight with innovation to enable a better way to consume. For more from similar inspiring companies, see PSFK’s reports and newsletters.   

Loop is changing the way we approach packaging through a zero-waste delivery and retail modelANDREW SEAMAN / UNSPLASH Ease, affordability, and convenience: these concepts that have quickly come to the forefront of the way that we operate and prioritize. Yet these priorities have come at odds with our growing environmental crisis, where individuals are starting to get curious about what they can do to lighten their environmental impact. Many struggle to balance a sustainable lifestyle with the prevalence and ease of a culture reliant on disposable products. Enter Loop, a new initiative pioneered by TerraCycle and a coalition of over a dozen brands including Unilever, P&G, PepsiCo, Nestle, People Against Dirty, Burlap & Barrel Single Origin Spices, and more, setting out to bring ease, affordability, and convenience to zero waste consumable goods. Loop combines innovation, sustainability, and convenience, allowing consumers to easily integrate zero waste into their purchasing decisions . By shifting the onus of the packaging to the manufacturers, the customers are able to get better products for the same price, plus a deposit, with essentially no waste. The implications are vast, and the program allows brands to innovate on both product and environmental solutions at the same time. For example, Unilever created minim, a reusable deodorant line that features Axe, Dove, and Rexona (called Sure in the UK and Degree in the US), for Loop. These three products currently reach over 1 billion people per year, and minim’s reusable container can be refilled up to 100 times. In addition to reducing waste, innovative packaging also leads to improved user experience. “The beautifully crafted design is minimal, compact and sustainable, offering a new consumer experience without any unnecessary materials,” shared Augusto Garzon, Global Brand Director, Deodorants at Unilever. Having already committed to ensuring their plastic packaging is reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2025, Loop is helping push Unilever forward in their sustainability goals. “We believe Loop will complement our existing efforts to create a plastic system that works and a packaging system that is truly circular by design,” commented David Blanchard, Unilever’s Chief R&D Officer. Loop’s goal is to make the circular economy and zero waste packaging accessible, and to that end, they are committed to working with manufacturers of all sizes. “We are partnering aggressively with every manufacturer, big and small,” emphasized Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle. “At the beginning, we are prioritizing [the] biggest [companies] first, since they are the biggest part of the challenge, and their scale is so large,” he commented, while also welcoming companies of any size in taking part. While the product selection may seem limited at first, the products featured are some of the most highly consumed products in the country, such as Tropicana orange juice and Haagen-Dazs ice cream. Shifting to reusable packing for those products can make a big splash in keeping packaging out of the landfill as well as the recycling stream. The leap for consumers to try out the program,Szaky contended, should not be a heavy load. “It’s already the world’s best products and the world’s best retailers, so it’s not a big leap of faith,” he explained. “The cheaper, easier, and more convenient we make it, the more people will adopt it.” The user experience is simple: products can be ordered online and shipped to the customer’s home in a reusable bag. When the customer is finished with the product, they put it back in the bag, and UPS, Loop’s logistical partner, picks it up and brings it back to be cleaned and refilled. Customers can either get their deposit returned or get the product refilled. Loop will also be rolling out the option to purchase and return to major retailers. The slight inconvenience of needing to return the bottle will also be offset by the innovation and design of the reusable packaging, Szaky purported. Loop allows companies to shift their focus from low-quality materials to durable and user experience-forward packaging. This enables companies to include “features that never could have existed before,” according to Szaky, such as an ice cream container that keeps your ice cream frozen for several hours, all at little to no extra cost for the customer (except for a deposit). Typically the consumer pays for the entire cost of a disposable package, whereas with Loop, the cost of the more expensive, reusable package, plus cleaning, will be averaged over the estimated lifespan of the container. Szakyhopes that the innovating packaging, as well as options to get refills upon return when ordering online, will incentivize consumers to partake in the program. Loop comes at a time where the zero waste movement is not just trendy, but necessary. “Addressing CO2 emissions from plastics is crucial for a successful transition to a low-carbon economy. But after 40 years of efforts to improve recycling, just 14% of plastic is collected for recycling today. It is clear that we cannot simply recycle our way to a plastic waste-free future," shared Sander Defruyt, Lead of the New Plastics Economy initiative at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. A new model is necessary as it becomes more readily apparent that recycling is not the best solution to our environmental crisis. “We need to eliminate the plastic we don’t need, and innovate so what we do need is circulated safely. New approaches that recognize the vital role of reuse and avoid the need for single-use plastic, like Loop, are a vital step in the shift to a circular economy,” cautionedDefruyt. Loop is launching New York and Paris this year. While specialty package free grocery stores, such as Nada and Precycle, as well as zero waste delivery service The Wally Shop, are popping up across the country for consumers already focused on reducing waste, Loop is complementing their work on a massive scale, working with some of the biggest companies in the world to tackle the problem head-on. “The future of consumption is that waste should not exist,” Szaky declared. The feels like a big step in that direct Loop is changing the way we approach packaging through a zero-waste delivery and retail modelANDREW SEAMAN / UNSPLASH Ease, affordability, and convenience: these concepts that have quickly come to the forefront of the way that we operate and prioritize. Yet these priorities have come at odds with our growing environmental crisis, where individuals are starting to get curious about what they can do to lighten their environmental impact. Many struggle to balance a sustainable lifestyle with the prevalence and ease of a culture reliant on disposable products. Enter Loop, a new initiative pioneered by TerraCycle and a coalition of over a dozen brands including Unilever, P&G, PepsiCo, Nestle, People Against Dirty, Burlap & Barrel Single Origin Spices, and more, setting out to bring ease, affordability, and convenience to zero waste consumable goods. Loop combines innovation, sustainability, and convenience, allowing consumers to easily integrate zero waste into their purchasing decisions . By shifting the onus of the packaging to the manufacturers, the customers are able to get better products for the same price, plus a deposit, with essentially no waste. The implications are vast, and the program allows brands to innovate on both product and environmental solutions at the same time. For example, Unilever created minim, a reusable deodorant line that features Axe, Dove, and Rexona (called Sure in the UK and Degree in the US), for Loop. These three products currently reach over 1 billion people per year, and minim’s reusable container can be refilled up to 100 times. In addition to reducing waste, innovative packaging also leads to improved user experience. “The beautifully crafted design is minimal, compact and sustainable, offering a new consumer experience without any unnecessary materials,” shared Augusto Garzon, Global Brand Director, Deodorants at Unilever. Having already committed to ensuring their plastic packaging is reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2025, Loop is helping push Unilever forward in their sustainability goals. “We believe Loop will complement our existing efforts to create a plastic system that works and a packaging system that is truly circular by design,” commented David Blanchard, Unilever’s Chief R&D Officer. Loop’s goal is to make the circular economy and zero waste packaging accessible, and to that end, they are committed to working with manufacturers of all sizes. “We are partnering aggressively with every manufacturer, big and small,” emphasized Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle. “At the beginning, we are prioritizing [the] biggest [companies] first, since they are the biggest part of the challenge, and their scale is so large,” he commented, while also welcoming companies of any size in taking part. While the product selection may seem limited at first, the products featured are some of the most highly consumed products in the country, such as Tropicana orange juice and Haagen-Dazs ice cream. Shifting to reusable packing for those products can make a big splash in keeping packaging out of the landfill as well as the recycling stream. The leap for consumers to try out the program,Szaky contended, should not be a heavy load. “It’s already the world’s best products and the world’s best retailers, so it’s not a big leap of faith,” he explained. “The cheaper, easier, and more convenient we make it, the more people will adopt it.” The user experience is simple: products can be ordered online and shipped to the customer’s home in a reusable bag. When the customer is finished with the product, they put it back in the bag, and UPS, Loop’s logistical partner, picks it up and brings it back to be cleaned and refilled. Customers can either get their deposit returned or get the product refilled. Loop will also be rolling out the option to purchase and return to major retailers. The slight inconvenience of needing to return the bottle will also be offset by the innovation and design of the reusable packaging, Szaky purported. Loop allows companies to shift their focus from low-quality materials to durable and user experience-forward packaging. This enables companies to include “features that never could have existed before,” according to Szaky, such as an ice cream container that keeps your ice cream frozen for several hours, all at little to no extra cost for the customer (except for a deposit). Typically the consumer pays for the entire cost of a disposable package, whereas with Loop, the cost of the more expensive, reusable package, plus cleaning, will be averaged over the estimated lifespan of the container. Szakyhopes that the innovating packaging, as well as options to get refills upon return when ordering online, will incentivize consumers to partake in the program. Loop comes at a time where the zero waste movement is not just trendy, but necessary. “Addressing CO2 emissions from plastics is crucial for a successful transition to a low-carbon economy. But after 40 years of efforts to improve recycling, just 14% of plastic is collected for recycling today. It is clear that we cannot simply recycle our way to a plastic waste-free future," shared Sander Defruyt, Lead of the New Plastics Economy initiative at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. A new model is necessary as it becomes more readily apparent that recycling is not the best solution to our environmental crisis. “We need to eliminate the plastic we don’t need, and innovate so what we do need is circulated safely. New approaches that recognize the vital role of reuse and avoid the need for single-use plastic, like Loop, are a vital step in the shift to a circular economy,” cautionedDefruyt. Loop is launching New York and Paris this year. While specialty package free grocery stores, such as Nada and Precycle, as well as zero waste delivery service The Wally Shop, are popping up across the country for consumers already focused on reducing waste, Loop is complementing their work on a massive scale, working with some of the biggest companies in the world to tackle the problem head-on. “The future of consumption is that waste should not exist,” Szaky declared. The feels like a big step in that direction.

宝洁、雀巢、百事和联合利华是塑料垃圾来源的大头，现在，他们正和 25 家公司测试新模式来解决这一问题，参与这一计划的公司包括了洗发水、洗涤剂和包装食品领域的大公司。新商品包装将从难以降解的塑料转变为玻璃和钢制，这些材质更适合消费者使用完毕退回到品牌方，或者进行清洁和重新装满其他东西。

周四在瑞士达沃斯，全球25个最大的品牌宣布，他们将很快提供可重复使用的容器产品。诸如Tropicana橙汁、Dove除臭剂、Tide洗衣粉、Quaker谷物和Häagen-Dazs冰淇淋等产品将以玻璃或不锈钢容器提供，而不是一次性使用的一次性包装。