Loop

Image source: TerraCycle

As part of a project called Loop, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Danone, Mars Petcare, Mondelēz International and other consumer goods giants are working together with the startup TerraCycle on a possible solution to limit waste in the future. This is a whole new way of shopping in which reusable packaging plays the leading role. Around 300 products – from Tide detergent and Pantene shampoo to Häagen-Dazs ice cream – are currently already available in reusable packaging. After using the products, customers place the empty containers in the loop bag in which they have already been delivered on their doorstep. The containers are then picked up by a delivery service, cleaned, refilled and redelivered to consumers. In other words, the 21st century milkman is here – on a mission to save the world from single-use plastic.

After the initial test phase, the results are mixed: while Tesco completed a one-year trial of the platform online and in 10 UK stores, Clemence Schmid, General Manager for Loop Global at TerraCycle, said that Loop is still present in 100 stores in Japan and 50 stores in France. Carrefour in France is aiming to increase this to 500 stores, while the partnership with Walmart in the USA is also to be expanded.

Our conclusion: Similar to our reusable take-away trend, the infrastructure must be created here that allows consumers to return products anytime and anywhere – this is the only way to persuade the masses trained in “convenience” to rethink.