Loop Aims to Make Reusable Consumer Goods Mainstream

The planet is in trouble, and it’s pretty obvious who’s to blame. “We are meant to be the more intelligent species, [yet] we're producing a hell of a lot of waste in a way nature never does,” said Oliver Dudok van Heel, head of client sustainability and environment at international law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. “Clearly, we're doing something wrong.” To prevent Earth from turning into a giant landfill of empty shampoo bottles and toothpaste tubes, we have a few options. The first is recycling, which we already do, though not very well. (Just 9% of plastic waste gets recycled, according to the World Economic Forum.) Another is to buy less, which, though possible, isn’t likely due to a growing global middle class and the notion that everyone needs basic household goods. A third option is to reuse the containers that store liquids, gels and powders. This approach would not only diminish the amount of waste we generate, but it could also make some eco-friendly entrepreneurs rich. Turning 20% of the world’s plastic packaging into a reusable system represents a $10 billion business opportunity, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a U.K. organization seeking to advance the circular economy. Get in the Loop A promising enterprise aiming to do just that is Loop, a division of New Jersey-based TerraCycle, which also recycles difficult-to-recycle materials. Last December, TerraCycle raised $25 million for Loop with investors that included Nestlé and Procter & Gamble. A Closer Look: Fred Meyer “Over the past several decades, all of us have gotten very accustomed to single-use and disposable packaging,” said Denise Osterhues, Kroger’s senior director of sustainability and social impact. That’s not good. Beginning next month, the Kroger Company plans to start selling about 20 Loop products, such as dry food and hand soap, in 25 Fred Meyer stores in the Portland, Ore., area. Once shoppers are done with the goods, they can return the empty containers in a Loop tote that contains a QR code to reimburse their deposit fee. Loop ambassadors will be on-site during peak times to explain how it all works. “We are hopeful that our socially conscious and environmentally minded customers in the Portland market will respond favorably,” Osterhues added. “We are committed to reducing the impact of our products and packaging on the environment while continuing to offer the consumer an irresistible experience with our products,” said Tracey Long, P&G's director of corporate sustainability communications. “We believe reusable formats have potential to help us do both.” Together with major manufacturers—P&G, Nestlé, Unilever—Loop provides hundreds of everyday products such as disinfecting wipes, nut butters and bathroom cleaners in durable containers able to withstand 10 or more cycles. After using the products, shoppers return the empty containers to a Loop bin. Loop then cleans the containers and sends them back to the manufacturers to refill and ship back to the retailers. Bending the linear economy Loop, which debuted in 2019, is currently shifting from an online experiment to an in-store option. The basic concept is no longer in doubt, explained Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of TerraCycle, and the new goal is expansion. Earlier this month, for example, British grocer Tesco and McDonald’s U.K. introduced the program at a handful of locations. French retailer Carrefour intends to offer Loop products at 100 stores by the first quarter of 2022. Japan's Aeon and New York drugstore Duane Reade, owned by Walgreens Boots Alliance, have similar plans. One hurdle to Loop gaining mainstream acceptance is consumer habit. Who wants to lug a bag of dirty jars and bottles back to the grocery store? To make things easier for people, any Loop item can be returned to any Loop bin. A reusable coffee cup from McDonald’s, for instance, can be dropped off at Tesco. The bigger Loop gets, the more convenient the process becomes. “It's not about teaching you to be a better person,” Szaky said about attracting individuals to Loop. Rather, it’s about making participation as effortless as “chucking [trash] in the garbage.” Loop also requires deposit fees on Loop-branded items during checkout, which can cost between 10 cents and $10. Shoppers get their money back when they return the products, but the initial expense could turn some away. Then again, more and more people are adjusting their buying behavior to ensure future generations can enjoy an inhabitable planet. Corporations that fail to adapt risk extinction. “You're going to get to a place in the next few years where finding a branded package, whether it's in a river, in the sea, on your streets, will have a very negative association,” said Dudok van Heel. “That's not the case yet, but at some point, that will be. Companies will have to take ownership.”

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Paul Hiebert

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