Pilot scheme involving French retailer Carrefour gives customers the option to buy products in packaging that can be returned and reused
An innovative new circular shopping system designed to drastically cut packaging waste from consumer goods has launched today as a pilot in France.
First unveiled at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, the scheme is led by recycling specialists TerraCycle has the backing of some of the world's largest consumer goods companies, including Procter & Gamble, Nestle, PepsiCo, Unilever, Mars Petcare, The Body Shop, Coca-Cola European Partners, and Mondelēz International.
The pilot, involving leading French retailer Carrefour, will enable customers to buy everyday products in durable packaging that can be cleaned, collected, refilled and reused.
"Waste is a world-wide global crisis that has been growing for over half a century," explained Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of TerraCycle and Loop. "Loop has been designed to address this issue at its root, and we are proud to launch the platform in partnership with Carrefour for consumers in Paris and its region."
Customers can go to the Loop platform to place an order, where they will be charged a deposit for each product. Working with logistics firm Colisweb, the order will be delivered in a Loop shipping tote. After use, consumers place the empty containers back into the tote, and use the online platform to schedule a pick-up from their home, at which point the deposit will be returned.
Loop will then use specialist technology to clean the packaging so it can be safely reused. A range of Carrefour products will be available on the platform, along with items from brands including Coca-Cola, Colgate, Mondelez, Danone, BIC, Shell, the Body Shop.
Later in the year, Carrefour aims to integrate Loop into its main website, where consumers will be able to shop for Loop products alongside conventional items.
"We are very happy to be the first retailer in Europe to take part in Loop to offer a new circular shopping experience to our consumers," says Laurent Vallée, general secretary of Carrefour Group. "Carrefour is strongly committed to reducing waste, so it was a natural fit for Carrefour to support this innovative project. We hope other international manufacturers and retailers will join us to adopt new standards and scale up this concept in order to fight waste".