Considering the state of the environment today, what with climate change and mass unprecedented extinction of animals, it is beyond high time that we do something about the incredible waste we all throw out every day. A lot of companies have attempted, sometimes quite successfully, to create effective change within their systems to eliminate waste or at the very least, reduce it as far as possible. But some companies are making this idea a reality.
Meet Loop Store, which is a brand new company about to launch its new service in the spring of 2019. Its service? According to the website, it revolutionarily reimagines the role of the milkman in collecting old glass bottles and refilling and reusing them. A lot of companies have tried to tackle the problem of trash through a lot of models. Loop focuses on the amount of waste that is created in delivering items to your doorstep.
Procter and Gamble, Unilever, Nestle, PepsiCo, Danone, Mars Petcare and other such giants in the industry have partnered up to bring together this potential solution to limit future waste. UPS is also one of their partners and is planning to both deliver orders and pick up the totes of empty containers as this system fits into its existing operations. Essentially, the service entails a new way of shopping – about 300 household items, including detergent, shampoo, ice cream to mouthwash, will be shipped in reusable tote bags instead of plastics and cardboard.
Here’s how it works: Loop customers will make an account online and fill up their basket, as you would for any online store. The prices they get at the store should be equivalent or less than what the customer might get at a nearby store, thus incentivizing the customer to buy from Loop products only. The customer will have to put down a deposit that is fully refundable. The shipping will be free after the customer buys items about four to six times. The customers will order items that come under the Loop partners’ products. These items will then be shipped to the customers in reusable Loop tote bags, which involves UPS delivering the items in the tote bag to the customers. The customer will have to pay a deposit while the tote bag is with them, which will be returned to them when they return the tote bag. As the customer uses up the products in the bag, they will refill the bag with the empty cartons and containers of the items: empty shampoo bottles, empty ice cream cartons. UPS will return to collect the filled Loop tote bags from the customers’ doorstep, so returning the bags is not an inconvenience for the customer. The packages are cleaned and sanitized, and then refilled and reused.
Loop’s goal is to create packages that last 100 uses. Let’s hope that happens for a better world.
