THE PROBLEM

Single-use packaging and product waste is one of the most pervasive and rapidly growing issues facing our planet today. We live in a world where we consume an increasing amount and variety of disposable items, a very small percentage of which is recycled; roughly a quarter of all waste produced in a year ends up in our oceans, and most of the rest is burned, buried or littered. This “take - make - waste” philosophy of consumption has taken over our daily lives because it gives us unparalleled convenience at an affordable price.

THE SOLUTION

Loop is a global circular shopping platform designed to eliminate single-use plastic waste by transforming packaging of everyday items from single-use to durable, multi-use, feature-packed designs. In partnership with major brands and retailers, Loop is launching in the Mid-Atlantic United States and Paris and is in the process of expanding across the United States and internationally, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and Japan.

Here’s how it works:

• Shop for leading brands, now reimagined to be waste free and exclusively available through Loop. There are no monthly membership fees or subscriptions - just pay a small fully refundable one-time deposit to borrow the package.
• Receive your durable products in our exclusively designed Loop Tote, a breakthrough zero-waste delivery system that eliminates disposable, single-use shipping materials. Say goodbye to that stack of cardboard boxes, bubble-wrap and ice packs!
• Enjoy products redesigned with innovative new features, unparalleled materials, and counter-worthy aesthetics. Designing for reuse allows our product partners to completely reinvent what packaging and products should look and feel like, and even what they can do.
• No need to trash, recycle, or clean - as you finish enjoying your products, simply place your used products back into the Loop Tote and schedule a free pick up from your home.
• Loop’s state-of-the-art cleaning technology hygienically cleans the empty packages you send back so that they are ready for reuse. You also have the option to set your favorite products to “auto-refill when returned”, so that you never have to worry about adding them to your shopping list.

Loop conducted a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to better understand the environmental benefits of their reuse model, working with an external third-party consulting agency that are experts in LCAs. The study tracked their operations, use, cleaning, and end-of-life process, and overall they found that Loop has lower environmental impact than traditional in-store retail and eCommerce models with the environmental savings increasing per use of package. When compared to traditional retailer models, Loop's models have significant environmental savings due to the significant decrease in single-use packaging production and the complete elimination of incineration and landfill.

The 3rd party Verified (by Long Trail Sustainability) Loop LCA shows that Loop breaks even with traditional supply chains in as few as 3 uses (of the durable materials). And by 10 use cycles, Loop has nearly 35% lower environmental impacts compared to regular eCommerce. And in retail settings, Loop is nearly 20% lower environmental impacts than regular Retail (at ten uses of packaging). The more we reuse the packaging after that, the better the reduction in environmental impacts.

While Loop does have additional transportation steps (compared to a garbage truck and the traditional models), the LCA showed that transportation is not the biggest driver of environmental impacts. While this movement of materials is one of the most visible parts of the supply chain, the real environmental impacts are hidden in the product and packaging itself. There is a surprising amount of energy that goes into making a package or container in the first place.

ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS

Recircle is a Swiss social enterprise funded in 2016 to provide a sustainable alternative to disposable containers for food to go: a system of reusable lunch boxes that restaurants can offer on a deposit scheme. So far, 70,000 Recircle boxes are being used by more than 400 restaurants in Switzerland and in Stuttgart, Germany.

Globelet builds technology enabled systems that produce reusable products that are trackable and can be linked back to their factories to be washed and reused. From branded reusable fan cups and water bottles to coffee cups and stemless wine cups, any event can end single-use plastic drinking products in favor of reuse. By combining the reusable cup with a deposit scheme, patrons can either return the cup to collect their refundable deposit, or keep the cup for continued use.

CASE STUDY EXAMPLES

See Loop’s brand partners for examples: https://loopstore.com/brand-partners