If you haven’t already noticed, the world has a plastic problem. Right now, 91 percent of the world’s plastic isn’t recycled, and a heaping 79,000 metric tons of plastic are floating in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
Popular food brands have been taking action, like Kroger eliminating plastic bags and Starbucks nixing straws. But what about everything else at the grocery store that comes in single-use plastics?
Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and others are partnering for change
Thankfully, major brands are finally taking a stand on the world’s waste problem. Twenty-five popular parent companies such as Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and even The Clorox Company are joining with sustainability giant TerraCycle to make significant changes to our waste habits.
Enter Loop, the milkman-style subscription program. Here’s how it works: Instead of purchasing food and home items at the store, customers can schedule the recurring delivery of the products they need. When they use up the item, they send back the empty container, just like Grandma did with milk bottles in the good ol’ days.
Loop will bring you some of your favorite products
Although the full product list has not been officially released, Loop has announced quite a few partners in the U.S. and France—sometimes both. Loop’s partnerships with Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are only in France at the moment. There, Coca-Cola European Partners will provide bottled Coke products, while PepsiCo will be offering its Tropicana and Quaker lines (no soft drinks yet).
On the other hand, the items you can order in the U.S. are pretty exciting. The officially announced products include:
- Häagen-Dazs ice cream
- Hellman’s organic mayonnaise
- Hidden Valley ranch dressing
- Nature’s Path granola and cereal
- Burlap & Barrel spices
- Greenhouse kombucha
- Grilliance plant-based burgers
- Clorox wipes
- Preserve reusable dinnerware
- Cascade dishwashing detergent
- Oral-B toothbrushes
- Crest mouthwash
- Febreeze
- Gillette and Venus razors
- Pantene shampoo and conditioner
- Tide laundry detergent
- Seventh Generation dish and hand soap
- Axe, Degree and Dove deodorants
- Love Beauty Planet body and hair products
There’s limited availability…for now
The program will officially launch in May 2019, according to Anthony Rossi, vice president of Global Business Development at Loop. It will reach 5,000 households in greater New York area (including parts of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware), as well as households in the greater Paris area.
The plan is to expand to additional markets throughout 2019 and 2020. Loop currently has eyes on London, San Francisco, Toronto and Tokyo. Eventually, the company hopes to serve consumers on several continents.
“The dream is that it’s everywhere—we shouldn’t be restricted by geography,” said Rossi. “It’s quite an endeavor. We’re systematically changing the way that people interact with consumer products. So, starting small, making sure it works and ironing out the kinks before rapid expansion, is really important.”
How to sign up for Loop
If you’re interested in becoming a part of Loop’s reusable product system and live near New York or Paris, sign up on Loop’s website.
Not in those areas? Sit tight! Loop is working hard to get your market up and running soon.
Next up: Learn how to reuse bottles and jars in your own home.
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Kiersten Hickman