Big Consumer Brands Will Start Taking Their Packaging Back
- Ice cream, soda, dish soap to be sold in reusable containers
- Pepsi, Unilever, P&G sign onto pilot program in Europe, U.S.
In the environmentalist mantra “reduce, reuse, recycle,” almost all of the attention has been paid to recycling. Now some of the world’s biggest consumer brands are trying to shift the focus to the second R, with a program that provides products in reusable containers that can be returned for a refund.
The durable packaging program, called “Loop” -- a reference to a theoretical circular economy where nothing is wasted -- debuted at the World Economic Forum in Davos Thursday. Led by New Jersey-based recycling company TerraCycle, Loop will offer popular products from about 25 companies including Nestle, Unilever, Procter & Gamble and PepsiCo in reusable containers that customers order online or purchase in stores and return to the company when finished.