🌱 Could returnable packaging unlock a reuse revolution? 🔄

The impact of packaging from the beauty industry is staggering – each year around 120 billion units of plastic packaging are produced 😲

Ultimately, we need to eliminate plastic from our packaging, but on the path to zero plastics, recycling and reuse will play a critical role in reducing plastics production.

While refillable packaging (where a consumer purchases a refillable vessel and either purchases packaged refills to refill the vessel at home or visits a bulk retailed to refill) has been around for a while now it’s yet to achieve scale. But returnable packaging (where the consumer buys a product and once finished returns the package to be sanitised and refilled for another consumer to purchase, with the brand maintaining ownership of the packaging) could be a game changer, allowing for scale to be achieved, revolutionising packaging.

🔍 BENEFITS OF RETURNABLE PACKAGING

· Consumer experience: Simplifies the shopping experience and eliminates confusion around refills.

· Streamlined Production: Brands can focus on producing one product rather than multiple SKUs for refillable options.

· Economic Efficiency: Over time, the cost per use of returnable packaging becomes lower than producing disposable alternatives.

🛠️ SCALING UP REQUIRES:

· Scale and Infrastructure: Sharing infrastructure for collection, sorting, cleaning, and transportation to achieve economies of scale.

· Standardisation and Pooling: Standardising packaging for efficiency and pooling resources across brands to reduce transport distances and costs.

· High Return Rates: Incentivising customers for smooth returns and creating a positive customer experience.

🌍 LEADING THE CHARGE

In the UK, Marks and Spencer, in partnership with Reposit | Returnable Packaging Platform, successfully piloted the 'Refilled' scheme in 2022 across five stores, offering a range of own-brand cleaning and laundry products. With over 10,000 consumers participating, the initiative is expanding to 19 additional stores. M&S 'Refilled' incentivizes customers with a £2 voucher upon returning the bottle, contributing to M&S' ambitious sustainability targets.

The expansion is estimated to remove 150,000 pieces of plastic, aligning with M&S's goal to remove 1 billion units of plastic packaging by 2027, on their way to achieving net zero by 2040.

🔗 Learn More: Discover the potential of returnable packaging: Beauty Matter | Ellen MacArthur Foundation

How could your business start embracing returnable packaging? Get in touch to explore the opportunities.

( 📷 Credits: @Lauren Golik)

#sustainable
#sustainablepackaging
#reuse