Circular Shopping Platform Loop Expands in the US

(Photo Credit: Loop on Facebook)

by | Sep 18, 2020

This article is included in these additional categories:

Circular Shopping Platform Loop Expands in the US

(Photo Credit: Loop on Facebook)

TerraCycle says that their circular shopping platform Loop is now available in every ZIP code in the contiguous United States following a successful pilot phase.

Introduced during last year’s World Economic Forum, Loop launched a US pilot in May 2019 with support from brands such as Procter & Gamble, Unilever, PepsiCo, Nestlé, and UPS. Kroger Company and Walgreens signed on as Loop retail partners. TerraCycle also began testing Loop in Paris.

Since then, the platform pilot expanded to the UK. Now Loop has more than 80 brands, 400 products globally, and over 100,000 people signed up for the service, according to TerraCycle.

The way it currently works is customers place orders through an online store and receive products in reusable containers that arrive inside a reusable shipping tote. Once the products are consumed, users place the empty containers back in the tote, and schedule a home pickup. “Loop cleans the packaging and will promptly replenish products as needed to the consumer,” TerraCycle said.

Loop received an Environment + Energy Leader Top Product Award this year. The judges praised its circularity, calling it “a ‘think big’ approach to the massive problem of packaging waste in a throw-away society.”

Although the pandemic caused some companies to re-evaluate their plans for reusable packaging in the spring, TerraCycle founder and CEO Tom Szaky pointed out to Grist that disposable packaging isn’t necessarily sterile. He told the outlet that the process for rewashing Loop packaging is “at the most sophisticated level washing can be.”

US Loop customers can now purchase more than 100 products from over 30 brands across categories such as groceries, beauty, and household goods, according to the company. TerraCycle expects those numbers to double by the end of the year. In 2021 the company plans to make Loop available inside retail partners’ brick and mortar spaces. The shopping platform is also set to launch in Canada, Australia, and Japan next year.

Additional articles you will be interested in.

Stay Informed

Get E+E Leader Articles delivered via Newsletter right to your inbox!

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Share This