Sign up by Feb. 7 for GreenBiz 25, our sustainable business event Feb. 10-12 in Phoenix, to save $200.
Companies can zero in on characteristics and categories with the highest potential for reuse in their portfolios. Read More plastic bag supplies
If a global spirits brand has found the perfect use case for refillable packaging for their premium spirits, could every brand look at their portfolio and do the same? What if consumer packaged goods companies aligned on the types of household cleaning products that work best with refillable bottles?
Right now, several key barriers prevent companies from breaking into reuse, such as the costs associated with extending reuse programs beyond pilots, under-developed reuse cleaning or collection infrastructure, and concern about consumer willingness to participate in reuse programs.
As companies struggle to hit their reuse targets, they can take a lesson from the 80-20 rule to build successful reuse models in a smaller, strategic share of their portfolio. The spirits example above shows us that companies don’t need to solve for reuse across their entire portfolio, but rather, can focus on the right product categories that will provide high consumer adoption and lower implementation costs.
Based on characteristics such as high-use and purchase frequency, the Sustainable Packaging Coalition recommends developing returnable and refillable packaging models for the following seven categories:
The more frequently an item is purchased, the greater the opportunity to replace single-use items. While the high use category of beverage bottles might be highly recyclable by design, bottles still rank second for most commonly found litter during beach cleanups. Moving to reuse for this high-use category can be both cost-effective and operationally viable. The Ellen MacArthur Foundations’ report on Scaling Returnable Packaging offers recommendations for beverages, such as sharing cleaning and collection infrastructure across companies.
Single-use grocery bags are also frequently used or purchased, making them ideal candidates for reusable alternatives. To advance reusable retail bags, companies can go beyond encouraging consumers to bring their own or making them pay for bags. Closed Loop Partners’ “Key Insights From The Consortium To Reinvent The Retail Bag’s Playbook” includes interviews, surveys, and learnings on steps companies can take to reduce single-use bags, from bag design considerations to tips for training employees on advocating for reusable bags.
Food service items, especially those in closed-loop venues such as airports or stadiums, are a clear candidate for reuse. Takeout containers and to-go cups are used at astoundingly high rates: An estimated 250 billion cups are used annually across the globe. Upstream’s Reuse Wins claims that reusable food serviceware beats single-use alternatives by every environmental measure, and outlines the environmental, economic and business case for transitioning to reuse in food service.
Home and personal care products have two characteristics that make them excellent candidates for reuse. First, they’re sometimes purchased in subscription models where reusable packaging can easily be collected during delivery of the next order. Second, they’re often sold in specific quantities — think detergents or cleaning products — that make their packaging easier to refill with standardized concentrates. The 2023 Reuse Refill Playbook for Retailers from Ocean Plastics Leadership Network, the Meridian Institute and Upstream offers guidance on reusable packaging for skincare and household cleaners.
Packaged food has several characteristics that make it a strong candidate for reuse: it’s purchased frequently, sometimes in subscription models, and it also often comes in limited quantities. Upstream’s guide to The New Reuse Economy includes recommendations for consumer packaged goods and breaks down the best materials for reusable packaging.
For some categories, such as wine that’s bottled in glass, current packaging fails to adequately protect the product and results in high loss or damage rates. Sturdier reusable packaging options such as returnable crates present a place to make inroads where the status quo isn’t working well. Plus, secondary packaging is usually part of a B2B system with existing tracking and reverse logistics. The Reusable Packaging Association advocates for reusable packaging systems in supply chains and has published cost comparison models to show example initial investments, annual savings and return on investments.
E-commerce mailers for clothing and footwear can be a good fit for reusable packaging because the products can be delivered as part of clothing subscriptions — and when they’re not, they qualify as frequently returned products. Fashion for Good’s “The Rise Of Reusable Packaging” report outlines the impacts — reusable packaging generates 57 percent fewer carbon emissions per cycle compared with a virgin low-density polyethylene plastic mailer — as well as the path to scaling reusable mailers.
Companies setting or resetting their sustainability goals after failed attempts to scale reuse shouldn’t scrap the practice altogether. Reuse won’t work across an entire portfolio, but by understanding which packaging characteristics and categories have the most reuse potential — that magic 20 percent in your portfolio — you can hit your reusable packaging targets.
ldpe packaging Join us at Circularity, the premier gathering of professionals advancing solutions for the circular economy, April 29 – May 1, Denver, Colorado. Save $800 on your All-Access Pass when you register by February 21.