Reusable Eco-Friendly Packaging: A Competitive Edge for the American Market: The Loop Case

The demand for sustainable products in the USA is continuously increasing

New generations of consumers are becoming more responsible and increasingly aware of the issues related to pollution and excessive plastic consumption. The demand for products made with respect for the environment is growing. Brands need to follow market trends, and the demand now is clear: we want eco-friendly, sustainable, and recyclable products.

Riding the wave of this new market demand, a company has created its business model based on recyclable packaging that emphasizes useful and conscious recycling. Loop is the zero-waste brand that creates packaging from reused materials and collects them from customers once used, in a recycling and reuse chain that consumers are enjoying.

Loop: Not Just Recycling, Also Collection

Using reusable packaging for products in America is also an opportunity to stand out from other competitors

The business model of Loop is this: online orders are delivered in a reusable bag, and when a customer empties it and schedules a pickup, the packages are returned and the customer receives a deposit back (or, if they have reordered the product, the deposit remains in an account and they no longer pay it). These packages are certainly heavier but have a lower environmental impact than single-use packaging.

"We all know that recycling alone will not be enough," says Sara Wingstrand, who leads the innovation team at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, an organization focused on the circular economy. "This is a completely new way of actually thinking about how to bring products to people."

Loop has also involved several retail stores where people can purchase products traditionally or bring used containers for pickup.

But we don't think that what attracts consumers is only the sustainable philosophy of the brands that adhere to Loop. "People are actually drawn to Loop first for the design, second for the reuse," says Tom Szaky, CEO of Terracycle, the recycling company that first helped create the brand coalition to test the platform, who is now also CEO of Loop. "Design is so important to consumers, more than I ever imagined."

The Sustainable Packaging Market in America

It is estimated that the recycled packaging market will grow at an annual growth rate of 5% from 2019-2023

As of March 1, New York is banning single-use plastic bags, which are prohibited in stores throughout the city and state, and paper shoppers will incur a 5-cent fee. According to the city, New Yorkers consume and dispose of 10 billion plastic shopping bags annually, often used for just a few minutes, with 23 billion across the state. 
 

This effort is also involving some of the world's major players but is also driven by startups like Loop. For example, Nestlé is committed to purchasing up to 2 million tons of recycled plastic for food use and allocating over 1.5 billion Swiss Francs to invest in the use of these materials by 2025

And while Coca Cola does not want to give up plastic bottles, there is an intention to change bottling forms to enter the recycled and innovative plastic system, which should make up at least 50% of production by 2030. There is still a long way to go, considering that in the USA only 29% of plastic bottles are collected for recycling, and almost none are turned into other bottles.

The demand for eco-friendly packaging is the main driver of growth in the global sustainable packaging market. This is because the packaging industry has the greatest environmental impact. Therefore, the demand for eco-friendly packaging solutions is driving the growth of the global sustainable packaging market.

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