Free Subscription

  • Access daily briefings and unlimited news articles

Premium

Only $39.95 per year
  • Quarterly magazine and digital
  • Indepth executive interviews
  • Unlimited news and insights
  • Expert opinion and analysis

Woolworths to introduce zero-waste shopping platform Loop into Australia

Woolworths is to introduce the zero-waste shopping platform Loop in Australia next year, allowing consumers to refill selected FMCG product containers. 

The zero-waste shopping platform covers a wide range of commonly used products with durable refillable packaging, including beverages, sauces, shampoo, washing detergent and toothpaste. 

Consumers will pay a deposit fee on each piece of packaging, which will be fully refunded upon final return. After finishing the product, consumers can place the empty containers in Loop’s tote and send them back to Loop. The company will clean and refill them with new products, creating a circular shopping system. 

“Loop was designed from the ground-up to reinvent the way we consume by learning from historic circular and sustainable models like the milkman from yesteryear while honouring the convenience afforded by our single use consumption of today,” said Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of Loop.

Woolworths will launch Loop in Australia next June. The startup has already teamed with consumer-product companies including Heinz, Coca-Cola, Ren Clean Skincare and Love Beauty and Planet overseas. 

The company recently piloted its e-commerce programme in the UK, its third market, in partnership with Tesco as part of the retailer’s strategy 4R (Remove, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) to remove non-recyclable and excess packaging from its business. Both companies’ target is to introduce products in reusable containers at Tesco’s store as early as next year. 

The Loop’s first pilot programmes were run in Paris and New York last year. The brand plans to expand into the Canada and Japan later this year as it works to create a global movement. 

You have 3 free articles.