Carrefour, TerraCycle Loop initiative launches in Paris

French retailer Carrefour and Trenton, New Jersey-based TerraCycle have launched Loop, an online platform that allows consumers to purchase products in reusable containers. With a number of global brands of all sizes on board, Loop is the first distribution platform that reduces dependence on single-use packaging, according to a news release.

Users put down a deposit for each product on the Loop website, which is then refunded when the empty packaging is returned. Products are delivered to homes in reusable glass and metal bottles and shipped in a Loop bag. Once the products are finished, partner carrier Colisweb picks up the empty packaging for Loop to clean and reuse, the release says.

Loop was designed in partnership with Carrefour, which will offer a range of products on the platform.

"As Carrefour is very committed to reducing waste, it was natural for the group to support this innovative project,” says Laurent Vallée, Carrefour group general secretary. “We hope that other distributors and producers around the world will join us to develop new, more circular distribution channels to reduce our production of single-use packaging."

Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of TerraCycle and Loop, says, "Loop was designed to solve the problem at source and offer an alternative to disposable packaging. For the first time, brands of all sizes and the Suez resource management company have worked together to create a sustainable, convenient and accessible solution for everyone."

The Loop initiative has launched in Paris, with New York to follow in May and London, Toronto and California next year. Brands distributed on Loop in France starting in May include Coca-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive, Danone Evian water, PepsiCo Tropicana juice and more.