PSA: The milkman is making a comeback. 🥛
But instead of fresh milk, he'll be serving up deodorant, mouthwash, ice cream, shampoo, etc. in reusable containers — and then circling back to pick them up when you're done.
This week, a solid lineup of big-name consumer brands — Procter & Gamble, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Unilever and Danone — banded together to pilot a new reusable packaging subscription service called Loop. The mission? Phase out single-use plastics.
How it works: Like with Amazon, you create an account online, add items to a virtual basket and checkout. But on top of payment for your items you'll pay a fully refundable deposit for each package too (which will range from $1 to $10). Then, your items will be delivered in a tote bag, which a delivery person will come back later to retrieve with your used packaging. The packaging is then sent to a cleaning facility and recycled for another customer. ♻️
Some reactions on Product Hunt:
“Prediction time: Amazon will buy them or recreate if it's mildly popular.” - Antoine
“I could easily see this having some kind of discount for reusing the same containers” - Alex
“With all the deliveries we get from online shopping these days, packaging is getting ridiculously wasteful. This is a brilliant solution” - Tim
The subscription system will start out in New York and Paris later this year, but if you don't live in one of those cities you can still join the #zerowaste movement. Here's few suggestions:
Get JUST Water (backed by Will Smith!). It's a paper-based bottle made from sugarcane with a 74% smaller carbon footprint than standard plastic bottles. 💦
Eliminate your cup altogether with GO Cubes. It's chewable coffee. ☕️
Buy eco-friendly sunglasses like Joplins. They're made from bamboo fibers — which are 100% sustainable. 😎
Use Moo's recycled business cards made from cotton t-shirts. ♻️
Avoid plastic straws with ELO's reusable smart straw. 🥤
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In this week's episode of Product Hunt Radio, The Information's founder and editor-in-chief Jessica Lessin join us to chat about:
💸 The distortion of the news industry's business model by the internet
👀 The possibility of tokenizing everything
🤔 The future of Facebook
Listen now and big thanks to our sponsor AngelList and FreshBooks for their support. 😸
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