Bringing together a coalition of consumer goods companies, along with international recycling leader TerraCycle, Loop™ is an innovative new business model for premium durable packaging which is delivered directly to the consumer, returned and refilled. The platform also offers the opportunity to work with others at scale to test reuse models and shift consumer behaviour, which will help make circular packaging systems commercially viable.

Premium skincare brand REN Clean Skincare, Hellmann’s, Love Beauty and Planet, Love Home and Planet and Seventh Generation will trial new reusable packaging made from aluminium and glass.

Four Unilever brands will also be the first to test new formats within the Loop™ system. World leading deodorant brands Dove, Rexona (known as Sure in the UK and Degree in the US) and AXE (known as Lynx in the UK), together reaching over one billion people globally every year, will test a premium, refillable deodorant stick called minim™. Made from stainless steel, the design is minimal, compact and sustainable, offering a new consumer experience without any unnecessary materials. Dependent on usage, the product will last on average one month, with the packaging designed to last at least 100 cycles. This means that each pack is expected to last about eight years, with the potential to save up to 100 packs from being thrown away.

Oral care brand Signal unveiled a new product format with new refillable toothpaste tablets called Tooth Tabs. The innovation also enables consumers to brush their teeth using less water: simply chew, brush as usual, rinse and smile. Zero waste, zero hassle and with a huge benefit for the planet.

Unilever’s participation in Loop™ complements its existing efforts to create a plastic system that works and a packaging system that is truly circular by design. In 2017, Unilever committed to all of its plastic packaging being reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025. Good progress has been made against these targets, with absolute packaging volumes flat since 2010, despite the business growing significantly over this period. However, Unilever is determined to further reduce its use of single-use plastics.

Alan Jope, CEO of Unilever said: “We want to put an end to the current “take-make-dispose” culture and are committed to taking big steps towards designing our products for re-use. We’re proud to be a founding partner of Loop, which will deliver our much-loved brands in packaging which is truly circular by design.”