Category: Reuse

The latest ‘right to repair’ law is the broadest one yet

Read the full story at Stateline.

Do-it-yourselfers and repair shops are celebrating a victory in Minnesota with the enactment of a new law that requires many manufacturers to share parts and information with tinkerers and small businesses.

The so-called right to repair law will allow equipment owners and independent shops to more easily fix devices like phones, laptops, appliances and other equipment.

Minnesota is the latest state to approve such a law, following Colorado earlier this year and New York last year. Massachusetts’ law covering vehicles was enacted in 2020. Do-it-yourselfers, farmers, handyman companies and small repair shops argue that without such laws, big tech companies make it almost impossible to get manufacturers’ parts and instructions.

Manufacturers, however, argue that broadening access could pose dangers to would-be repairers and the equipment as well as compromise the safety and security of devices.

As the bills make their way through the states, tech firms have successfully lobbied to exempt some types of equipment or allow other exceptions such as allowing manufacturers to provide only full assemblies of parts, rather than individual parts such as a chip, for what the manufacturers say is safety or security reasons.

How good is secondhand apparel for the planet, really?

Read the full story from Retail Dive.

Consumers and brands are embracing resale as a way to address fashion’s poor environmental track record, but it may be too little, too late.

Resale’s big secret? It may need stores

Read the full story at Retail Dive.

To join the secondhand market boom, many apparel retailers and brands have turned to third-party platforms that struggle to sustain a profit.

Colgate-Palmolive, Keurig Dr Pepper enhancing reuse efforts

Read the full story at Packaging Dive.

Keurig Dr Pepper and Colgate-Palmolive are each pursuing further reusable packaging pilots and enhancing reporting, according to ESG investing firm Green Century Funds, which recently resolved shareholder resolutions with the companies calling for them to reduce their plastic packaging use.

Keurig Dr Pepper will publish an annual reuse/refill baseline assessment in its June corporate social responsibility report. By 2024, the company plans to launch certain new reuse and refill pilots, according to a Green Century press release Monday. Keurig Dr Pepper had such efforts in the works prior to the engagement with Green Century, according to the company.

Colgate-Palmolive will more thoroughly disclose reuse pilots it has launched or planned, Green Century said in a March 31 press release. It will also publish a reuse/refill baseline assessment in its upcoming 2023 sustainability report and look at accelerating the creation of 2030 plastic reduction targets, the company confirmed.

What brands excel at recommerce?

Read the full story at GreenBiz.

The GreenBiz team has covered resale, a.k.a. recommerce, a lot over the years. Examples include:

We can sum up the broad takeaway of these articles in one sentence: The fast growth of recommerce programs has been a mixed bag when it comes to environmental benefits. 

A new report from OSF Digital (a digital transformation company) and Trove (a recommerce platform provider) aims to shed light on the trends and leaders in recommerce. We know from this report, as well as the annual ThredUp Resale Report, that recommerce revenue is poised to grow at three to five times the rate of traditional retail through 2030. What is still unclear from that growth is whether this business model will drive down the production of new products. Additionally, this rapid growth means both opportunity and responsibility for those advocating recommerce initiatives.

How does EPR fit into the reuse economy?

Read the full story from the Product Stewardship Institute.

Consumers use one trillion single-use food and beverage packaging items in the United States each year – which make up nearly seventy percent of the litter found in the environment. According to Upstream, an environmental nonprofit, resources to manufacture these products include 10% of harvested wood, 20% of mined aluminum, 40% of plastic, and 50% of glass.

That’s the problem that the burgeoning reuse economy seeks to solve by establishing systems for consumers to purchase products in reusable packaging and then return for refill at stores, restaurants, or entertainment venues. But how does Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) fit in? This question was explored on a recent webinar moderated by Upstream’s new policy director, Sydney Harris (formerly of PSI) where Will Grassle, PSI’s Associate for Policy & Programs, was one of four panelists.

Bold Reuse launches retail glass packaging reuse pilot

Read the full story at Packaging Dive.

Bold Reuse has launched a closed-loop system pilot program for glass retail packaging in Portland, Oregon, the company detailed in an announcement Friday. The effort has funding from an $87,000 grant from Metro, the regional government agency for the Portland metropolitan area.

Shoppers at local grocery chain New Seasons Market who buy glass-packaged products from five initial participating brands can return those bottles and jars to the stores after use. Bold Reuse will then handle collection, washing and sanitizing before redistributing the containers to vendors.

The program will run through the end of 2023, at which time organizers will evaluate data like return rates and how many jars were fit for reuse, said Bold Reuse Customer Success Manager Kelsey Azoubel Mitchell. “Ideally at the end of the year, what we’ll have is a blueprint for scalability and for replication, either in other cities or in different locations,” Mitchell said.

Recyclable? Try refillable. The quest for a greener cleaner

Read the full story in the New York Times.

As more consumers try to cut down on plastic waste, both start-ups and big brands like Clorox are hoping to usher in a new age of refillable cleaners.

Drew Barrymore’s sustainable home goods collab nods to the rise of refillables

Read the full story at Triple Pundit.

The effervescent Drew Barrymore has partnered with sustainable consumer brand Grove Collaborative on a line of 15 home goods products. The limited-edition collection features refillable packaging and two signature scents.

Consumers have signaled that they’re ready for refillable and sustainable products, and there’s a blossoming potential to bring them to scale. Celebrity endorsements and partnerships like this one can help influence a growing number of consumers to take the leap toward eliminating excessive packaging and single-use items from their day-to-day lives.

H&M taps ThredUp for resale program

Read the full story at Retail Dive.

Indicating the continued rise of recommerce, H&M has teamed up with ThredUp to launch its first resale service, “H&M Pre-Loved,” according to a Tuesday press release. 

Starting Tuesday, the fast-fashion retailer will begin offering used items across various categories such as sport, denim and kids. Shoppers can also buy from a “collabs” section featuring items from H&M’s previous guest designer collections and collaborations. 

The program is part of the fast-fashion retailer’s efforts to extend the use of its products and establish a circular business model.