Closed Loop for Everyday Items - a Venture Between Kesko, Unilever, Paperinkeräys and Orthex
Kesko, Unilever Finland, Paperinkeräys and Orthex have formed a LOOP Venture. The venture builds a monthly subscription model for sustainable detergents including a deposit model for taking back empty bottles to be used for new plastics.
We all need to do our laundry and clean the dishes. But washing and cleansing comes with a few nuisances: buying these big bottles of detergent is cumbersome. The huge plastic packages take up a lot of space and recycling of the empty bottles is hard: can I recycle this? Will it fit my plastics bin? Who even knows how safe the products we are using are for the environment? And will they really clean properly?
Kesko, Unilever, Paperinkeräys and Orthex are teaming up as a LOOP venture in search of the perfect Washing Cycle. An end-to-end service for getting your powerful yet sustainable detergents when you need them and recycling them with proper manners to create new plastic material – all of this with no extra thought or effort.
In the first phase, we introduce the new detergent brand Seventh Generation, a market leader in responsible detergents in the US. The brand value is simple: create products that support the life of seven generations to come. To live the promise, the products are plant-based, with no extra ingredients (such as colour dye) and packaged in recycled plastics.
Our goal is to create a monthly subscription model, where the consumer can order just the right amount and frequency for getting new products. Based on real consumer data, we can help in finding the right cycle for you. We deliver the products home and take back any empty bottles at the same time. For each returned bottle, the consumer gets a refund that can be used to new products. At the end of the cycle, we create new plastic material / products from the material collected.
The big vision of the Cycle is to find more products we could deliver on a continuous subscription model to create a predictable, sustainable delivery model. In the long run, this could include many other household products – also your daily grocery shopping.
Customer value:
- Forget about detergent shopping – they will be there when needed
- Access to high-quality, sustainable products
- Full service to support me in recycling and purchasing sustainably
- No extra charge for delivery
- Trying out something new
- Help and teach consumers to recycle plastics, supporting the transition to everyday recycling
- Find a market for sustainable products
- Increase e-commerce in grocer trade to decrease individual visit to stores
- K-Group / commerce & data
- Unilever Finland / products
- Paperinkeräys Oy / delivery and returns
- Orthex / new plastic products out of returned bottles