Giant Food announced on Thursday that local shoppers can now purchase products in reusable packaging thanks to its partnership with Loop, a circular reuse platform developed by TerraCycle. Customers can now purchase more than twenty products from leading brands, packaged in reusable containers at 10 DC-area locations.
"Giant is proud to be the first grocery retailer on the east coast to launch a partnership with Loop, a global leader in eliminating waste, and offer our customers a program that allows them to shop for products while helping our environment," said Diane Couchman, VP of category management for non-perishables at Giant Food, in a statement. "We look forward to expanding our Loop item offerings and launching in more Giant locations in the near future."
Products in reusable Loop containers are available from brands like Kraft-Heinz, Nature's Path, and Stubb's BBQ Sauce. At participating locations, the products will be found on branded displays.
When finished with a product, the empty package can be returned to a Loop Return Point. From there, the containers are sent to Loop to be sanitized, then returned to the CPG suppliers to be refilled and returned to the store for future purchase. Customers are charged a small packaging deposit at checkout that is refunded once the container is returned.
"Loop's goal has always been to make reusable packaging as convenient for consumers as disposable packaging," says Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of TerraCycle and Loop, in a statement. "With Giant as the newest retailer bringing Loop to consumers, we are giving them what they've been asking for since Loop was introduced in 2019–the ability to forgo single-use packaging and purchase the products they use every day in durable, reusable containers."
To maintain advanced sanitization standards for all reusable containers, Loop consults with Ecolab Inc., a global leader in cleaning and hygiene solutions, to improve on-site cleaning procedures.
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