Our first delivery from Loop arrived today! I was really excited for it. The idea of getting essentials delivered in reusable containers is really appealing. Especially when it comes to essentials like cleaning solutions and olive oil.
The delivery came in two, large, reusable boxes. Rio is a 65 pound dog and looks small next to these. He also doesn’t like to be overshadowed so was quite sullen upon their arrival. He really does hate not being the alpha, but it’s pretty sad that he can feel dwarfed by a couple of boxes.
Anyway, I was immediately skeptical when I saw the plastic tie that kept the containers closed.
At least it’s recyclable though!
We ordered tea, wasabi peas, 2 quarts of ice cream, shampoo, conditioner, some veggie burgers, multi-surface cleaning spray, and tea. It all came in metal. Each of them came in metal containers. The shampoo and conditioner had plastic pumps at the top, but these will be cleaned out and re-used so that’s ok. The containers like the tea though, come sealed with a piece of plastic around the top.
So, while the containers are totally re-usable, which is a big step up, they are still not plastic free. The ice cream and veggie burgers came in a styrofoam cooler with plastic frozen packages to keep them cold. This is all re-usable so a step up, but not ideal. Loop claims to recycle all of this. On their website, they say:
“Nothing at Loop is ever disposed, everything is reused and when we can’t reuse we recycle. Single-use items, like zip ties found on your Loop Tote and plastic seals around some of our products ensure the safety of your product. While we work on ways to eliminate waste, we promise they won’t be sent to landfills but to our parent company, TerraCycle, instead!”
They also claim a reduced environmental impact, getting to 35% after containers get 10 uses. This seems to be a bit lower when you factor in delivery though.
Overall, I think this is still a huge step in the right direction and love that major corporations are signing onto this type of initiative. I still think there is room for improvement. I would still highly recommend using them but will be looking for them in a brick and mortar store to reduce carbon emissions from delivery and having two huge boxes in my house until I am ready to return all of the items.
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