Beyond the Bag Challenge winners put to the test at CVS Health, Target and Walmart

02 Aug 2021 --- Leading US retailers CVS Health, Target and Walmart are jointly launching in-store pilots testing the winning reusable shopping bag solutions from the Beyond the Bag Challenge. 

Tested in nine stores in Northern California this fall, the new pilots will help refine the challenge’s nine winning solutions, which were revealed this February. The winners include solutions ranged from Internet of Things to innovative materials.

“What’s really exciting is that the in-market pilots are close by one another, demonstrating [the companies’] commitment to ending plastic bag waste, and showcasing the necessary shared infrastructure for reusable bag systems,” Georgia Sherwin, strategic initiatives and communications at Closed Loop Partners, tells PackagingInsights.

Last July, Closed Loop Partners launched the Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag, a multi-year collaboration across retail sectors with founding partners CVS Health, Target and Walmart committing US$15 million to the Beyond the Bag Challenge, collectively. 

After scanning a QR code, Goatote’s kiosk system provides consumers with clean, reusable bags for 30 days.“Successful pilots will enable us to understand what resonates with customers, how the system works, what provides value to retailers, what the environmental impact is and in what contexts solutions can be optimized,” Sherwin details.

Affordable and reusable
Of the nine Beyond the Bag Challenge winners, ChicoBag, Fill it Forward, Goatote and 99Bridges will begin pilots across the nine stores. Returnity and Eon will pilot through Walmart delivery in select markets. 

Creating alternative plastic materials, Domtar, PlasticFri and Sway will undergo “rigorous material performance and recovery testing” to optimize their designs to meet the needs of retailers and consumers, and match the specifications of recycling and composting facilities.

Across the select stores, shoppers can sign up to either borrow reusable bags, incentivize their use or receive app reminders.

“Reuse models must be economically viable, accessible and sustainable long-term. To encourage regular use of reusable packaging services, designing the right financial incentives, payment models and accounting methods for unreturned bags is paramount to success,” Sherwin emphasizes.

Post-pilot takeaways
Over a six-week period, the test runs aim to evaluate technical feasibility and consumer desirability. 

“Testing new innovations across some of the world’s largest retailers allows us to understand what is needed to integrate new solutions into existing operations, as well as develop interoperability across retailers,” Sherwin explains.

Fill it Forward offers a tag and app that connects to the reusable bag consumers already own. The lessons learned from the concluded pilots will inform further iterations on the solutions, potential product rollouts, future tests, programs and potential investments. 

“These could also help inform the viability of solutions in different geographies and environments to better understand these solutions’ full potential for impact,” she highlights.

Why reusable bags are needed
As marine pollution concerns spike, the pilots aim to help cut down the retailers’ single-use plastic bag distribution. Crucially, single-use plastic bags were one of four most pervasive macro-litter items in various aquatic environments, according to a recent global study.

“These pilots are a critical step to further develop innovative solutions that can help address complex waste challenges, and will provide the necessary groundwork and insights for our next phase of work,” Sherwin stresses.

Innova Market Insights pegged “Reusable Revolution” as one of its top packaging trends for 2021, highlighting the increasing scalability of reusable packaging models targeting a zero-waste world.

According to the market researcher, the majority of global consumers (52%) believe reusable packaging is the most sustainable model, followed by recyclable (50%) and recycled (39%), biodegradable (31%) and compostable (24%) (2021).

Sway’s seaweed-based packaging will undergo recovery testing for design optimization.Forward together
Ultimately, addressing the systemic challenge of single-use plastic waste “requires unprecedented collaboration,” says Sherwin. 

This experimentation phase is essential to the broader Consortium’s collaborative work, which includes additional Consortium Partners Dick’s Sporting Goods, Dollar General, The Kroger Co, The TJX Companies, Ulta Beauty, Ahold Delhaize USA Brands, Albertsons Companies, Hy-Vee, Meijer, Wakefern Food Corp and Walgreens.

“The retailers we’re working with represent over 50,000 stores in the US. That’s a lot of potential for impact at scale if we reinvent the retail bag,” Sherwin concludes.

By Anni Schleicher

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