Optimize Design. Source Sustainably. Support Recycling. With these three clear goals, Walmart hopes to reignite the passion around sustainable packaging with vendors, store buyers, packaging suppliers and consumers.
Laura Phillips, svp sustainability, kicked off the 2016 Walmart Sustainable Packaging Summit yesterday, Oct. 25, with the message that sustainable packaging is still a priority for the retail giant. Presentations during the half-day event revealed Walmart鈥檚 three updated sustainable packaging goals and measurements outlined in the new聽Walmart Sustainable Packaging Playbook.
The Playbook gives brand-owner vendors, private-label manufacturers and packaging suppliers guidance on what they can do to make progress in each area to help improve their sustainability index score and reduce their cost of goods. The Playbook also includes links to additional resources and Walmart partners, such as the聽Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) 聽and the聽Assn of Plastic Recyclers (APR), both of whom provided expert input for the guide.
Two key pieces of news (in my opinion) delivered at the event were:
- As part of the Support Recycling pillar, Walmart will soon start rolling out theHow2Recycle label on select Great Value and Equate products at Walmart and Sam鈥檚 Club stores. Walmart discovered that two-thirds of people don鈥檛 recycle empty packages if instructions aren鈥檛 printed on the package. It鈥檚 why Jack Pestello, svp, Private Brands, Walmart U.S., said in a press release, 鈥淲e believe a best practice is to use labeling that helps customers recycle, such as the How2Recycle label, to communicate the recyclability of a package.鈥� How did Walmart decide which products to add the label to first? Ashley Hall, senior manager, sustainability鈥攃onsumables and health-and-wellness, answers, 鈥淏oth Walmart and Sam鈥檚 Club private brands suppliers are now working on incorporating the How2Recycle label. It is a rolling program. We expect that any of our sustainability work be part of any refreshes or new products, but it is not designed to dead-stop, slow down, hinder the work that we do every day. As new products are coming to market, as a package is being refreshed, we are encouraging our private-label suppliers to use consumer-friendly recycling labels like How2Recycle. 鈥淚 can tell you鈥t鈥檚 been a smooth process so far. We鈥檝e seen a lot of great products getting through at fast speeds and then getting implemented at our design program,鈥� Hall says.
- As part of the Optimize Design pillar, Walmart will be asking for more flute options and thinner liner board in retail-ready corrugated packaging, which have been shown to boost overall compression strength, save material and reduce damage. Such options already exist in Europe, where retail-ready packaging is more mature. Walmart would like to see those innovations brought to North America.
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