Ocado Retail Ltd has announced an extension to its Reuse range, aimed at reducing the use of single-use plastic on everyday items whilst providing the same quality and value.
The Ocado Reuse range is part of the Refill Coalition’s work to develop reusable packaging solutions, which has been co-funded by UKRI’s Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging Challenge, delivered by Innovate UK.
From this week, Ocado customers will be able to purchase:
- Ocado Reuse Non-Bio Liquid Detergent 2.7L
- Ocado Reuse Clear Skies Fabric Conditioner 2.7L
The move follows Ocado’s successful launch of pasta and rice in reusable packaging in August which the online retailer says has been very popular with customers, with:
- strong online reviews (pasta 4.9* and rice 4.8*) with 100% of customers recommending the products;
- reuse products reaching nearly 29% sales share of equivalent single-use products; and
- an encouraging vessel return rate, which is increasing week-on-week as people hand their vessels back with each Ocado shop.
Research among more than 2,000 consumers undertaken by Ocado Retail and Savanta revealed that there is growing public demand to reduce the use of single-use plastic from grocery shops. Almost three quarters (72%) are concerned about the amount of waste generated by single-use packaging of grocery products, with one in three opting to use retailers that provide refillable options for their pantry staples.
The majority of consumers (73%) also agreed that more supermarkets should offer refillable options, especially across essential items such as liquid laundry detergent (50%) and fabric conditioner (46%).
If every household in the UK refilled just one item per week, the Refill Coalition estimates would eliminate over 1.4 billion items of single-use packaging per year*
*Based on 2022 ONS figure of 28.2 million households in the UK
