In this photo from Life Magazine in 1955, a family celebrates the dawn of “Throwaway Living“.
Up until the 1950s, we lived in a world where we consumed less. Our packaging was refillable, and we repaired our durable items. We had the milkman deliver milk, we darned our socks, mended our clothing, cobbled our shoes, and repaired our furniture. Disposable products and packaging were nowhere to be found.
The introduction of plastics, coupled with the ability to industrially manufacture products, quickly led to an increase in cheap, disposable goods in the ‘50s. We began buying—and throwing away—more than ever.
We haven’t stopped consuming at an unsustainable pace. In fact, we’ve only increased our consumption. If we could revert back to the times of reuse and repair with the same level of convenience, we can accelerate the move to a circular economy and protect our planet—and every living thing on it—for future generations.
We launched Loop in 2019 to create a global platform for reuse where manufacturers could develop reusable versions of their products that could be sold through major retailers with the same convenience as the current disposable versions.
Our goal is to make reuse as convenient as disposability for consumers, manufacturers, and retailers. Loop enables any product, from laundry detergent to vitamins, to be packaged in a reusable container, sold at any participating store, and then returned to any participating store.
Our work has a positive impact on people and the planet. But we go even further.
View our impact