There's no online shopping and shipping without packaging, and we probably don't need to point out how much waste is involved every time someone hits 'buy.'
One way to eliminate that waste is to opt for reusable packaging as offered by RePack. The Finnish company created a packaging-as-a-service solution with reusable mailers that consumers can return by mail using a prepaid label. Lightweight but strong, RePacks last at least 40 ship-and-return cycles.
To scale up and reach more retailers, RePack is now integrated with Shopify, which is used by over 1.7 million online stores. After signing up with RePack, merchants can offer customers the option of 'trash-free' delivery in reusable packaging. According to RePack, "Our data shows that between 20% to 40% of customers choose RePack when they are prompted through the pop-up dialogue."
While RePack currently only offers mailers for products that don't need protection during shipping — think jeans, not toaster ovens — that's still a massive mountain of single-use packaging materials diverted from waste streams and imperfect recycling systems.
