Pledges to use more recycled materials are increasingly falling short as the public grows more concerned about the global waste problem and seek out solutions to lighten their footprints. While solutions still need to scale, a growing number of brands are looking to pave the way toward a circular economy in which nothing becomes waste. From reusable and dissolvable packaging to giving secondhand goods a new life, read on for some of the top circular economy solutions that caught our eyes in 2021.
Tim Hortons tests reusable packaging with help from Loop and Tupperware
Tim Hortons gave reusable a try in 2021 with help from the container masters at Tupperware and the reusable packaging platform Loop. In November, the Canadian fast-food giant began testing a reusable packaging option designed by Tupperware at select locations around Toronto.
Guests pay a $3 deposit for the packaging, which is refunded when they return it. “Through this test we’ll start learning how guests respond to a reusables and returnable packaging system — what they like or don’t like — with the aim of refining a system that is seamless and enjoyable for more guests in more cities in the future,” Paul Yang, senior director of sustainability and packaging for Tim Hortons, said in a statement.
Tim Hortons is among a number of brands testing the water with reusables in partnership with the Loop platform. This circular economy pilot is also a first for Tupperware, which linked up with Loop back in 2020 to provide insight and expertise on reusables. Additional reusable package options created by Tupperware will be available to more of Loop’s brand partners in 2022, the company says.
McDonald’s and Starbucks trial reusable cup programs
McDonald’s trialed a reusable cup program in the U.K. last summer, also in partnership with Loop. Customers at six restaurants could order their morning cuppa in a reusable mug for a deposit of one British pound, which they got back when they returned the cup, along with a discount on their next order.
Meanwhile, after two single-store tests in 2020, Starbucks expanded its Borrow A Cup program to five stores in Seattle from March through May of 2021, in partnership with a Seattle-area service called Ridwell. Like the McDonald’s program, Starbucks customers simply pay a $1 deposit to order with a reusable cup, and they’ll receive points for refunds through the chain’s rewards program when they bring it back.
Both companies say they’re looking to learn from the pilots as they look to expand reuse programs to more locations in pursuit of a more circular economy for their products and packaging.
Ikea scales furniture buyback and resale program across the U.S.
Ikea’s large-scale furniture buyback program was a smash hit when it launched in 27 countries in 2020, including Germany, Australia, Canada and Japan. In 2021, U.S. consumers got their chance to take part.
After piloting the program in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, where the company says 100 percent of products brought in were resold, Ikea rolled it out to all of its U.S. retail stores in November of last year. Mirroring the global program, U.S. customers can get store credit for their gently used, unmodified Ikea furniture that is resold in the stores’ as-is section.
Ulta brings reusable beauty packaging to the masses
With more than 1,200 U.S. stores and over 30 million loyalty members, Ulta Beauty is one of the top mainstream retailers for cosmetics, skincare and haircare products. And in 2021, Ulta shoppers got a chance to try some of their favorites in reusable packaging, thanks to the retailer’s partnership with (you guessed it) Loop.
Starting in March, the Loop x Ulta Beauty online store was regularly updated with new products, with participating brands including Burt’s Bees, Mad Hippie, Melanin Essentials and Oneka. Customers from all 48 contiguous U.S. states could have their choices delivered in reusable packaging and send them back to be refilled.
The pilot wrapped at the end of November with no official word on the next step, but Ulta remains listed as a partner on Loop’s website, so we’ll likely see more from these two in the year ahead.
Leading U.K. meal kit company unveils dissolvable film made from pea protein
Perhaps even better than giving waste a second life, a big part of the circular economy of the future will be innovating to eliminate unnecessary waste altogether. This clever innovation from B Corp meal kit company Gousto is a case in point.
Billed as the “world’s first edible stock sachet,” this innovative design co-created with the sustainable packaging experts at Xampla offers an alternative to those plastic packets around vegetable bouillon cubes. Rather than deal with wasteful and hard-to-open sachets (hello, wrap rage), simply drop these dissolvable, flavorless pea protein capsules in the pot and go on with the recipe.
Madewell partners with ThredUP to expand denim trade-in and recycling program
Casual brand Madewell has long offered $20 vouchers to customers who recycle their gently-used jeans in store. In 2021, it took the next step toward building a circular economy for denim by partnering with the digital resale shop ThredUP to sell more secondhand Madewell apparel online.
The Madewell Forever secondhand shop launched in July with Madewell apparel donated online through ThredUP as well as denim that is collected at Madewell retail locations. The company says giving denim a second life reduces its environmental footprint by up to 82 percent, and it’s out to collect 1 million pairs of denim by 2023.
The North Face eyes the circular economy for “top materials” by 2025
To mark Earth Day in 2021, beloved outdoor brand the North Face upped the ante on the circular economy with a pledge to use recycled, regenerative or renewable sources for 100 percent of its top materials by 2025. The company says it will use three core initiatives — its free repair program, its clothing recycling program Clothes the Loop and its re-commerce platform the North Face Renewed — to keep its products in use longer and source better materials in pursuit of circularity. The brand plans to release its first fully circular apparel line later this year.
Dove is the latest Unilever brand to explore refillable packaging
In pursuit of a more circular economy for packaging, Unilever brand Dove has pledged to reduce or eliminate single-use plastic where possible and use recycled feedstock for plastic material it can’t avoid. Various Unilever brands have also dappled in refillable packaging in recent years, including a partnership with the Loop platform and in-store refill trials in Europe.
At the start of 2021, Dove became the most recent brand to jump on board with a refillable stainless-steel deodorant pack that’s both attractive and functional. Dove says the refillable option is only one of 100 projects it’s working on to eliminate non-recycled, single-use plastic across all products.
Adidas and Allbirds collaborate on a low-carbon sneaker featuring recycled materials, with other footwear brands bringing their own ideas to the playing field
Veteran footwear brand Adidas and sustainable upstart Allbirds made waves across the apparel industry in 2021 when they decided to team up to create a low-carbon performance shoe. Less than eight months later, the Futurecraft.Footprint shoe was ready for market.
Each pair creates less than 6.5 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions, compared to about 30 pounds for the average running shoe, and circular economy concepts have a lot to do with that. Designers considered pattern and manufacturing efficiency to reduce waste during assembly and sourced biodegradable and recycled materials associated with a lower carbon footprint.Among the other footwear and circular economy developments in 2021: Nike revamped popular styles like the Blazer Mid, Air VaporMax and Free Run 5.0 with recycled materials, while luxury label Roscomar looked to plant-based and renewable materials in its most sustainable shoe to date.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information says health-care spending in Canada is projected to reach a new high in 2024.
The annual report released Thursday says total health spending is expected to hit $372 billion, or $9,054 per Canadian.
CIHI’s national analysis predicts expenditures will rise by 5.7 per cent in 2024, compared to 4.5 per cent in 2023 and 1.7 per cent in 2022.
This year’s health spending is estimated to represent 12.4 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Excluding two years of the pandemic, it would be the highest ratio in the country’s history.
While it’s not unusual for health expenditures to outpace economic growth, the report says this could be the case for the next several years due to Canada’s growing population and its aging demographic.
Canada’s per capita spending on health care in 2022 was among the highest in the world, but still less than countries such as the United States and Sweden.
The report notes that the Canadian dental and pharmacare plans could push health-care spending even further as more people who previously couldn’t afford these services start using them.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
As Canadians wake up to news that Donald Trump will return to the White House, the president-elect’s protectionist stance is casting a spotlight on what effect his second term will have on Canada-U.S. economic ties.
Some Canadian business leaders have expressed worry over Trump’s promise to introduce a universal 10 per cent tariff on all American imports.
A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report released last month suggested those tariffs would shrink the Canadian economy, resulting in around $30 billion per year in economic costs.
More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S.
Canada’s manufacturing sector faces the biggest risk should Trump push forward on imposing broad tariffs, said Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters president and CEO Dennis Darby. He said the sector is the “most trade-exposed” within Canada.
“It’s in the U.S.’s best interest, it’s in our best interest, but most importantly for consumers across North America, that we’re able to trade goods, materials, ingredients, as we have under the trade agreements,” Darby said in an interview.
“It’s a more complex or complicated outcome than it would have been with the Democrats, but we’ve had to deal with this before and we’re going to do our best to deal with it again.”
American economists have also warned Trump’s plan could cause inflation and possibly a recession, which could have ripple effects in Canada.
It’s consumers who will ultimately feel the burden of any inflationary effect caused by broad tariffs, said Darby.
“A tariff tends to raise costs, and it ultimately raises prices, so that’s something that we have to be prepared for,” he said.
“It could tilt production mandates. A tariff makes goods more expensive, but on the same token, it also will make inputs for the U.S. more expensive.”
A report last month by TD economist Marc Ercolao said research shows a full-scale implementation of Trump’s tariff plan could lead to a near-five per cent reduction in Canadian export volumes to the U.S. by early-2027, relative to current baseline forecasts.
Retaliation by Canada would also increase costs for domestic producers, and push import volumes lower in the process.
“Slowing import activity mitigates some of the negative net trade impact on total GDP enough to avoid a technical recession, but still produces a period of extended stagnation through 2025 and 2026,” Ercolao said.
Since the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement came into effect in 2020, trade between Canada and the U.S. has surged by 46 per cent, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
With that deal is up for review in 2026, Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Candace Laing said the Canadian government “must collaborate effectively with the Trump administration to preserve and strengthen our bilateral economic partnership.”
“With an impressive $3.6 billion in daily trade, Canada and the United States are each other’s closest international partners. The secure and efficient flow of goods and people across our border … remains essential for the economies of both countries,” she said in a statement.
“By resisting tariffs and trade barriers that will only raise prices and hurt consumers in both countries, Canada and the United States can strengthen resilient cross-border supply chains that enhance our shared economic security.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says the country’s merchandise trade deficit narrowed to $1.3 billion in September as imports fell more than exports.
The result compared with a revised deficit of $1.5 billion for August. The initial estimate for August released last month had shown a deficit of $1.1 billion.
Statistics Canada says the results for September came as total exports edged down 0.1 per cent to $63.9 billion.
Exports of metal and non-metallic mineral products fell 5.4 per cent as exports of unwrought gold, silver, and platinum group metals, and their alloys, decreased 15.4 per cent. Exports of energy products dropped 2.6 per cent as lower prices weighed on crude oil exports.
Meanwhile, imports for September fell 0.4 per cent to $65.1 billion as imports of metal and non-metallic mineral products dropped 12.7 per cent.
In volume terms, total exports rose 1.4 per cent in September while total imports were essentially unchanged in September.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
