UK retailer Tesco is offering branded toothpastes without boxes as part of a pilot project aimed at removing unnecessary packaging.
The trial, launched on 21 September, includes nearly 30 Tesco stores across the UK and will include brands such as Colgate, Oral B, Sensodyne, Aquafresh and Corsadyl.
Oral care buyer at Tesco, Felicity Bexton said, “We made a bold move to remove un-needed toothpaste boxes last November on our own brand and have had positive feedback from customers. Now we are working with the major toothpaste brands to join us on this journey.
“Not only is there an opportunity to remove this needless packaging, but it also means being able to transport more tubes in the same amount of space, helping us take delivery lorries off the road too. We think that for customers the move makes sense, because the first thing they do when they buy toothpaste is throw the packaging box away!”
Toothpaste Without Boxes
Toothpaste without boxes will be rolled out across other Tesco stores, should the pilot succeed.
The initiative has the potential of saving 680 tonnes of cardboard a year, the retailer added.
In November 2021, the retailer scrapped boxes from its own brand toothpaste hoping to reduce the use of more than 55 tonnes of cardboard each year.
This move is part of Tesco’s 4Rs packaging strategy to tackle the impact of packaging waste.
Since the launch of the strategy in August 2019, Tesco has reduced packaging by more than 3,000 tonnes from its annual footprint.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest packaging news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
