About
Disposable plastic packaging has become the norm for food products, but it consumes fossil resources, contributes to CO₂ emissions and microplastics, and addsto a growing mountain of waste. Reusable food packaging offers a way to reduce this impact without compromising on convenience. This research explores how reusable systems can be designed, organized and scaled up to benefit consumers, businesses and the environment.
RE2PACK investigates why reusable packaging is not yet the norm by examining barriers across the whole system. Together with packers, labelers, retailers and washers, we experiment with new roles, business models and supply chains. We research consumers’ needs and preferences around sustainable product-packaging combinations, and we test reusable packaging in real-life conditions for durability, shelf life, collection, cleaning and in‑store presentation. This system perspective offers a new perspective in the main obstacles lie and what needs to change to scale up reuse.
Making reusable packaging the norm requires structural change, but there are still significant gaps in our knowledge. We know little about how packagers, retailers, cleaning companies and other stakeholders canadapt supply chains and business models to facilitate reuse. Insights into consumers’ needs and preferences for sustainable combinations of products and packaging remain fragmented. There is also little evidence on how reusable packaging performs in practice in terms of sustainability, shelf life, collection, cleaning and in-store presentation.
Seizing opportunities and creating solutions
Method
RE2PACK aims to tackle these issues by introducing reusable packaging on a large scale. The research focuses on various aspects:
1. Creating sustainable supply chains
RE2PACK brings together all actors in the chain, from packers and labellers to retailers and washers, to develop reusable packaging systems that work for people, the planet, and business alike. We assess the sustainability performance of different system configurations and equip value chain actors to make better choices.
2. Engaging consumers
To make reuse the norm, consumer behavior must change. RE2PACK studies people’s needs and preferences around reusable product-packaging combinations, using these insights to design behavioral interventions that promote the purchase and continued use of products in reusable packaging.
3. Designing for reuse
Reusable packaging must work for everyone: users and stakeholders. We examine system, packaging, and service design elements that influence the attractiveness, usability, and intrinsic sustainability of reusable packaging systems, generating design guidelines to support their wider adoption in society.
With research and education, we accelerate the transition to more Reusable Packaging Systems (RPS) in the coming years. We aim to Reshape supply chains by redefining roles and business models for reusable packaging with packers, retailers, washers andother actors. Support behavior change by understanding consumers’ needs and preferences around sustainable product–packaging combinations.
Design and test for reuse by evaluating reusable packaging in real-life conditions: durability, shelf life, collection, cleaning and in‑store presentation.
Revolutionary Reusable Packaging 