UK
Ideal Manufacfuring has partnered with Green Shoots Midlands to deliver zero emission and zero waste deliveries of its professional laundry products in a closed loop within a 60mile radius of Ideal HQ in Kettering. “We’re delighted to be working with Pete and his team at Green Shoots, delivering Ideal laundry products to local customers emission free and waste free,” Ideal MD Phillip Kalli told LCN. “Our customers have been loving this new service.”
Customer response to the new service has been posirtive said Kalli, “with one customer commenting, ‘Just wanted to say that the new delivery method worked a treat. The driver was extremely polite on his call as he headed to my address. He also left things, pallet free, where requested’.”
Ideal’s research and innovation chemist, Dr Andrew Duckworth, explained the concept: "Plastic bottles are everywhere. Literally. Whether drinking water or a spray cleaner, at this point it’s well known that a majority of single-use packaging ends up in landfill, or worse, the Pacific Ocean. In real terms, being technically recyclable often doesn’t mean that something will be recycled when it goes to a recycling plant, which means packaging with a recycling label could end up in landfill no matter what we do. This leaves consumers in a bind, especially when the product inside that packaging isn’t negotiable.
“In the UK, we are fortunate enough to be able to choose not to use bottled water, but launderers can’t just stop using chemicals. When good options don’t exist, the radical question isn’t so much what the consumer can do, rather why manufacturers can’t provide. The fact is, responsible choices by manufacturers are what give responsible options to consumers, so the change has to start at the root of the tree. The whole economy of delivery hinges on single-use, so the economy of multi-use has to be different.
“Positive action means adding to something other than the problem. It means making a real solution that works and sticking to it, so that other people get the option to stick with it, too. At Ideal, we think a closed-loop, zero waste option is a good start. Closed-loop means that plastic (and glass and metal) that enters the delivery economy doesn’t leave it unless there’s absolutely no other option.
“In fact, we don’t just think this is a good start, we’ve been doing it for years. It’s hard at first, with a lot to work out. Maybe it’s not perfect yet. Maybe we’ll always have to try. But it’s working, it’s doable and it’s worth it," said Duckworth.
Ideal’s ‘Fill’ range of eco laundry, household cleaning and personal care products with refillable containers provided in a closed loop supply chain is the template for the new service. “It has seen landmark success because it provides this option where the option didn’t really exist before. Now we’re doing the same with Ideal professional products - and we’re very serious about it,” said Kalli.
