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And while chain stores claim they can contribute to more environmentally friendly consumption, they also seem to highlight other strategies of retail chains to reduce plastic.
The Rimi retail chain recently announced that it would be the first in Lithuania to offer customers hygiene and cleaning products to fill in reusable containers, and to choose harsh shampoo and soap.
This trade network solution received a lot of reaction from readers: some welcomed the move, others doubted that we would “go back to the Soviet era.”
However, with environmental requirements tightening, other retail chains say they will consider such an innovation.
When will it be implemented – I can’t say
According to Vaida Budrienė, representative of the retail chain Iki, the store is currently reducing plastics in other ways, so it does not yet have a precise vision for the implementation of the bottled hygiene products trade. Therefore, when buyers wait for the opportunity to come to the store to buy with their containers, the agent cannot respond.
“We evaluate and analyze the idea of filling products in our own packaging, but it is difficult to say exactly when we will implement it,” says V. Budrienė.
True, the store representative adds that in recent years, the desire of visitors to be more environmentally friendly cannot be overlooked: shoppers are increasingly choosing more durable means of packaging products and carrying their bags.
“In recent years, sales of plastic bags have been declining steadily, and in 2020, their sales fell about 30 percent.
(…) With the decline in sales of plastic bags, sales of reusable paper and textile bags in online stores are growing, and shoppers are also increasingly choosing to use their reusable bags.
Another step that buyers are taking more and more boldly to reduce the amount of plastic is that they choose reusable bags for fruits and vegetables, which they also usually buy in stores, ”observes V. Budrienė the changing habits of shoppers.
Does not rule out the possibility
Lina Skersytė, a media representative for the retail chain Lidl, says that the sale of liquid hygiene products bottled in containers brought by customers is not currently being considered, but the chain is not abandoning such an idea.
“We are focused on other plastics reduction initiatives, but we do not rule out the possibility that such a thing will be considered in the future.
(…) We are currently reducing the amount of plastic in single brand water bottles. Almost 18% is now used for 1.5L water bottles and approximately 21% for 0.5L bottles. less plastic.
Due to this decision, we will reduce the amount of plastic consumed each year by more than 47 tons ”, adds L. Skersytė, representative of the store.
According to L. Skersytė, his network was also the first in Lithuania to refuse to sell disposable plastic shopping bags.
A pandemic requires hygiene
According to Ernesta Dapkienė, director of the Department of Communication and Image of Maxima, the current situation of the pandemic requires special attention to the hygiene of the stores, so a significant reduction in plastic would be considered a little later.
“The total abandonment of plastic packaging raises a number of hygiene problems that are not even fully regulated.
In the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic, we set very strict requirements to ensure hygiene: we prioritize packaging made of materials that are environmentally friendly and safe for human health, we choose only plastic suitable for recycling, and we encourage to the consumers to classify ”. says E. Dapkienė, retailer.
A Maxima representative adds that currently all plastic packaging for private label products in the retail chain is recyclable and, by 2025, the network aims to reduce the amount of plastic used by 30%.
“Therefore, we are considering and implementing various initiatives that contribute to reducing the excessive consumption of plastic,” adds E. Dapkienė.
Goods in containers brought – in a section
Darius Ryliškis, representative of the Norfa retail chain, says that so far shoppers can only buy with their own containers in one department of the store.
“The principle you describe applies to culinary sections: if a person brings their own packaging, culinary products are added.
Measures are being considered to promote the reduction of hygienic packaging ”, reports D. Ryliškis.
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