We were delighted to be awarded the 2021 Gold Trophy in the category "Service equipment for the shop and brands" at Natexpo. The jury of the International Trade Fair for Organic Products honoured our initiative to organise the collection and reuse of our "Bags In Box ". We tell you more about this initiative in this article...
At Jean Bouteille, we have been have been working since 2014 to reduce waste in distribution and more specifically to democratise and generalise bulk. Our speciality? Liquid bulk to change the environmental impact of traditional containers. The innovation of the Bag in Box is the most ecological packaging and the most adapted to bulk because of its oxygen barrier properties, thus protecting our products. It ensures a secure and easy service of our products in our partner shops.
Although the Bag in Box already allowed for a significant reduction in plastic pollution from single-use containers, the zero waste logic was not yet sufficiently advanced.
Indeed, the Bag In Box is a flexible multi-material plastic with a very low dry matter / volume ratio. This is why there is currently no recycling channel. Furthermore, the design of the bag does not allow it to be reused without any health or mechanical risk. This is why we decided to create our own channel by collecting the bags that are put on the market. They are recycled to create components used in the distribution of bulk liquids (components of bulk dispensers, bottle accessories, etc.).
"As we cannot recycle the bags into bags, we decided to do something else useful and circular that allows us to kill two birds with one stone...we are working on turning them into components for our fountains, or container accessories".
Since September 2020, we have been offering this "Bag in Box upcycling" programmeto our partner shops. For the retailer, nothing could be simpler, once the liquid bulk fountain is dry, he removes the bag from the BIB and instead of throwing it away, he stores it until our team comes to collect one or more boxes of used bags directly in his shop (or UPS drop-off option).
33 shops have already subscribed and returned their bags since the initiative was launched. On our side, the recovery tests continue to progress with our partner!
We remove the last waste from the shop by collecting our BIB bags and giving them a second life. We enable our products to be zero wastenot only for the consumer but also for our partner bulk shops. This service is not for profit and is a big step towards reducing waste throughout the supply chain.
"Natexpo is the international trade fair for organic products! It is the event that has been shaping tomorrow's organic products for over 30 years. It is organised by and for organic professionals and supported by all the players in the market (producers, manufacturers, processors, distributors and specialists in the sector at national and international level). If we are regulars of the show and its aisles as exhibitor and pioneer of bulk, it is really the Grail to be rewarded and to be the Natexpo gold trophy in the category Service equipment for the shop and the brands ".
This year 330 innovations were registered to apply for this 2021 edition! Congratulations to the winners of this competition which rewards each year the most innovative, useful, practical and original products.
One of our discoveries? The minimalist soap dish from J'aime mes Dents that keeps your solid soap or shampoo dry. Their team was awarded the silver trophy in the Home and Personal Products & Services category for this accessory that makes the transition to zero wasteeasier.
Discover below the other winners of these Natexpo 2021 Awards! 🏆
