German retailer REWE has announced plans to remove plastic from select fruit and vegetable categories in 630 of its supermarket, in a move that will reduce plastic usage by 60,000 kilograms a year.
According to a recent survey, eight out of ten shoppers said they are willing to buy fruit and vegetables without packaging.
Now, REWE is looking to put this into practice and see if the survey results coincide with customer purchasing behaviour.
A Pioneering Move
As part of the measure, the 630 REWE and Nahkauf markets are selling organic fruit and vegetables either without plastic or offered in environmentally friendly packaging.
REWE also hopes to gather important experience regarding the future use of plastic with regard to its fruit and vegetable assortment.
"We as food retailers are responsible for intensifying our commitment to the environment", said REWE's Peter Maly.
Maly added that the group is seeking to reduce the use of unnecessary packaging, as well as explore a more economic use of materials, and develop innovative and greener packaging alternatives.
Private Label
By the end of 2030, REWE wants to make all private label packaging environmentally friendly.
In line with its motto 'avoid, reduce, improve', REWE has already made 1,122 of its own label packaging products more environmentally friendly; for example the 'natural branding' of organic sweet potatoes, a reduction in thickness of packaging films, and the switch from film packaging to adhesive labels on products.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Jana Zimmermann. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
