Sky invests in ‘modernised milkman’ shopping service to help cut packaging waste

Media company Sky is putting more than £1.5 million into a “modernised milkman” service in its biggest investment yet to help cut single-use packaging harming the oceans.

The company has announced it is investing 2 million US dollars (£1.56 million) into zero-waste shopping service Loop, through its impact investment fund Sky Ocean Ventures, part of the Sky Ocean Rescue campaign.

The Loop scheme, from US business TerraCycle, sees customers getting household products delivered in reusable containers that are then collected, cleaned, refilled and reused or recycled.

It aims to help consumers move away from single-use plastic to a “circular economy”, which eliminates waste and keeps reusing resources, by creating a delivery service similar to the traditional milkman for hundreds of grocery and toiletry items.

Products ranging from Haagen-Dazs ice cream to Pantene shampoo are already available from major companies including P&G, Nestle, the Body Shop and Unilever to consumers through Loop in the US and France.

The funding, the 17th investment from the £25 million Sky Ocean Ventures fund to help young companies addressing the plastic crisis, is the largest to date and comes ahead of the launch of Loop with Tesco in the UK next year.

Jeremy Darroch, group chief executive of Sky, said: “Loop fundamentally changes the way we approach packaging and waste.

“The transition to a circular economy will take time, but big ideas like this can and will help change the world our children will inherit.”

Tom Szaky, chief executive of TerraCycle and Loop, said: “When we set out to raise investment capital for Loop, we had no expectation of finding a fund associated with a major media company that shares our dedication to eliminating plastic waste.

“Sky’s industry knowledge and daily access to a vast customer network will help bring attention to Loop and the opportunities to shift to durable products and packaging.”