We will identify sustainable alternatives to plastic and non-recyclable packaging as we build the sustainable future of retail. In 2021 we shipped approximately 235 million packages, which makes identifying more sustainable alternatives to plastic and non-recyclable packaging a critical opportunity for us, our customers and our environment. Given the lack of a scalable alternative, we have committed to a phased approach toward full recyclability, including:
- Switching to post-consumer recycled content as much as possible,
- Reducing the average emissions intensity of our packages by reducing the overall amount of packaging used,
- Increasing the recyclability of our packaging,
- Implementing waste reduction initiatives at our fulfillment centers, and
- Using our platforms to educate consumers on recycling practices including the continued use of the How2Recycle label as well as development of a packaging sustainability education landing page for QVC and HSN customers.
Our Sustainable Packaging Work Group has set the following Sustainable Packaging Goals & Targets, which you can learn more about by clicking on each of the targets listed below.
We are always looking for ways to reduce our environmental footprint when shipping our products to our customers and we are well on our way to achieving this goal. For QVC US and HSN we continually focus on using “right-sized” packaging where possible, to minimize the amount of materials we use to ship products. We do this by encouraging our suppliers to ship product to us in re-shippable boxes that do not require additional packaging to ship to the customer and by consolidating customer orders where possible to ship multiple orders in one package. Additionally, several markets have made strides and will continue to make changes to sizing of packaging materials, while still protecting the product shipped to our customers. There are also notable efforts underway to source packaging materials composed of increased recycled content versus our historical packaging content.
In 2020, we conducted a survey to understand customers’ recycling habits. Based on information gathered from more than 600 QVC US and HSN consumers, we learned that, while most consumers participate in curbside recycling, less than a third take polybags to the store or a recycling center. We also learned that, despite 75% of QVC US and HSN customers saying it is important for retailers to provide recyclable packaging, over 40% didn’t know that our packaging was, indeed, recyclable.
Due to our customer insights and changing How2Recycle label guidelines in 2021 on the recyclability of packaging materials, we broadened our focus beyond the How2Recycle label to include more comprehensive information for our consumers on how to best dispose of packaging their purchases come in. This initiative is part of our company’s greater commitment to being a responsible corporate citizen throughout our operations and we’re excited to have our customers join this part of our sustainability journey. Ultimately, this sustainability information will expand beyond recyclability to also include information on recycled content of materials and greenhouse gas emissions metrics compared to traditional packaging materials.
We have several exciting initiatives completed and underway as it relates to increasing the recyclability of our packaging. Much of the tape we use for our corrugated boxes at QVC US and HSN has moved from plastic-based tape to water activated tape. This means customers do not have to remove the tape from the box before recycling it. In addition, we no longer add packing peanuts to shipments packed in our fulfillment centers.
Did you know if there is a label on a plastic polybag, you have to remove or cut out the label before recycling it? Given this, QVC US is printing shipping information directly on our polybags (versus using a label) in some of our fulfillment centers and are looking to increase this capability over time. Several of our markets are also planning to transition from using bags made with multiple materials (e.g. jiffy bags with paper fiber on the outside and plastic bubbles on the inside) to a recyclable bag that is made from a single-material (e.g. a bag made out of kraft paper that has a paper liner). Our QVC team in the UK is transitioning from their current non-recyclable jiffy mailer to a fully recyclable version, and they are also busy implementing initiatives to utilize jewelry pouches made from recycled plastic.
We are also proud to say we continue to invest labor to reuse packaging where possible from returned product. For example, our team in QVC Germany reuses shoe boxes that have not been damaged that come back from returned products, and the QVC team in the US does the same thing with jewelry presentation cases.
This is an area that will continue to evolve as we investigate new packaging solutions, strengthen our external partnerships and share our Sustainable Packaging Goals & Targets with our packaging suppliers. In the US, QVC’s proprietary brands have switched from using apparel polybags (the clear plastic bag that protects the apparel item) that had 0% recycled content to one that is now comprised of 30% recycled content. In the US, we have increased the recycled content of our polybag materials from only 6.1% in 2018 to 15.0% in 2021, and we are looking to further increase this in the coming few years. QVC Germany is working toward an amazing improvement – moving from 0% recycled content in their polybags to ones that are now made out of 80% recycled content. The QVC team in the UK plans to convert their jewelry pouches and boxes to ones made with recycled content as well, and they are working on having bagging film and returned polybags recycled into other film and bags for reuse.