Grove Collaborative Celebrates One-Year Anniversary of Beyond Plastic Initiative

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First plastic-neutral retailer hits milestones on path to becoming 100% plastic free by 2025; calls on industry peers to join the fight against single-use plastic

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Today, Grove Collaborative, a leading sustainable consumer packaged goods company that creates innovative natural products and offers a curated selection of healthy home essentials such as cleaning supplies and personal care products, celebrates the one-year anniversary of Beyond Plastic, its comprehensive initiative to help Grove achieve its ambitious goal of becoming 100% plastic free by 2025 and a way to lead the industry out of single-use plastic. Having made significant progress in the past year against its plans, Grove is calling on industry peers to join in the necessary effort to move away from the reliance on single-use plastic.

The first plastic-neutral retailer shares five updates on its accomplishments to date including: the latest metrics from its Plastic Scorecard, the creation of the Plastic Working Group, the recent launch of Grove’s plastic-free owned brands, achievements from its partnership with Plastic Bank® and rePurpose Global, and the launch of its partnership with Recyclops.

“We are proud to celebrate Beyond Plastic’s one-year anniversary, and as we get closer toward our goal of becoming 100% plastic free by 2025, we are urging our industry to join us in the fight against single-use plastic,” said Stuart Landesberg, Co-Founder & CEO of Grove Collaborative. “To address the climate crisis is not enough for businesses to reduce environmental impact. It is imperative that they create positive impact. At Grove, our mission is to show that CPG products can be a positive force for human and environmental health, and with Beyond Plastic we are taking a collaborative approach with our industry to address the single-use plastic problem.”

Grove’s latest Plastic Scorecard shows Beyond Plastic is making significant impact:

  • Grove’s plastic-free products have avoided 1.93M lbs of plastic from entering landfill in 2020
  • Grove’s customers have avoided over 4M lbs of plastic being used, by choosing Grove’s plastic reducing and plastic-free products (versus using conventional, mass market alternatives)
  • Grove’s reusable bags have avoided 1.60M lbs (or 81M single-use gallon bags) of plastic from landfills since the launch of the product
  • Grove’s soap refills have avoided 257,000 lbs of plastic (or a week’s worth of trash for 8,900 households) from landfills since the launch of the product
  • Grove’s cleaning concentrates have avoided 963,000 lbs of plastic from entering landfills since the launch of the product

Grove is leading a collective of CPG companies to innovate out of single-use plastic with its Plastic Working Group:

  • In 2020, Grove created a third-party Plastic Working Group for brands to collaborate and work together to solve the plastic problem. The group is comprised of 63 of Grove’s third party brands such as Seventh Generation, Method and others who are working to make a difference. Grove’s aim with this group is to catalyze the home and personal care industry through collaboration, thought leadership, pre-competitive conversations and sharing of best practices.

Grove’s plastic-free owned brands Peach and Grove Co.’s cleaning products are addressing the single-use plastic problem:

  • The company recently introduced Peach, a line of 100% plastic-free non-compromise personal care products. Peach is on a mission to eliminate plastic out of the personal care routine and in its first year the product line is expected to save 100,000 lbs of plastic.
  • In addition, Grove launched a fully plastic-free line of cleaning products engineered to help solve the world’s single-use plastic problem. In 2021, Grove’s plastic free cleaning concentrates and hand and dish soaps will avoid 994,776 pounds of plastic from entering our environment (compared to conventional plastic formats).

Since March 2020, Grove’s partnership with Plastic Bank® and rePurpose Global collected and recycled over 5.3M lbs of ocean-bound plastic:

  • Partnering with Plastic Bank® and rePurpose Global to achieve plastic neutrality, Grove’s owned and third-party brands are currently subject to a plastic offset “tax,” where the company calculates the amount of plastic sent to consumers and then works with Plastic Bank® and rePurpose Global to collect and recycle the equivalent amount of ocean-bound plastic – meaning there is a cost the company is imposing on itself for everything the company ships containing plastic, even recycled. The funds are then used to uplift collectors in coastal communities where most of the plastic ends up.
  • Through the partnership with Plastic Bank® and rePurpose Global, Grove is holding itself accountable to implement the permanent changes the whole industry needs. Exercising this tax is one of our key first steps toward becoming 100% plastic free, while also setting an example that can translate across industries.

Grove is partnering with Recyclops to pilot glass recycling programs in cities across the U.S.: Based on EPA data, as of 2018, the recycling rate of glass in the United States is only 31% and many of Grove’s customers do not live in geographic areas where waste providers offer glass recycling programs. The Recyclops partnership will make glass recycling easier and more accessible to Grove customers, which will ensure that a greater portion of Grove packaging is reused.

In 2021, moving Beyond Plastic remains paramount for Grove and the company will continue to make strides towards removing plastic from everything they make and sell, while pushing the industry to do the same. As a part of its efforts, Grove recently announced its conversion to a Delaware public benefit corporation (PBC). With a vision of CPG being a positive force for human and environmental health, converting to a PBC will allow Grove to continue its for-profit strategies while balancing the interests of its shareholders, its public benefit purpose and the interests of other stakeholders. Grove was also recently named to Fast Company’s prestigious annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2021, ranked No. 2 in the Corporate Social Responsibility category.

About Grove Collaborative:

Launched in 2016 as a Certified B Corp, Grove Collaborative creates innovative natural products and offers a curated selection of healthy home essentials like cleaning supplies and personal care products. With a flexible, monthly delivery model and access to knowledgeable Grove Guides, Grove’s platform makes it easy for people to switch to healthier, more sustainable routines. Every item Grove offers, both from their flagship Grove Co. brand and from exceptional third-party brands, has been thoroughly vetted against strict standards for sustainability, efficacy and supply chain practices. On a mission to move Beyond Plastic, Grove is the first plastic neutral retailer in the world and is committed to becoming 100% plastic-free by 2025. For more information, visit grove.co/beyondplastic.

Media Contact
GrovePR@icrinc.com

Source: Grove Collaborative

Released March 31, 2021