Unpacked!

Unverpackt!

Hey Migros! For me, it is and is becoming increasingly important to shop consciously and with as little packaging waste as possible. I'm also hearing from more and more people that they're doing this and I'm motivating those around me to reduce packaging.
How about your own zero-waste chain (like the "Foifi" in Zurich)? I see great potential here with a lot of future. Customers only buy what they actually consume, which also reduces food waste.
I see the integration into an existing market as difficult.

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All replies (12)

Guest

I can hardly imagine that it would be worth setting up an "extra chain", as it would involve an enormous amount of time and effort. Instead, I think it would be much more effective and efficient if Migros became more packaging-friendly. For example, by offering more open sales for filling, charging for vegetable bags, or paying attention to resource-saving transportation and packaging in the upstream supply chain...

Let's leave the unpackaged stores to the new local start-ups ;-)

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Guest

@Kurumi... same opinion !

Or else reintroduce a serviced vegetable and fruit stand like 40 years ago
or milk delivery in milk cans like 80 years ago https://www.etsy.com/de/listing/246801000/milchkanne-mit-deckel-aluminium-krug

... or an outhouse and cutting up old newspapers again instead of toilet paper. :-))

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Daniel_Migros

Hello mvogel88, kurumi, marcotiand Bodenseeknusperli

There are actually some nice "unpackaged" stores, such as Foifi in Zurich. But they are a bit of a fraudulent label. Because Foifi calls itself a zero-waste store, but it doesn't go completely without packaging there either ;)

Packaging does have a negative impact on the environment, but this impact is very small compared to the benefits. Packaging accounts for a maximum of five percent of the total ecological footprint of a product. The use of this five percent makes sense if the product can be protected from premature spoilage or transport damage.

Migros attaches great importance to making packaging as environmentally friendly as possible while retaining its protective properties. Migros can still improve here. It is currently doing this by analyzing packaging and optimizing it where it makes sense. You can find out more about this on our website: https://generation-m.migros.ch/de/versprechen/verpackungen.html

So far, unpackaged stores have mostly been small stores with a very clear product range. This makes it easier to select products that can be offered without packaging. It is also easier to ensure the necessary hygiene with just a few items and a rather small area.

In most cases, there are also greater levers than simply leaving out packaging. For example, heating your home a little less, taking fewer hot showers, avoiding air travel or not throwing away the food you buy. The WWF has put together some great ideas for 2018: https://www.wwf.ch/de/stories/neujahrsvorsaetze-10-ideen-fuer-ein-nachhaltigeres-2018

Even if we are not planning to open any zero-waste stores in 2018, we will continue our commitment to the environment this year and work to improve in as many areas as possible. We are always happy to receive ideas from you. The more concrete, the better!

Best wishes and have a great weekend,

Daniel

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Guest

@Daniel_Migros I can understand Migros' packaging management wherever hygiene is involved, because if I as a customer am disgusted by something and find it unappetizing, the goal has not been achieved either.
The legal requirements are somewhat more incomprehensible:
-- Organic products with additional packaging, just to let the producer know and to simplify a return... Example: Yellow turnips as a "special rara product" have only been available on an organic basis for about 2 years, although the label is not insisted on at all. This makes what used to be a "poor man's product" extremely expensive.
In addition, certain packaging (cleaned, of course) should be taken back under the term "plastic": Yogurt containers, esp. 1kg... stacked, plastic trays for meat and sausage products, for cookies and similar (these are used for presentation - so advantage Migros) and cannot be pressed into the garbage bag like raschel bags, cellophane, but always springs back into its original shape, unless you cut it up with strong scissors....
I don't see such a big difference between the packaging I have listed:
What is collected?
Empty plastic bottles of dairy products, detergents and cleaning agents, shampoos, shower gels, soaps, lotions, creams, vinegar, oil, sauces, plant fertilizers.
What's more, this is interpreted differently by customers... ;-) and many can't even tell the difference between PET and plastic....

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Famsl

@marcotiThemilk churn was nowhere near as long ago. I used to get the milk for my mother from the village shop. I'm not that old now either.

I can even imagine that this would still be possible in the small Emmenthal cheese dairies today. It would probably be worth a try.

But it's possible that it was 80 years ago in the cosmopolitan city of Zurich ;-)

Apart from that, I would actually be up for it. If you're a family of four who like to have their Ovi (or Eimalzi) in the morning, then there's actually a lot of waste. It's either in the bin bag or being carted around by everyone involved for recycling. A compact, leak-proof milk jug with a few liters of space inside would definitely be worth considering. It would be smaller than the Tetrapak version or even the organic milk in a plastic bottle (is that actually organic plastic?! ;-).

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Guest

@Famsl "...plastic bottle (is that actually organic plastic? " ... at least you could ask whether they really need to be that stable.

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Guest

@Daniel_Migros Hello Daniel,
So-called zero waste stores are of course not 100% waste-free. The difference: the lowest possible ballast along the entire supply chain, longevity, reusability, often regional.

It is also not about avoiding packaging, but about reducing unnecessary single and double packaging and switching to degradable, non-toxic materials.

With regard to the life cycle assessment: have you also taken into account the future and external costs of environmental damage in your cost-benefit analysis?
Then the balance sheet suddenly looks pretty hair-raising!

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moira92

A market would promote social contacts and human interaction in a society where people are often busy with their smartphones or computers (as is the case here in this forum, for example).

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lupocanis

i also see the extra chain as very costly. but more environmentally friendly packaging would be a step in the right direction. moreover, depending on the packaging, it is difficult to open. when i look in my garbage bag, it is filled with 3/4 packaging material whether i want it to be or not. the cloth bags for fruit and vegetables, which i also use in other stores, are praiseworthy.

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Daniel_Migros

Hello@Kurumi

Again, it's not so obvious that you call a store "zero waste", but then it doesn't get by with zero waste ;) But as I said before, I also like the concept and think we should do without packaging where possible and make it as environmentally friendly as possible where it is necessary. The zero-waste stores show the complexity of the issue and how difficult it is to do without packaging, even with a very small range.

Regarding your question: A life cycle assessment takes the entire life cycle of a product - or in this case packaging - into account. In other words, the environmental impact caused by the production and disposal of the packaging is covered.

Kind regards,

Daniel

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