Tesco is undertaking a trial in nearly 30 of its UK stores to remove unnecessary toothpaste packaging and evaluate how customers feel when these products are no longer sold in boxes.
Last November – in a move said to save over 55 tonnes of cardboard each year – Tesco scrapped boxes for its own-brand toothpaste, and in the new trial, major toothpaste brands such as Colgate, Oral B, Sensodyne, Aquafresh and Corsodyl will also be sold as loose tubes.
The supermarket says that if the trial is successful, box-less toothpaste will then be rolled out across other Tesco stores, potentially saving around 680 tonnes of cardboard a year.
“We made a bold move to remove un-needed toothpaste boxes last November on our own brand and have had positive feedback from customers,” explains Tesco oral care buyer Felicity Bexton. “Now we are working with the major toothpaste brands to join us on this journey.
“Not only is there an opportunity to remove this needless packaging, but it also means being able to transport more tubes in the same amount of space, helping us take delivery lorries off the road too.
“We think that for customers the move makes sense, because the first thing they do when they buy toothpaste is throw the packaging box away!”
