Today, Target Corporation launches Target
Zero —
a new initiative that responds to growing guest interest in products that help
reduce waste.
Guests will now see a Target Zero icon in stores and online that
will signal products and packaging designed to be
refillable, reusable or compostable; made from recycled content; or made from
materials that reduce the use of plastic. Hundreds of new and existing products
from guest-favorite brands across Target’s Beauty, Personal Care and Household
Essentials categories will be among the first in the Target Zero collection,
with plans to expand the assortment in the future.
Target Zero advances key commitments made through Target
Forward
— Target’s sustainability strategy that aims to co-create an equitable and
sustainable
future
with its guests, partners and communities — and includes ambitions to design and
elevate purpose-driven brands and innovate to eliminate waste. The initiative
uses Target’s size, scale and resources to curate a one-of-a-kind assortment
that drives innovation and progress to reduce waste.
The Target Zero initiative is part of new wave of engagement efforts by brands and retailers, aimed at both satisfying growing demand for better products and nudging ambivalent consumers toward more sustainable shopping habits.
Cleaning up beauty's ugly impacts
Join us at SB'24 San Diego as Victor Casale — co-founder of Pact Collective and co-founder and CEO of MOB Beauty — shares insights from ongoing collaborations with materials innovators to create fully compostable, refillable, plastic-free, and easier-to-recycle packaging alternatives for beauty and wellness products.
“Target Zero unlocks important progress toward our Target Forward ambitions,
each of which require collaboration from our partners and action from our guests
to be realized,” said Amanda Nusz, Target’s SVP of corporate responsibility
and president of the Target Foundation. “By making it easier for our guests
to identify which products are designed to reduce waste, Target Zero helps them
make informed decisions about what they purchase and advances a collective
impact across our brand partners, our product shelves, and within our homes and
communities.”
In-store and digital experience
With Target Zero, Target is further honing its offering to appeal to the growing
segment of discerning consumers that shop with their values — and joins fellow
retailers including
Amazon
and Thrive
Market
in allowing shoppers to filter their product searches with a range of
environmental and social criteria; and Loop, which appeals specifically to shoppers seeking alternatives to product.
The Target Zero icon will be seen by guests on shelves in-store, and in a
dedicated section of
target.com.
Hundreds of products from brands including Burt’s Bees,
PLUS, Pacifica and more are among the first to be
featured. Select products from Grove Co. and Target’s owned brand,
Everspring, will join the collection beginning in April.
“We can’t wait to introduce our guests to Target Zero because we recognize their
growing calls to find products that fit within their lifestyle, designed with
sustainability in mind,” said EVP and chief merchandising officer Jill
Sando. “Our aim with Target Zero is to keep delivering on their needs through
our ever-evolving product assortment, as well as to give brands investing in
reduced waste products and packaging an opportunity to have those products
highlighted by Target.”
The Target Zero assortment highlights leading brands and innovations driving
progress toward zero-waste solutions. Example innovations from the first cohort
of Target Zero products include a new, exclusive-to-Target packaging from Burt’s
Bees that uses plastic-free, recyclable metal tins for its lip balms; and
products from PLUS such as a first-of-its-kind body wash that eliminates excess
water and waste in the form of a dehydrated, dissolvable square that transforms
when you add water.
Target Forward in action
Target hopes Target Zero will help drive progress toward its
overarching sustainability goals — including being the market leader for
creating and curating inclusive, sustainable brands and experiences by 2030; and
to have 100 percent of its owned-brand plastic packaging be recyclable,
compostable or reusable by 2025.
Target Zero also marks one of the first initiatives engaging Target brand
partners in Target Forward. The retailer worked with existing national brand
partners and owned brands to identify products that meet specific requirements
to be a part of the program’s first cohort. Target says it will continue to work
with its partners to expand the assortment with additional products meeting the
Target Zero criteria.
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Sustainable Brands Staff
Published Mar 9, 2022 9am EST / 6am PST / 2pm GMT / 3pm CET