The prospects of zero-packaging grocery stores to improve the social and environmental impacts of the food supply chain

Increasing consumer awareness of the environmental and social externalities of food supply chains in developed countries instigates the opening of grocery stores that renounce the use of disposable plastic packaging for their entire product range. The opportunities these novel stores offer in moving to an alternative, more sustainable retail system are currently not well understood. Semi-structured interviews with representatives of seven stores across Europe and six food supply chain experts were conducted in order to address this gap. Findings suggest that these stores may induce more resource-efficient behaviour in suppliers and consumers due to the reduction of packaging and food waste. Social benefits range from the support of small, regional farmers, to higher transparency along the supply chain and better informed consumers. However, these benefits come at the expense of consumer convenience due to slower shopping operations and limited product variety. A wider adoption of zero packaging will require influencing consumer behaviour, convincing suppliers to change their packaging practices, and solving the dependency of food logistics on packaging. In order to achieve wide-ranging, significant environmental and social benefits, zero-packaging stores will ultimately have to offer service levels that are comparable to conventional supermarkets. Potential pathways illustrating how zero-packaging could overcome current market limitations are presented.