Target is the first major U.S. retailer to push a widespread launch of wine in a paper bottle. Will the American consumer buy in?

Sustainability is becoming an important part of retail business. Can sustainability initiatives drive profit?

The beauty industry is undergoing a transformative shift as it embraces sustainability and eco-friendly practices. How can this movement reshape consumer expectations and redefine industry standards over the next decade?

The beverage company made misleading statements and was fined by the SEC.

Several Democratic representatives have introduced a Slow Fashion Caucus initiative aimed at limiting waste and pollution from the fast-fashion industry. What needs to happen to break consumers’ addiction to fast fashion?

The company continues its environmental promise of giving more than it takes.

A new university study finds that explicitly providing consumers with information on the environmental and social impact of home deliveries can help U.S. omnichannel retailers capture sizeable market share from Amazon while expanding margins. Is there enough evidence that online shopping at this point has a worse environmental impact to make such claims?

The company aims to further its commitment to be a resource-positive business.

It’s no secret that second-hand clothing offers affordable prices without compromising on quality. How can retail leaders balance profit and sustainability in the second-hand clothing market?

In the realm of grocery supermarkets, there’s a hot new trending item that is not at all edible: Trader Joe’s mini tote bags. How can retailers make the most of unexpected product trends like Trader Joe’s mini tote bags to boost sales and build brand loyalty, while also managing potential inventory challenges and customer dissatisfaction?

American fashion retailer J.Crew is providing a better option for those who have swimsuits they no longer want through its fiber-to-fiber (F2F) recycling program.

Campbell’s is teaming up with Parks Project to release a limited-edition capsule collection of winter-themed apparel bundles. How can collaborative partnerships between iconic brands like Campbell’s and Parks Project redefine the concept of experiential retail?

New Balance has taken a new stride to help with sustainability. How can the concept of a circular economy be further harnessed in the fashion and footwear industries to minimize waste and ensure optimal use of manufacturing resources?

The supermarket chain is the first major U.S. retailer to eliminate plastic grocery bags.

Starbucks on Wednesday became the first national coffee chain to give customers the option to use reusable cups for drive-thru and mobile orders. Where do you see flaws or potential hurdles with the initiative?

The coffee giant is working to reduce its waste output by half by the year 2030.

Sustainability is becoming a big business, and retailers are paying attention. Is there an opportunity for sustainability to grow in importance as a “top driver” for purchasing decisions?

France plans to start fining businesses for lighting stores when they’re not open to clamp down on energy usage. Do the benefits of leaving lights on overnight offset the monetary and environmental costs?

Timex has just announced its new sustainability program, ReWound. Do you think this will change more consumers’ minds about choosing sustainable and upcycled products over normal products?

Sustainable products are here, but do consumers really care? What ways can companies convince consumers that sustainable products are worth their value and are not low quality?

Danish toymaker Lego has reportedly abandoned a prominent initiative to eliminate oil-based plastics from its bricks. This decision comes after the…

Starbucks is taking significant steps to eliminate single-use plastic cups by 2030, aiming to combat waste and reduce greenhouse gas emissions….

Nespresso has launched its first range of home-compostable coffee pods, a milestone in the brand’s sustainability efforts. After three years of…

Starbucks continues to make progress with its reusable cup tests, including letting customers bring in their own cups for a discount, borrow cups in a variety of ways, and even wash their cups inside shops. What incentives, convenience benefits, or messaging will America’s coffee drinkers require to shift to reusable over single-use cups?

Kroger is expanding the availability of vertically farmed produce across the Midwest and Southeast by extending its partnership with supplier 80 Acres Farms to about 1,000 stores. Will this expanded relationship give Kroger an advantage on the sustainability front?

As pet owners become more concerned about the planet’s future, the pet care industry is responding by focusing on sustainability. According…

Amazon has reduced its use of single-use plastic packaging by 11.6% from the previous year, amounting to nearly 86,000 tons of…

Has the time come for all brands to be part of the retail sustainability movement?

Shein, a fast-fashion retailer, has been facing backlash from influencers who have criticized the company’s labor practices and environmental impact. The…

Descartes Systems Group’s second annual Home Delivery Sustainability Report finds consumers expect one-third of retailers to publish the carbon footprint of individual deliveries currently and 59 percent to do so within five years.

Robots were everywhere last month at ProMat, a major material handling trade show, along with autonomous guided vehicles, artificial intelligence, inventory and network optimization software and mobile technology.

On January 19, Bloomberg published an article entitled, “Fake Meat Was Supposed to Save the World. It Became Just Another Fad.” On January 22, Impossible Foods took out a full-page ad in The New York Times and posted a blog entry vigorously defending plant-based meat. Do you applaud Impossible Foods’ response to the Bloomberg article or was it unnecessary and counterproductive?

In the biggest update since organic standards were first established in 1990, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced new guidelines designed to close loopholes and increase confidence in the often pricier product bearing the agency’s organic seal. Will stricter certification guidelines significantly improve the price integrity around organic products?

A newly recognized practice, “green hushing,” finds brands deliberately downplaying, underreporting or keeping silent about their emissions and carbon-offsetting targets. Do you see more benefits than drawbacks in companies toning down or not openly discussing their green targets?

One of the biggest candy manufacturers is slowly rolling out a new, paper-based wrapper material in Australia and New Zealand that could prove to be a more sustainable alternative to the plastic typically used. Do you see recyclable candy wrappers as an innovation that will catch on with American consumers?

While surveys show that sustainability is important to consumers, a new study suggests that championing durability will likely do better in connecting consumers’ needs with the needs of the planet. Is sustainability messaging overhyped as a purchase driver?

With inflation top of mind for many, surveys show consumers are more eager to buy secondhand items as holiday gifts this year to save money. Are the drivers behind gifting resale items this holiday different from past years?

Consumers can now walk into any of the 500+ DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse stores with their old shoes and get them repaired. The retailer has partnered with Cobblers Direct, an online service that repairs shoes, boots, belts and handbags.  Will the repair services throughout DSW stores encourage more consumers to repair their shoes, boots, belts and handbags instead of discarding them?

at a time when customers and retailers have sustainability on the mind more than ever, a major environmental group is saying that the practice of plastic recycling just does not work. What do the findings about the inefficacy of plastic recycling mean for retailers and brands trying to pursue more environmentally sustainable operations?

Fast-fashion giant Shein is the most downloaded retail app in the U.S. despite operating a business model that critics claim is helping to push the Earth towards environmental calamity. Will Shein’s new resale platform mute its critics?

A global survey finds that only 38 percent of consumers feel retailers are doing a good job of using sustainable delivery practices. Over half, however, indicated they were quite/very interested in environmentally-friendly delivery methods. How open do you see consumers being to waiting, paying-up, picking up and taking other steps to support sustainable online delivery?

A new recommerce venture offers all of the benefits of buying second hand plus a means to help fund social service programs in local communities, such as job training and youth mentorship. Do you see retailers trying to raise the visibility of their secondhand offerings in light of rising prices?

No matter which Wegmans a customer is shopping at in the U.S., they will not find single-use plastic bags available at checkout. Does Wegmans’ chainwide ban on single-use plastic bags make business sense for the grocer?

As secondhand retail draws more of a mainstream audience, the number of places online where a shopper can find gently used apparel is proliferating. Now a new startup aims to let customers search all of those clothing resellers at once. Do you see shopping aggregators as a positive, negative or neutral development for sites selling secondhand apparel?

The growth in plant-based foods is not being driven by vegans or vegetarians, but consumers who want to eat less meat and dairy for health or planetary reasons. New to the segment, they’re in desperate need of education in several areas.  Do grocers have to reset their approach to plant-based foods with the category’s increased mainstream appeal?

Starbucks is revamping its loyalty program and working an NFT platform into the mix, although it is not using that acronym to describe its digital art offerings. Do you see Starbucks’ implementation of NFTs as being worth the company’s investment given the controversy surrounding the technology?

In an inflationary era when customers are increasingly strapped for cash and hunting for discounts, a category of ultra-low-priced grocers that sell the unsellable is growing in popularity. Do you expect mainstream grocers to change their protocols for “unsellable” CPG items if inflation persists?

Fast fashion has long been criticized for its negative environmental impact. Now online resale retailer thredUP is launching a campaign with a celebrity influencer espousing the ills of fast fashion, while advertising the type of outfits the online secondhand shop offers. Will Gen-Z consumers see the Fast Fashion Confessional Hotline as authentic or heavy-handed?

Resale is enormously popular. In fact, secondhand apparel, according to thredUp, is expected to grow 16x faster than the market for new apparel by 2026. Do you agree that resale has the potential to be significantly more profitable in stores than online?

Marks & Spencer is taking “best before” dates off more than 300 fruit and vegetable items in an effort to curb food waste. Is it time for food manufacturers and grocers in the U.S. to rethink “best before” and “used by” dates to help reduce food waste?