In collaboration with Re-Zip and the Raja Group, DS Smith has announced its support of the Reuse Fast Track initiative, aiming to develop a reusable fibre-based packaging solution with French e-commerce manufacturers and suppliers.
Scheduled to run for a year, Reuse Fast Track intends to promote the reuse of 250,000 packages within a twelve-month period by recirculating returned packaging. It is anticipated to demonstrate that packaging can be reused with ‘tangible benefits’ for sustainability targets, commercial profit and operational efficiency, when provided to e-commerce customers at scale.
The project is funded by EU Life, the EU’s alliance for initiatives promoting environmental protection and sustainable development, seeking accelerate the adoption of reuse and make it a credible alternative. The initiative is open to businesses and brands from e-commerce sectors including cosmetics to apparel and FMCG, with participants said to receive personalized support, supply chain deployment, consumer engagement and performance monitoring.
Denmark-based startup Re-Zip is managing the programme’s operations, providing an app to track returns and facilitate implementation. The Raja Group is a part of a multichannel distribution of supplies and equipment for businesses. Together with DS Smith, the companies state that they will ensure will ensure the reusable packaging solutions are in optimum condition before being returned to the e-commerce marketplace.
Applications are now open and the three partners state they will select twenty businesses and brands, starting in July 2026. Reuse Fast Track is due to launch in France in September 2026 and will potentially be rolled out to wider European countries and participants from 2027.
In related news, DS Smith has developed 100% recyclable, fibre-based e-corrugated cardboard packaging for Geefeenboompje.nl’s range of tree gift products. Geefeenboompje.nl allows consumers to gift a tree on special occasions like births and weddings via its e-commerce lines of gift packaging, gift sets, and ‘letterbox-friendly’ tree growing kits.
In the reuseable packaging space, a report published in February involving 115 reuse companies across Europe offers the most comprehensive snapshot yet of how reusable packaging systems are performing, what is holding them back, and what they need to scale. Report contributor New ERA told us about what the future holds for this critical industry sector.
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