CU, Industry-First Attempt
Guaranteeing Consumer's Right to Know and Promoting System
Recycling Grade Labeling on All PB Products
[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Convenience store CU announced on the 14th that it will be the first in the industry to promote grade labeling containing recycling-related information on all private brand (PB) products to encourage eco-friendly consumption.
Until now, waste disposal and recycling have been conducted from the consumer's perspective, but now CU intends to actively fulfill the obligation to provide information related to waste disposal from the production stage for PB products that it manufactures and distributes, aiming to help protect the environment.
This is a measure linked to the Producer Responsibility Recycling System (EPR) implemented by the government. In 2019, the Ministry of Environment revised the "Standards for Improvement of Packaging Material and Structure," establishing grade evaluation criteria for packaging (Recycling Excellent, Good, Average, Difficult).
To this end, CU completed the packaging grade evaluation for all PB products currently on sale according to government standards last year, in collaboration with external specialized institutions centered on its own QC team. Among all PB products, 86% received the Good grade, 9% Average, and the remaining approximately 5% received the Difficult grade.
Although grade labeling is not mandatory for products made with packaging materials rated Average or higher in recycling, CU decided to label all PB products to guarantee consumers' right to know and to promote recycling.
For some products rated as Difficult in recycling, CU plans to negotiate with manufacturers to change packaging materials, and if packaging changes are impossible due to product characteristics, it will consider the phased withdrawal of those products.
CU plans to complete grade labeling within the first quarter and, in cooperation with the Korea Environment Corporation and the Korea Packaging Recycling Business Cooperative, aims to apply 100% grade labeling to all PB products within this year.
Kim Myung-soo, head of the MD Planning Team at BGF Retail, said, “Recycling grade labeling is the starting point for resource-saving and environmental protection activities involving producers, distributors, and consumers together. CU will not only implement recycling grade labeling but also use the recyclability of packaging as a top priority guideline for developing PB products in the future.”
Meanwhile, under the slogan ‘Be Green Friends,’ CU is carrying out the most active eco-friendly activities in the convenience store industry, including ▲operating eco-friendly convenience stores called Green Stores ▲using eco-friendly containers for ready meals called 'Revert' ▲introducing eco-friendly bags comprehensively ▲and replacing disposable products with eco-friendly alternatives.
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