Sustainable Package-Free Shipping Startup Olive Moves Into Beauty Space

Package-free shipping startup Olive is moving into the beauty sector after its initial launch in fashion, compiling shoppers’ purchases across multiple retailers into a single, reusable tote and bypassing the need for multiple cardboard boxes.

Launched in February by Jet Co-founder Nathan Faust and based in Jersey City, New Jersey, Olive offers a convenient and sustainable alternative to cardboard box delivery. Jet was purchased by Walmart in 2016 for $3.3 billion and then shuttered the operation in 2020, according to reports.

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Olive’s reusable tote is either picked up from the shopper’s home or can be used for returns, according to Olive’s website. Made almost exclusively from recycled materials — plastic water bottles, pallets, cups, polyester — the totes are treated with Dupont’s anti-microbial SILVADUR finish.

The company said its mission is to reduce waste from online shopping and eliminate single-use packaging. “Right now, through our consolidated deliveries, we’re significantly reducing last-mile emissions,” the company says on its website.

Olive works with more than 100 brands — including Anthropologie, Free People, Goop, Adidas and Ralph Lauren — and so far, 10,000 people have signed up for the service. The expansion into beauty took several months due to the time needed to create prototypes of reusable packaging that would protect the products. The startup has plans to further expand into new categories.

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Faust told the Business of Fashion that its main mission is to consolidate deliveries and reduce last-mile emissions, and “the more categories we can serve, the greater impact we can have.”

Olive was backed in December 2020 by Invus, Primary Venture Partners, and SignalFire in a Series A funding round, Glossy.com reported. Prior to the funding, the company was self-funded as it worked to officially launch in February.