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Writer's pictureAndrea Ilsemann

E-Commerce Revolution at OMR Festival: hey circle demonstrates Impact of reusable shipping packaging

Updated: Aug 19

Eine türkisfarbene hey circle Box mit schwarzem Reißverschluss steht auf einem Stapel brauner Kartons, im Hintergrund der Eingang zum OMR Festival 2024zum
hey circle at OMR24: reusable Box instead of single use

The OMR Festival in Hamburg attracted around 70,000 digital enthusiasts, including many e-commerce professionals for whom attendance was a must. hey circle joined as well, aiming to drive its mission: revolutionizing eCommerce with sustainable, reusable shipping packaging. In the startup area, hey circle showcased its reusable offering at its own booth: In addition, outside the exhibition halls, hey circle demonstrated the problem that needs to be solved with an installation.


eCommerce has been booming for years, but with over 4.5 billion parcel shipments annually in Germany alone, it faces a waste problem: the vast majority of orders result in new package materials being resource-intensively produced for each shipment, only to end up in the bin after single use. This bothers consumers.

To draw attention to the extent of this waste and simultaneously present a solution, hey circle staged a reusable vs. single-use experiment outside the OMR24 halls: 50 single-use cardboard boxes on one side, and 1 reusable box of similar size on the other of a cargo bike.


Ein asphaltierter Platz vor dem Eingang zur Messe, im Hintergrund der Messeturm, im Vordergrund die 2,5  Meter großen Buchstaben "OMR" und ein Lastenrad von xyz Cargo mit einer türkisfarbenen hey circle Box und 50 Einwegkartons
hey circle parcel installation at OMR Festival 2024: 1 reusable box is more durable than 50 cardboard boxes

hey circle COO and Co-Founder Rebecca Steinke explaines:

„It was important for us to illustrate how much single-use waste can truly be avoided by using reusable shipping packaging. Our hey circle box not only saves CO2 emissions through its 50-time reuse but is also significantly easier to handle and transport compared to a stack of 50 single-use cardboard boxes. This was reaffirmed during the setup of this installation."
Eine Frau steht hinter einem Lastenrad, das auf dem Gepäckträger eine türkisfarbene hey circle Box mit zwei gelben Luftballons und im vorderen Gepäckkorb fünfzig braune gestapelte Einweg-Kartons transportiert
hey circle's COO, Rebecca Steinke, demonstrates number of cardboard boxes a reusable packaging replaces.

The demo station was sustainably propelled by human muscle, with hey circle partnering with the local cargo bike Startup XYZ Cargo for transportation.


Reusable shipping packaging has a positive impact

In this specific case, the cardboard boxes were given a second life, but typically, this is not the case. Single-use cardboard boxes contribute to approximately 1.5 million tons of waste and 3 million tons of CO2 emissions annually.

„More and more customers are demanding that companies save resources and offer them the choice between single-use and reusable options. Success in eCommerce and sustainable practices are increasingly intertwined..“

With hey circle's reusable shipping packaging, depending on the size of the packaging, it's possible to save up to 94% of waste and 76% of CO2 emissions compared to using 50 new single-use cardboard boxes, based on the impact calculation of Institute for Environmental Strategies Ökopol. Companies like Drykorn, the Austrian Post, and Voited are already adopting this shipping solution to serve customers, partners, and intralogistics needs.


OMR Festival a win for hey circle

„The OMR Festival was a success for us. The festival is huge and offered us the chance to reach a large number of people and further increase awareness of hey circle! Most of all, we invite those responsible for e-commerce to be a part of the reusable journey.“

Business development manager at trade fair booth informs about reusable shipping options.
Dominik Moers from hey circle educates about reusable shipping solutions and IT integration.

Would you like to use hey circle's resource-saving shipping packaging for your online shop? Our sales team would love to hear about your logistics challenges!



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