The Fred Meyer subsidiary of the Kroger Company will trial twenty national products in recyclable containers in a trial to be conducted in twenty-five Portland, OR. stores.  Consumers will be able to select among specially packaged shampoo, barbecue sauce and other items displayed in a designated area.  Empty containers will be returned to a bin retrieving a deposit.  The service operated by Loop follows initiatives with Carrefour in France, Aeon in Japan and Tesco in the U.K.

The trial will be carefully monitored to determine the extent of consumer acceptance that will require a change in purchasing patterns and will involve additional effort.