Your bi-weekly roundup of the ecommerce, retail, and supply chain developments shaping how brands fulfill, deliver, and grow. This special edition of The Retail Dispatch is dedicated to circular economy and sustainability trends in honor of Earth Day 2026.
As environmental expectations rise and regulations tighten, retailers and logistics providers are rethinking how products are sourced, packaged, moved, and returned. From circular design and resale models to emissions reduction and supply chain transparency, sustainability is becoming a core driver of operational strategy.
This edition highlights key developments shaping a more sustainable future for retail. We cover Mexico’s new circular economy law, Walmart’s push toward traceable cotton sourcing, and Deoleo’s early achievement of its recycled plastic goals. We also explore how sustainable shipping practices, global circularity trends, and eBay’s climate strategy are reshaping fulfillment and logistics networks.
Check back every other week for the latest headlines influencing ecommerce and fulfillment.
Mexico’s Circular Economy Law Signals New Compliance Era for Retail and Manufacturing
Mexico enacted a sweeping national framework that transforms circular-economy principles from voluntary initiatives into binding legal requirements, changing how products are designed, sourced, and managed throughout their lifecycles.1 The new law introduces Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) as a central policy mechanism, requiring companies to take greater accountability for materials beyond the point of sale, with obligations rolling out gradually by sector through future regulatory agreements.
For retailers and ecommerce brands, the shift is significant. Compliance will extend upstream into product design, encouraging durability, recyclability, and reduced environmental impact. Companies operating in or sourcing from Mexico will need to reassess product development, packaging, and supplier practices to align with emerging standards.
The law also prioritizes reduced reliance on virgin materials and increased use of recycled inputs. This affects potential cost and sourcing across global supply chains. While the detailed requirements are still pending, the direction is clear: circularity is expected.
As regulatory clarity unfolds, brands that proactively adapt their product strategies and supply chain visibility will be better positioned to navigate compliance and maintain market access.
Food and Beverage Brand Deoleo Hits 2030 Recycled Plastic Goal Ahead of Schedule
Deoleo has reached its 2030 recycled plastic target five years early.2 The achievement demonstrates accelerated sustainability efforts across the global consumer goods industry. In its 2025 Sustainability Report, the olive oil producer confirmed that 40% of its packaging now uses recycled PET, a notable increase from the previous year and a move that reduces both energy and water use in production.
The milestone highlights the successful implementation of circular packaging and operational efficiency. Deoleo also reported a 7.6% reduction in plastic waste and increased recyclability across most of its bottles, while its manufacturing network continues to push toward near-total waste recovery. At the same time, emissions across its value chain have dropped more than 30% compared to 2022, supported by renewable energy adoption and agricultural practices that position olive trees as natural carbon sinks.
Beyond packaging, the company is expanding traceability through QR-enabled technology and deepening collaboration with a global network of farmers to scale sustainable sourcing.
Food and beverage fulfillment services often directly support sustainability progress, from managing packaging materials and reducing waste in storage and transit to supporting traceability across the supply chain. As expectations rise, 3PL partners must align with these goals by enabling efficient distribution, visibility, and environmentally responsible handling practices.
Sustainable Shipping Pressures Push Ecommerce Toward Operational Change
The convergence of rising costs, regulatory pressure, and consumer expectations is quickly shifting sustainability in ecommerce shipping from a brand message to an operational requirement. New data3 shows that inefficient packaging and routing decisions are driving both emissions and expenses, with oversized boxes and poor material choices contributing to failed deliveries and higher transportation costs.
Brands are responding by focusing on operational improvements that extend beyond packaging swaps. Rightsizing boxes can cut shipping costs by up to 30%,3 while consolidation and mode shifting, such as reducing reliance on air freight, can significantly lower emissions and handling expenses. At the same time, regulations in regions like the EU are tightening recycling requirements and introducing penalties for noncompliance, signaling where global standards are heading.
For fulfillment providers and 3PLs, this creates both pressure and opportunity. Warehouse operations, packaging selection, and transportation strategies are becoming central to sustainability performance, not just cost efficiency. As more brands prioritize transparency and measurable impact, logistics partners that can deliver optimized packaging, smarter routing, and clear reporting will play a critical role in helping ecommerce companies stay competitive and compliant.
eBay Climate Plan Puts Logistics at the Center of Ecommerce Decarbonization
eBay’s newly released Climate Transition Plan4 stresses a growing reality for ecommerce: sustainability efforts increasingly hinge on logistics and fulfillment networks. The company has committed to reaching net-zero emissions by 2045, with a significant portion of its strategy focused on reducing emissions from transportation and distribution, which account for the largest share of its overall footprint.
Rather than relying solely on internal operations, eBay is leaning heavily on collaboration across its carrier and supply chain ecosystem. Initiatives include shifting shipments from air to ground, expanding the use of electric delivery vehicles and sustainable fuels, and embedding sustainability requirements into carrier partnerships. The company is also encouraging buyers and sellers to choose lower-impact delivery options, including local fulfillment and ground shipping.
As marketplaces and brands push toward measurable emissions reductions, logistics partners are becoming critical drivers of sustainability performance, helping ecommerce businesses meet climate goals while maintaining operational efficiency.
Global Circularity Declines as Material Use Accelerates
The latest Circularity Gap Report5 from Deloitte highlights a widening disconnect between sustainability ambitions and global material use. Despite growing awareness and incremental gains in recycling, the share of secondary materials in the global economy has declined to 6.9%. This data shows how rising demand for virgin resources continues to outpace circular progress.
Material extraction has surpassed 100 billion tonnes annually and is projected to keep climbing, driving emissions, waste, and resource volatility. The report highlights that without systemic changes to production and consumption, recycling alone will not be enough to reverse current trends. Instead, reducing overall material use and embedding circular design principles earlier in the lifecycle are becoming critical priorities.
Packaging, transportation, and inventory flows all contribute to material throughput, making 3PL partners key enablers of circular strategies. Providers that support reuse, efficient and eco-friendly packaging, and localized distribution can help brands reduce reliance on virgin materials while improving cost control. As resource pressure intensifies, circularity is shifting from a sustainability initiative to a core operational requirement.
Walmart Expands Sustainable Sourcing with Cotton Traceability Move
Walmart has joined the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol.6 The program provides access to field-level data across key environmental metrics, allowing Walmart to track cotton from origin through production while strengthening transparency across its sourcing strategy.
The move aligns with the retailer’s broader environmental goals, including large-scale land and resource stewardship targets, and reflects growing pressure on brands to validate sustainability claims with measurable data. As traceability platforms gain traction, sourcing decisions are becoming more closely tied to data visibility and supplier accountability.
Greater traceability at the raw-material level is increasing demand for visibility into inventory movement, storage, and distribution. Logistics partners that can support product-level tracking and data integration will play a more critical role as retailers work to connect sourcing transparency with end-to-end supply chain execution.
Retail Sustainability Investments Shift Toward Supply Chain and Resale
Retailers are accelerating sustainability investments, with 73% of consumer industry executives increasing spending over the past year as pressure mounts from customers, regulators, and internal stakeholders.7. While early efforts focused on brand positioning, strategies are now shifting deeper into operations, particularly across supply chains and resale models.
Supply chain activity remains a major focal point, accounting for roughly 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions and driving urgency around waste reduction, traceability, and efficiency improvements. At the same time, resale is emerging as a key growth channel, with retailers expanding into recommerce to meet changing consumer preferences and reduce reliance on new production.
Technology-driven visibility, inventory optimization, and support for reverse logistics are becoming essential as brands look to reduce emissions and extend product lifecycles. As sustainability moves further into operational execution, logistics partners are playing a more central role in enabling measurable progress.
References:
- https://www.hoganlovells.com/en/publications/mexico-enacts-circular-economy-law-extended-producer-responsibility-and-product-design
- https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/deoleo-achieves-2030-recycled-plastic-target-five-years-early-302743492.html
- https://www.packagingdigest.com/ecommerce/the-new-rules-of-sustainable-ecommerce-shipping
- https://static.ebayinc.com/static/assets/Uploads/Documents/Climate-Transition-Plan.pdf
- https://pdf.circularity-gap.world/?report=CGR_Global_2025_Report_0c90048033&page=1
- https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/walmart-joins-us-cotton-trust-protocol-taking-major-step-to-advance-sustainable-cotton-sourcing-302741174.html
- https://www.deloitte.com/global/en/industries/consumer/analysis/sustainability-in-retail.html
