Fresh Direct Thinks Outside the Box

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The world of at-home grocery shopping as we know it is about to change: FreshDirect is getting rid of its cardboard boxes. The company recently spent $1 million to reorganize its Long Island City headquarters so that non-perishable goods could be packed with meat and dairy. But that's just the beginning: "Next year, the company will stop using cardboard boxes altogether, Mr. Ackerman said. It will pack the orders in paper bags and pack the bags in reusable plastic boxes that will keep the bags from getting crushed on the trucks. At a customer’s apartment, he said, the driver will take the bag out of the plastic box and take the box back to FreshDirect to be cleaned and reused." [City Room]