The Impact
- Americans use 100 billion plastic shopping bags a year; 200,000 bags per minute.
- An estimated 12 million barrels of oil and natural gas are used to satisfy the U.S. demand each year.
- Plastic bags never biodegrade, they photodegrade, which means they break into small pieces that never go away.
- Plastic bags are often mistaken for food by marine life which results in the deaths of hundreds of thousand of birds, dolphins, whales and other sea animals.
- Plastic bags have been found washing up in remote places such as The Midway Islands, The North Hawaiian Islands and even Antarctica.
- It takes more four times the energy to create a paper bag than a plastic bag.
- Less than 1% of all plastic bags are recycled.
- Most community recycling centers are not equipped with plastic recycling equipment, which results in “recycled” bags ending up at the landfill.
- The average 100-store grocery chain spends $2 million a year on plastic bags.
The Movement
- In January 2008, Whole Foods Market announced its decision to phase out plastic shopping bags company wide — 258 U.S. stores, plus 6 in Canada and 6 in the U.K – by Earth Day, April, 22.
- On February of 2008, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown issued a warning to UK retailers to cut down plastic bag use or face “government compulsion.”
- The following cities, states and countries have enacted or are introducing legislation to reduce or eliminate plastic bags:
- Hawaii
- Denver
- California
- New York
- Chicago
- Ireland
- China
- Australia
- Israel
- Japan
- India
- Pakistan
- Thailand
- Greece
- Germany
- Israel
- Canada
- Kenya
- South Africa
- Taiwan
- Singapore
The Repeat Bag Solution
- Making an authentic effort is an invaluable public relations strategy. Alternately, making the wrong “token” effort can have an immeasurable PR backlash.
- By offering a traffic/incentive-based program to encourage the distribution and use of reusable bags, per cart sales can be increased.
- The elimination of one-use bags and the resulting purchase and use of reusable bags have a direct and positive impact on the company bottom line.
- Logoed bags are a walking advertising billboard and an opportunity to build customer loyalty.
- Stores become part of the fabric of the community by preserving the neighborhood and creating an emotional connection with shoppers.
