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.