One Bag Habit – for a more sustainable bag consumption
Fewer bags that get more use: that’s the aim of One Bag Habit, which involves us charging for shopping bags in our stores. And over 60 per cent of our customers are now saying no to bags. Together we have created a new sustainable habit!
All bags, even those made of paper or recycled plastic, are energy-intensive to produce, transport and recycle. A plastic bag that is not disposed of correctly can cause harm to animals on land, at sea and in waterways.
Since One Bag Habit’s launch in June 2017, bag sales have decreased by millions. What’s more, we have donated the profits from these bag sales – a total of SEK 8.2 million (2017-2020) – to organisations working to promote sustainable development. Now that’s what you call a sustainability win-win, making a difference for people as well as the environment!
Plastic bags still the most sustainable bag choice
Paper bags often give the impression of sustainability, but when Kappahl investigated which bag option was the most sustainable, we discovered that recycled plastic bags have a smaller climate impact than paper. A life-cycle analysis comparing a recycled plastic bag with one made from virgin plastic, one from recycled paper and one from virgin paper reveals their respective carbon footprints:
Our customers can recycle their broken plastic bags and other plastic waste, in doing so ensuring the plastic doesn’t end up in nature. So long as the plastic bags are disposed of correctly, they are currently the most environmentally friendly option.
How to be a sustainable bag user!
Use the bags you already have! A bag can and should be used many times to have the smallest possible impact on the environment. If a bag can’t be used any more, you should make sure it ends up in the right place in the closed loop for recycling (all of Kappahl’s bags are recyclable, and most others are, too). If you do this, we promise to make sure the bags we sell remain the best environmental choice on the market, whatever the material.
Profits donated to organisations that promote sustainability
All profits from our One Bag Habit bag sales are donated in full, via Kappahl Responsible Actions, to the following organisations that work to counter littering in our sales countries:
- The Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation
- The Norwegian Retailer’s Environment Fund
- The Keep the Archipelago Tidy Association in Finland
- Our Earth Foundation in Poland
For a reduced bag consumption
One Bag Habit is a joint initiative between Kappahl, Lindex and H&M that aims to reduce bag consumption and raise awareness of the negative impact bags have on the environment. One Bag Habit now has around twenty participating companies in the apparel and footwear industry.
As members of One Bag Habit, companies undertake to:
- Charge for all bags offered to customers, regardless of their material or size.
- Inform customers of the environmental impact bags have, the advantages of reducing bag consumption, and how they as customers can help to use bags more sustainably.
- Offer recyclable bags that are made of more sustainable materials.
- Donate the profits from all bag sales to causes that promote sustainable development in environmental or social issues.
- Present an annual report on their results.