Seiyu Refunds 2 Yen to Shoppers Using their Own Bag
Seiyu Refunds 2 Yen to Shoppers Using their Own Bag
| Date: | 20071014 |
|---|---|
| Category: | Energy,Material reduction,Global warming |
| Player: | Non-manufacturing industry |
Seiyu Ltd, a major Japanese supermarket operator, launched a campaign in March 2007 to encourage customers to bring their own shopping bags by refunding 2 yen (about 2 US cents) to shoppers who use their own bag rather than a disposable bag provided by the store. This project, called the “Hummingbird Campaign” is being carried out in collaboration with the Sloth Club, a Japanese non-governmental organization (NGO).Plastic bag consumption by Seiyu stores has so far averaged about 6 hundred million bags per year. Seiyu appeals to customers by pointing out that the oil needed produce this many bags would be sufficient to drive a hybrid car from the earth to the moon, and so using fewer bags will help save resources. While the proportion of shoppers who bring their own bags was 6 percent before the campaign started, it increased to 26 percent by June, 2007.At the same time they launched the 2-yen campaign, Seiyu supermarkets also began selling a variety of reusable polyethylene shopping bags. One of them has a hummingbird design by Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas, an artist and a member of a Native Canadian tribe, the Haida Nation.When the reusable bag wears out, the supermarket will exchange it for a new one at no charge and recycle the old one. The store also donates the profit made after deducting the cost of making the reusable bags, about 4 US cents per bag, to environmental organizations.
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