Starting October 2008, IKEA will stop offering customers plastic or paper bags at their stores, with only reusable bags available to customers. The decision came after an overwhelming positive feedback from IKEA customers, who voted over 92% to take their "bag the plastic bag" program one step further and ditch plastic bags altogether.
More details about the change under the jump...
How will customers really react once this measure goes into effect? We suspect some sour faces initially, but people will likely get used to it quicker than they think (remember the brouhaha over McD's ditching polystyrene? Yeah, we forgot too) and soon realize it's not only smart to use reusable bags, but not all that hard (as many Trader Joe's and farmer's market shoppers already know). Nice work, IKEA...let's hope some of the other retail giants follow suit.
From IKEA's press release:
It’s a dialogue we hear everyday. Can we? Do we? Will we really change our behavior to be environmentally responsible? IKEA believed we could and would. With the introduction of its leadership ‘bag the plastic bag’ program in March 2007, IKEA set a goal of reducing its US stores’ plastic bag consumption by 50%; from 70 million to 35 million plastic bags in the first year. The call was to go reusable with the iconic IKEA blue bag for $.59 or use an alternative reusable bag. And IKEA also said if that was not an acceptable solution, IKEA plastic bags could be purchased for five-cents, with all proceeds going to American Forests (the nation’s oldest non-profit citizens conservation organization) to plant trees to restore forests and help reduce CO2 emission.
Now it’s one year since the program began and IKEA is overwhelmed with the stunning results; more than 92% of their customers said no more plastic bags! Expectations were exceeded and IKEA learned their customers welcome the opportunity to find new ways to be environmentally responsible. This landmark program has now resulted in IKEA taking another step forward; as of October 1, 2008, IKEA will no longer offer plastic bags, and paper bags are not available in IKEA stores either. IKEA’s consumer call-to-action is to use only reusable bags.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. consumes over 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps each year. Each year, Americans throw away some 100 billion polyethylene plastic bags, and less than one percent of them are recycled. Single-use bags made of high-density polyethylene are the main culprit. Once brought into existence to tote purchases, they will accumulate and persist on our planet for up to a thousand years. Paper bags are also not the best alternative; stacking 10 pallets of paper bags is equivalent to one pallet of plastic, thus increasing the CO2 footprint. And it takes 14 billion trees to produce 10 billion grocery bags.
“IKEA believes home is the most important place in the world. The success of this program truly demonstrates that our customers care deeply about our global home and that we can all work together to be sustainable and environmentally responsible,” said Pernille Spiers-Lopez, president, IKEA North America. “IKEA applauds its customers for being bold and courageous. Together, we have proven we can shift our behavior and make a notable environmental difference!”
Copyright © 2007 Apartment Therapy
Wow that is actually really cool that they are going totally re-usable bags. It is definitely a step in the right direction.
view Signe's profile
Awesome. It's about time!
view darcidoodle's profile
Yay! Now if only more businesses would follow the trend.
view Molly Margarita's profile
Another reason that I totally LOVE IKEA! Way to go!
view suzy8track's profile
thats so awesome!!
i LOVE their big blue bags. they make the perfect laundry-haulin' bag and i just store it at the bottom of my hamper. i also keep a bunch in my trunk, since they can be used for a million things...forgot your umbrella? they're waterproof! put them under a quilt during a picnic if the grass is damp! i could go on and on...
yay for IKEA.
view goodnightdean's profile
this is not a new concept people. most places in europe charge for plastic bags or don't even offer bags in stores. when i was in sweden everyone brings their own bags to the stores or you pay a price; when i lived in england i bought wonderful burlap bags that the store sold and just used those.
it's about time that a business takes the lead and bag the bags.. not surprised it's a European country. plastic bags are junk.
view animalhouze's profile
Can you imagine if Walmart did this?
view suziegoombs's profile
the ikea near me started offering plastic bags only if you did the self check out, if you were in a regular line you either had to pay for them or buy one of their big blue bags. The big blue bags are great, used them many time to carry a large amount of things.
The only thing is i don't think i've seen anyone taking one of the big blue bags back in to actually reuse it. hopefully they're reusing them at home.
view jmorey's profile
So what does this mean ... you have to come to Ikea with your own big blue bag already, or buy one every time you're there?
And if people are walking around shopping with big blue bags AND leaving the store with big blue bags, how is Ikea going to distinguish between folks who have paid for merchandise and those who might be shoplifting (not to mention those who might just have entered the store carrying their own stuff in a big blue bag and then left the store without finding what they want ... hey, sometimes it happens!). I think it's a BAD idea ... but I guess Ikea will just have to find out the hard way!
view Jane's profile
So I guess Ikea will now have to post someone at the door to check everyone's receipts ... just like Home Depot does, even if you do have a plastic bag!
view Jane's profile
The Ikea by me just opened a month ago, and I could not be a bigger fan of this idea. Plus, I love the big blue bags. I just keep mine in the trunk of my car.
Also, most of the grocery stores around here have started offering reusable tote bags for $1. I own four of them and keep them in my car as well. They're a decent size - all of them hold two six-packs of beer with room to spare. (Or, um, soda.) I love them. They hold so much more than the plastic bags and are easier to carry!
view Jen's profile
I've been brining my reusable blue bag back to ikea for a year and a half or so. I suppose you could try to use it to get away with shoplifting, but I've also seen a lot of people who don't want to pay for the blue bags and who only have a few small items, just not use a bag at all. So there's potential for shoplifting there too. I suppose if they get paranoid about it, they can having someone making sure you have a receipt like at costco, but is that so bad? I'd rather create another job than create pollution.
view lurker2209's profile
I had the same thought about the blue bags. How do they know we have already paid for it? IKEA also sells cool reusable non-blue bags. Everyone loves them. They change with the season and are large and sturdy. I used my black and white striped one this weekend at...IKEA :-)
BTW I think the plastic would be less problematic if they put more than one item per bag. Why do I need a bag for the milk? It has a handle.
view Hmmmmm's profile
In IKEA Hungary if you buy a big blue bag they put a stamp with the address of the store on the white label inside. The next time you come and bring your own bag they can see that it's been already paid for.
view Via85's profile
On Saturday at IKEA I saw a woman reply "no thank you" when asked if she wanted to purchase a plastic bag to put her items in (their current practice), then, as she walked away from the cash register where she checked out, she took a plastic bag from the end of the next one and put her stuff in it. Seriously.
view kat98's profile
OKAY! yes, IKEA is phasing out plastic bags, but obviously nobody here remembers that it was... IKEA that introduced the plastic bag in the first place! omg stfu! - Yes, as you praise them for doing away with or charging for plastic bags, don't forget to thank them for the millions of plastic bags that are in the landfills already.
view voodoodle's profile
I'm so glad to hear that IKEA is doing this, hopefully other big box stores will follow suit. I was equally pleased to see signs at Whole Foods advertising their intent to do away with plastic bags by Earth Day 2008. But then a few days later I was at Whole Foods and noticed that at each register there are signs that advertise 500 plastic bags for about 20 bucks. Does anyone know what the deal is with that? Is that their way of getting rid of excess plastic bags that they have in stock? Or will they continue to generate plastic bags that can now be purchased by their customers?
I found the clerk's response kinda amusing when I asked about it. He didn't know whether it was leftover stock that was being sold, but he did point out what a good deal you'd be getting. 500 Bags! For just like 20 bucks! Somehow I imagine he must have not read the employee memo about the Earth Day goal.
view jamjaree's profile
I must be the only person on the planet who finds the current plastic bags reusable. I keep them for collecting trash in my car then just toss one when I get gas. Or I take one with me on a trip to put my dirty laundry in so my laundry is in my bag but separated from any clean stuff. They are awesome for when you have to move and are wrapping your dishes up. To grow my winter bulbs this year I put the pots in plastic bags then stuck them in my fridge for however long the bulbs needed to be cooled. I always keep them and always have a use for them. Right now I have a stack of junk mail (credit card offers, etc) I'm taking to work to drop in the industrial shedder. I've stuffed it all in a plastic bag I'll just carry inside with me. I also use them to put wet or muddy shoes on... and have been known to put moldy things from my fridge inside them...
view lindenen's profile
kat98 - that's so funny! i was in Burbank Ikea the other day and saw something similar ... trying to get a free bag but everyone else wasn't taking one at all. every store should do this.
view Joan in SB's profile
So IKEA is either rejecting or getting rid of biodegradable paper bags, instead going with reusable blue polypropolene bags which will still be mouldering in landfills in 10,000 years' time.
Well done IKEA. Woo hoo.
view Blandwagon's profile
Thanks for writing about this. I know that this is an issue that Conscious Consumers will want to hear about.
It's certainly a step in the right direction but a small step. It's encouraging to see large retailers starting to make switches. Now if only they would get rid of their big box stores and their parking lots, we might start to make some significant progress towards reducing greenhouse gases and the degredation of our environment.
view MartyWrin's profile
i wish IKEA took the tack of the big warehouse stores (sams/costco) and offered used boxes for taking stuff out. i do go in with cloth bags, but it being IKEA and me being me, i sometimes buy more (or larger things) than will fit in the bags i have on hand. i do not want to buy their still-artificial blue bags (are they even recyclable?). a cardboard box they were going to throw out anyway, and that i could recycle once i got home, would be a nice option for the overflow.
view lindsey kathlene's profile
Another poster pointed out that it is a little counterproductive that the blue bags they're selling (other stores are guilty too) are made of a non-biodegradeable plastic.
I'm a big fan of taking your own shopping bags, I use Envirosax, but I have to admit that now I have nothing left to put the cat's poo in!
view gragegrl's profile
I'm not sure if I buy this either. So instead of paying for small paper-thin plastic bags, customers will be forced to buy bigger thicker bags that are made with even more plastic? What percentage of people do they expect to come back with their old bags? It seems like making people buy these bags will be even more wasteful.
view Bart's profile