Packaging

The End! No More Plastic Bags Available at IKEA

Wednesday 01. October 2008 - Results show 92% of IKEA customers bagged the plastic bag! IKEA will no longer offer plastic or paper bags. The offering will only be reusable.

We talked about it. We said it could be done. We believed that most of our customers would put an end to plastic bag consumption. And now we know, we were right. The majority of IKEA customers; a whopping 92% said no more plastic bags. As of October 1, 2008, IKEA will no longer be offering plastic or paper bags at any of its US stores. The offering will only be reusable.

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, particularly focusing on the iconic IKEA blue bag for $.59. Or don’t use a bag at all! 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 CO(2) mission.

Now, eighteen months since the program began, plastic bag reduction continues to be at 92%. 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 or paper bags. IKEA’s consumer call-to-action is to use only reusable bags.

“The success of this program clearly demonstrates that like IKEA, our customers care about our global home,” said Pernille Spiers-Lopez, president, IKEA North America. “They have let us know, that they’re looking at ways to be environmentally responsible in their everyday lives. Plus the huge increase in our reusable blue bag sales, tells us that our bold step to end plastic bag sales has been welcomed by our customers across the nation.”

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 CO(2) footprint. And it takes 14 billion trees to produce 10 billion grocery bags.

“American Forests and IKEA have developed a growing environmental partnership based on Global ReLeaf tree planting over almost a decade. In that time IKEA and its co-workers and store visitors have sponsored the planting of over 728,000 trees in Global ReLeaf ecosystem restoration projects throughout the United States. In addition to CO(2) sequestration, the environmental benefits of these projects in terms of clean air, pure water and improved wildlife habitat are substantial and measurable. The fact that IKEA has shown outstanding leadership in reducing plastic bag usage while providing support for Global ReLeaf environmental restoration just reinforces our pride in working with such a forward thinking company,” stated Deborah Gangloff, executive director, American Forests.

BACKGROUND

— In March 2007, IKEA became the first major U.S. retailer to
discontinue the distribution of free plastic bags at check out in its
U.S. stores. In an effort to help the environment and change customer
behaviors, IKEA charged $.05 cents for each plastic bag with all
proceeds going to American Forests, the nation’s oldest non-profit
citizen’s conservation organization. Since March 2007, IKEA has raised
and donated enough money to have 516,000 trees planted.
— During the first phase of the”Bag the Plastic Bag” program IKEA also
reduced the price of its big blue reusable shopping bag from $.99
cents to $.59 cents to further encourage customers to bag the plastic
bags. Blue Bag sales since March 2007, have increased by over 100
times since IKEA started charging 5 cents for each plastic bag.
— IKEA is continuing on the success of its “Bag the Plastic Bag” program
by eliminating all disposable plastic bags at checkout in IKEA U.S.
stores as of October 1, 2008. Paper bags are not available in any IKEA
stores.
— Paper bags are 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.
— Partners for more than a decade, IKEA and American Forests
together have planted more than 728,000 trees in the U.S., enough
to offset approximately 100,000 tons of CO(2) emissions over the
next 40 years. The ‘Bag the Plastic bag’ program has resulted in
the planting of 516,000 trees.
— IKEA has contributed more than $728,000 for the planting of trees
in the U.S. since 1998 through 2007.




With the sale of the IKEA reusable blue bag increasing tremendously — 100 times in the US since March 2007 — IKEA customers are using this roomy and lightweight bag for multi-purposes. To see just how this bag is being utilized, people across the globe can visit www.ikea.com (contest to go up in mid-November) to submit photos or videos demonstrating their creative and practical blue bag uses as well as places that they have taken their blue bags. Customers can also design virtual blue bags using IKEA textile design options and eco-friendly sayings. Web site visitors can vote on and share their favorite submissions with others as well as enter to win weekly sweepstakes prize offerings and also a grand prize offering. These prizes will be announced soon.