In the Spotlight Archives
Sustainable Consumption and Responsible Retail
Most retailers have heard the term sustainable consumption, but is it something they should be concerned with?
The majority of retailers would respond to this question with a definite yes! For example, while he was Head of Social Responsibility at Kingfisher plc, Alan Knight wrote an article in the Consumer Policy Review (Thursday, July 1 2004) maintaining that retailers need to engage in the sustainable consumption discussion. "Ignoring [our products'] sustainability is bad business practice. It is not about merely reducing consumption, it is about finding ways to manage and change it to reduce the impact of the products we are seeking to sell."
Knight presents a paradox facing retailers who want to promote sustainable consumption: "Retailing promotes consumption," he says, "but rates of consumption need to slow down." Responsible retailers face the issue of "how to continue to promote consumption while also promoting sustainability".
Paths To More Sustainable Consumption
Sustainable businesses need new models for production, consumption and disposal of goods. Industry, government, individuals and NGO's all have roles to play in creating that new business model.
Below are some ways that retailers can work towards sustainable consumption.
- Work to make everyday products 'greener' to minimise the impact of the supply chain, including reduction in materials, energy efficiency, recyclability, sustainability in design.
- Create longer lasting products. Tim Cooper, a Professor of Sustainable Design and Consumption at Nottingham Trent University, edited a book called: 'Longer Lasting Products: Alternatives to the Throwaway Society" Cooper has gathered a variety of contributors, including a section on orienting marketing towards durability. Durability is also on the radar at Walmart. Their "Sustainability Index" addresses durability when it notes that "Decreasing product return and ensuring products have an extended lifespan are ways to reduce waste and cost and enhance quality".
- Design for emotional durability to offset psychological obsolescence: Jonathan Chapman wrote in an article, titled, "Modern Life is Rubbish" in Blueprint about intentionally creating products that have more emotional relevance that connect with customers. Improving the relationships customers have with their possessions will help them hold on to them longer.
- Switch to services rather than products. Cooper suggests that a decrease in unsustainable consumption might occur if the source of profitability becomes sale of service rather than of products.
A World Business Council for Sustainable Development outlines three types of actions retailers can take to move towards sustainable consumption:
- Make it easy and affordable for the consumer to make sustainable purchasing decisions, as they increasingly report a willingness to do so.
- Make sustainable products available and comparable - without compromising on performance and at no extra costs.
- Leverage the unprecedented power of consumers to share information about companies, products and services via social networks, to promote sustainable products, usage, consumption and lifestyles.
Planned Obsolescence
'Planned obsolescence', which is a term used for designing products to break easily or to quickly go out of style, is often blamed for contributing to unsustainable consumption. Vance Packard, an early critic of the practice, wrote in his 1960 book, "The Waste Makers", about two types of obsolescence: "obsolescence of desirability" and "obsolescence of function".
Functional obsolescence happens when things no longer work in their original manner, due either to ordinary wear, or to some other factor. For example, if a new mobile phone technology is introduced, and there is no longer a provider who provides service based on the old technology, then cell phones using that technology would be rendered obsolete. Products that break down with use may become unusable if replacement parts are no longer available, or if the price for repairing it is above the cost of a new item.
"Obsolescence of desirability", also called "psychological obsolescence", refers to marketers' wishes to create obsolescence in a customer's mind. The fashion industry is often made an example of when talking about "psychological obsolescence" as clothing quickly becomes out of date from season to season.
Planned obsolescence has not gone away since Packard wrote his book-and may be even worse according to Giles Glad, author of a 2006 book titled, "Made to Break: Technology and Obsolescence in America". He observed in an interview that "expectations for long-lasting technology has diminished with the younger generation." He claims that, "Younger people have much less sense that things should last. I find that really disturbing."
Defenders of planned obsolescence point to the need for businesses to make profits and keep customers. They say that obsolescence is the result of competitive forces, which lead to innovation and better goods.
Resources
Chapman, Jonathan (2006) Modern Life is Rubbish Blueprint (No 241). pp. 68-71. ISSN 02684926 http://eprints.brighton.ac.uk/6637/
Cooper, Tim, Ed., "Longer Lasting Products: Alternatives To The Throwaway Society" Farnham; Burlington, VT : Gower Pub., 2010.
Greenwise "Longer lasting goods: Prof Tim Cooper on tackling our throwaway culture" 24th November 2010. http://www.greenwisebusiness.co.uk/news/longer-lasting-goods-prof-tim-cooper-on-tackling-our-throwaway-culture-1951.aspx
Knight, Alan, "Sustainable consumption: the retailing paradox", in Consumer Policy Review Thursday, July 1 2004. available at: http://www.allbusiness.com/marketing/market-research/978586-1.html
Leonard, Annie, "The Story of Stuff, Referenced and Annotated Script" http://www.storyofstuff.com/pdfs/annie_leonard_footnoted_script.pdf
Packard, Vance, "The Waste Makers", Pocket ,1978
Slade, G., "Made to Break: Technology and Obsolescence in America", Harvard University Press, 2006
The Economist, "Idea: Planned obsolescence" Mar 23rd, 2009 http://www.economist.com/node/13354332
Walmart Stores, "Supplier Sustainability Assessment" Walmart Web Site 2011 http://walmartstores.com/sustainability/9292.aspx
World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), "Sustainable Consumption Facts and Trend from a business perspective", WBCSD, 17 Dec 2008 http://www.wbcsd.org/DocRoot/I9Xwhv7X5V8cDIHbHC3G/WBCSD_Sustainable_Consumption_web.pdf
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Local Food: A Growing Concern for Retailers
Several signs indicate that awareness of and demand by consumers' for local foods is growing. For example, in 2007, the Oxford English Dictionary called "locavore" the word of the year.1 In 2009 and 10, the National Restaurant Association said that local food is "America's No.1 restaurant trend." [2] As well, market research firm Synovate firm found that more than two-thirds of 6,700 people surveyed said they prefer to buy local food over foreign, imported brands. [3]
Statistics indicate that local food markets account for a small, but increasing, share of U.S. agricultural production. Presently, the local food movement is about 1 percent of the U.S. food economy, as reported by the USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS).[4]
As demand has risen, local foods are reaching customers through an increasing variety of supply chain structures and marketing outlets. Local foods are sold in supermarkets; in small specialty stores or regional grocery chains; in restaurants or through an of direct-to-consumer venues.
However, a number of people are publicly questioning the benefits of local food. Is it really more environmentally friendly? If not are there other good reasons to choose local food? Below is a collection of various opinions, reports and statistics that will help retailers weigh the pros and cons of local food.
"What is Local Food?"
Definitions of 'local food' vary although there is only one legal definition In the U.S. The 2008 Food and Farm Act says that a product can be called "locally or regionally produced" if it travels either less than 400 miles from its point of origin or is produced within the same state. [5]
In other definitions, considerations besides miles travelled are taken into account. Definitions are often based on marketing arrangements, such as farmers selling directly to consumers at regional farmers' markets or to schools.
Many retailers are talking about local food, although few are defining what they mean by it. The aforementioned USDA report's authors checked out the websites of the top ten U.S. food retailers to discover what they say about local food and how they define it. Seven of the ten sites had references to local foods, but only two - Walmart and Delhaize America (Food Lion, Bloom, Bottom Dollar and others) - gave definitions (within a store's state for Walmart and in any of the 16 states for Delhaize America). [6]
Energy and Efficiency
One of the most common reasons people state for choosing local is to reduce 'food miles' and thus, reduce the amount of energy needed to transport the food to the store. However, life-cycle assessments show that localization can, but does not always, reduce energy use or greenhouse gas emissions. [7]
Part of the reason that people question the superiority of local food in its travel footprint is the distribution system. Steven Morris, who wrote in The Guardian, shows how distribution "complications" result in products travelling hundreds of miles from their source to a store two miles away.[8]
In several supply chain case studies included in research done by USDA's Economic Research Service, the distribution performance of local foods was more closely tied to supply chain structure and size than to the source of the product.[9] Food distributed in local supply chains usually travels much shorter distances. But distance is not the only element that influences supply chain performance.
Fuel use for transportation per unit of product delivered is affected by load sizes in the different parts of the supply chain and by logistical efficiencies. To illustrate, beef in a mainstream chain in Minneapolis-St. Paul goes more than 1,500 miles farther than beef in the direct market supply chain. However, because of larger loads, fuel use per 100 lbs. of product sold is a slightly less in the mainstream supply chain. Full semi-trailers can carry up to 45,000 lbs. of beef in each transportation leg of the supply chain, while trucks carry only about 2,500 lbs. of beef in the direct chain.[10]
However, intermediated supply chains transporting local products in the beef (in Minneapolis-St.Paul), spring mix (in Sacramento), and apple (in Syracuse) cases consumed the smallest amount of fuel per 100 lbs. of product sold. Moderate product aggregation to raise load sizes, combined with shorter transportation distances produced significant fuel use savings.[11]
If the desire for local foods continues to grow, supply chains in a larger local foods market may change radically. Some producers have created co-ops to give the big chains one-stop shopping. But much more could be done to bring the food distribution system into the 21st century, Wayne Roberts, director of the non-profit advocacy group Toronto Food Policy Council, told the Toronto Star. "We have enough carrots in Ontario to feed the population and, in all likelihood, we have carrots that are being exported from Ontario while we're importing carrots from elsewhere," Roberts said. "What we don't have is somebody, which used to be the government, that said let's make sure all the carrots in Ontario go to one place."[12]
Other supply chain solutions may come through partnerships. For example, the Applied Sustainability Center at the University of Arkansas (of which the Walmart Foundation is a main funder) is involved in a national partnership named Agile Agriculture. To get more locally grown produce into grocery stores and restaurants, the partnership is streamlining distribution for farms with shorter growing seasons, smaller output, and limited transportation resources. [13]
Local Economy
The environment, or energy efficiency, isn't the only reason local food enthusiasts give for eating locally. For example, eating local food often means more for the local economy. An Iowa State University study looked at what would occur if farmers in six Midwestern states - Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin - grew 28 produce crops in amounts large enough to meet demand in those states. The study concludes that much locally grown produce would create $882 million in sales, produce 9,300 jobs and add about $395 million in labour income.[14]
The location of production, processing, and distribution activities may affect local economic conditions. When supply chain activities occur within a local area, wages and business proprietor income are more likely to be retained locally. In all of the case studies of local food supply chains in USDA's study, the local area was the beneficiary of almost all employment, wages, and income.[15]
One popular reason customers like to buy local is to support neighbourhood farmers. "If we by more food locally, we ensure that we don't lose valuable farmland," points out Kyla Mackenzie, an Environmental Studies student at the University of Victoria.[16] Farmland has a better chance of surviving if farms make money.
Better Nutrition and Taste
Local foods are often more nutritious A recent white paper from the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School claimed that healthier crop varieties, richer sustainable soil, riper harvesting, shorter vine to fork times and less handling can give local sustainable create "distinct advantages" in nutrition over conventionally grown produce shipped long distances.[17]
Also, fresher food often tastes better. Writing in Time Magazine online, John Cloud says "I care deeply about how my food tastes, and it makes sense that a snow pea grown by a local farmer and never refrigerated will retain more of its delicate leguminous flavor than one shipped in a frigid plane from Guatemala." [18]
Price
Sceptics of the local food movement say that because of its price, local food is an elitist trend. Even the majority of locavores admit that local sustainable food can be pricier than traditional produce. The causes include less developed distribution methods, fewer economies of scale, almost no government subsidies, the increased labour needs of small sustainable farms and, perhaps, because shoppers in farmers markets are willing to pay more. [19] Many of these factors could decrease as the local food system develops more efficiencies. Also, to offset higher costs of local foods, some grocery stores, such as Loblaws feature local foods as loss leaders. For example, Mike Venton, Loblaw's senior vice-president of produce, says it pays farmers $2 a quart for berries in season but charges customers between $1.49 and $1.99 to attract them to the store.[20]
Connection
Eating local brings a sense of connection to our food -- to where it was grown and to the people who grew it. "It's phenomenal to make these connections and know who grew every component on that plate; it's almost a spiritual experience," said Dana Cox, a personal chef and teacher who plans to buy all her food directly from producers, most of them local, for one year.[21]
In an interview in Northwest Food News, local food advocate, Craig Goodwin said, "This whole industrial food complex has pushed ahead way beyond what we ever imagined as consumers and we didn't really have much of a voice in that and now we're trying to reclaim that. And we're trying to re-enchant food and be reminded that food is more than just a cog in a machine."[22]
In that same interview, Pierre Desrochers, an economic geographer at the University of Toronto said: "We live in an era where most people really don't have a clue about food production, so what I like about this whole movement is that it has reintroduced urbanites and suburbanites to the realities of food production."[23]
Direct market supply chains for local foods typically give customers the greatest amount of information to consumers where products came from. With no or fewer people between growers and consumers in the food chain, it is easier to inform customers about how and where food is produced.[24]
Conclusion
It appears that, for the reasons described above and others not mentioned here, local foods will remain a growing concern for customers. It may be unlikely that we'll all return to eating like we did before the globalization of the food trade. However, retailers would do well to stay attuned to this trend, finding ways to bring local foods to their stores efficiently, and keeping customers informed about the origin of their food.
Retailers' Stories
Below are a few stories about specific retailers and their initiatives for local foods. Click on the name of the retailer to read the stories.
Loblaw
Meijer
Tesco, Morrisons, M&S
Walmart
Whole Foods Market
1. Hand, Guy. "Locavore or Globavore?: The Debate Over Local Food" October 4, 2010. Northwest Food News. Online at http://www.nwfoodnews.com/2010/10/04/locavore-vs-globavore-the-debate-over-local-food/
[2] ibid
[3] Fahmy, Miral "Green, lean retailers attract more grocery shoppers: survey" October 5, 2009. Reuters. Online at http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSTRE5940N920091005
[4]Marc R. (aka Mental Masala) "The USDA looks at local food" 10 June 2010. The Ethicurean. Online at
http://www.ethicurean.com/2010/06/10/usda-looks-at-local/
[5] ibid
[6] ibid
[7] Martinez, Steve, et al. Local Food Systems: Concepts, Impacts, and Issues, ERR 97, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, May 2010. http://www.ruaf.org/ruaf_bieb/upload/3285.pdf
[8]Hurst, Bernice , "The Local vs. Conventional Food Battle" RetailWire. 9/10/10 Online at
http://www.retailwire.com/discussions/sngl_discussion.cfm/14746
[9] Hand, Micheal S. "Local Food Supply Chains Use Diverse Business Models To Satisfy Demand". December 2010. Amber Waves web site. Online at http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/december10/Features/SupplyChains.htm
[10] ibid
[11] ibid
[12] Lautens, Richard. "Loblaw thinking locally". Published On Mon Sep 7 2009 Toronto Star Online at http://www.thestar.com/business/article/691775--loblaw-thinking-locally
[13] Kummer, Corby. "The Great Grocery Smackdown: Will Walmart, not Whole Foods, save the small farm and make America healthy?" The Atlantic Magazine, March 2010. Online at http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/03/the-great-grocery-smackdown/7904/
[14] Buddenberg, Roger, WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER. "Local food push ripe for debate" Published Friday May 28, 2010The Omaha World Herald. Online at http://www.omaha.com/article/20100528/NEWS01/705289941
[15] Hand, Micheal S. "Local Food Supply Chains Use Diverse Business Models To Satisfy Demand". December 2010. Amber Waves web site. Online at http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/december10/Features/SupplyChains.htm
[16] Bruce Lockhart, Kate. "How eating local can enhance our food security". Wed Jan 6 2010. The Toronto Star. Online at http://www.thestar.com/article/747690--how-eating-local-can-enhance-our-food-security
[17] Eng, Monica. Food fights: "Locavores, conventional food fans battle over benefits". September 02, 2010. The Chicago Tribune. Online at http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-09-02/news/ct-met-eating-local-20100901_1_farmers-markets-food-stamps-locavore-challenge
[18] Cloud, John. "Eating Better Than Organic". By Friday, Mar. 02, 2007. Time Magazine. Online at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1595245,00.html#ixzz142hiW4FV
[19] Eng, Monica. Food fights: "Locavores, conventional food fans battle over benefits". September 02, 2010. The Chicago Tribune. Online at http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-09-02/news/ct-met-eating-local-20100901_1_farmers-markets-food-stamps-locavore-challenge
[20] Lautens, Richard. "Loblaw thinking locally". Published On Mon Sep 7 2009 Toronto Star Online at http://www.thestar.com/business/article/691775--loblaw-thinking-locally
[21] Eng, Monica. Food fights: "Locavores, conventional food fans battle over benefits". September 02, 2010. The Chicago Tribune. Online at http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-09-02/news/ct-met-eating-local-20100901_1_farmers-markets-food-stamps-locavore-challenge
[22] Hand, Guy. "Locavore or Globavore?: The Debate Over Local Food" October 4, 2010. Northwest Food News. Online at http://www.nwfoodnews.com/2010/10/04/locavore-vs-globavore-the-debate-over-local-food/
[23] ibid
[24] Hand, Micheal S. "Local Food Supply Chains Use Diverse Business Models To Satisfy Demand". December 2010. Amber Waves web site. Online at http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/december10/Features/SupplyChains.htm
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The Battle Against the Plastic Bag
The plastic shopping bag is being besieged. It seems that no other packaging and waste issue has garnered as much attention lately as this ubiquitous item. Although their overall environmental effect is relatively small, plastic bags have had a very large public relations impact within the last several years. 
Are efforts to curb their use a misguided distraction, diverting us away from targeting more major sources of waste in the supply chain? Or is it a first step leading to a greater awareness for curbing waste?
Environmental Effects
Plastic bags make up less than one percent by weight of the waste stream, according to the Canadian Plastic Industry. However, they have become emblems of our society's tendency to favour expediency over consideration for the environment.
One reason single-use plastic bags have been singled out is that in many places they are a highly visible litter item. For instance, a trash survey on the Anacostia River in Washington D.C. by the city's Department of the Environment found that between 19 and 33 per cent of the waste entering the river was plastic bags.
The volume of plastics in the ocean is increasing and the products resulting from its decomposition remain a potential problem. Areas have been discovered in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans that contain increasing concentrations of waste, much of it small pieces of plastic.1
It is estimated that every year, globally, over a million birds and 100,000 marine mammals and turtles die from entanglement or ingestion of plastics.2 How much of those plastics are from plastic bags is uncertain, but according to the International Coastal Clean-up Report (2005), 2.2% of all animals found dead during the 2004 survey had been entangled in plastic bags.3
Two Types of Solutions: Recycling and Replacing
The war waste from single-use plastic bags is being fought on two fronts: one strategy is to increase their rate of recycling; another is to replace plastic shopping bags with alternatives.
Plastic bags can be recycled into new bags and other durable products, such as plastic lumber. Recycling rates for plastic bags exceed 30% in some European countries, notably Germany. However, in many parts of the world, plastic bags are rarely recycled. The plastics industry claims more than 90% of Americans reuse their bags at least once. But they are recycled at less than one-third the rate of paper bags, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
In an effort to raise that low recovery number, many municipalities and retailers offer recycling services and offer bags that have recycled content. According to the Canadian Plastics Industry Association's web site, there are about 650 municipalities in Canada that have a plastic bag recycling program and over 2,000 individual stores that collect them.4
- Target has switched to bags that are made of 35 percent recycled plastic made partly from manufacturing scraps. They plan to put recycling bins in all its stores that will accept plastic bags. Home Hardware uses 40% recycled content plastic singe-use bags and Sainsbury's uses 50%
- Shoppers are encouraged to bring plastic bags to any Kohl's nationwide for recycling.
- Rhode Island requires retailers with more than $8 million in annual sales to supply bins for recycling plastic shopping bags.
- Minneapolis and St. Paul have a voluntary plastic bag recycling program called "It's in the Bag".
- California now requires large supermarkets and pharmacies to collect consumers' plastic bags for recycling and offer reusable bags. New York City requires retailers that hand out plastic bags to accept them for recycling.
- Baltimore City Council instituted a "Plastic Bag Reduction Ordinance" in which participating merchants can distribute plastic bags only if customers ask for them. The stores would have to collect the bags for recycling, offer reusable shopping bags for sale and post signs in their stores encouraging customers to use reusable bags. Violations would be subject to fines ranging from $100 to $1,000 for repeat infractions.
Using Alternatives
A substitute for traditional plastic bags are ones that break down more quickly in the environment. Many retailers, especially in Europe, have switched to biodegradable or compostable bags made from corn or other starches that degrade in a matter of weeks rather than the estimated 1,000 years for polyethylene bags.
Biodegradable bags do cause problems, however, where plastic bag recycling facilities are in place. Mountain Equipment Coop had been using 100% biodegradable bags but is discontinuing them, partly because Toronto, Halifax and other municipalities don't like biodegradable bags in their waste stream for several reasons. If biodegradable material mingles with other plastics, it could destabilize the resin. Industrial composters either take out plastics at the start or can be too quick for the biodegradable packaging to decompose properly.
Another option is to use paper bags. Various studies have examined whether paper or plastic grocery bags are easier on the environment. The studies that look specifically at grocery bags generally conclude that paper bags produce less of a litter problem, but that plastic bags consume less energy and water and produce less pollution, including greenhouse-gas emissions. (Paper-industry representatives dispute that their bags are more polluting, and they are preparing their own study.)
While increased calls for paper could lead to more deforestation, most paper grocery bags are made from recycled content. Also, an added benefit of paper is that it is biodegradable.
The majority of studies agree that what is most beneficial to the environment is for shoppers to bring their own reusable bags to the store. A reusable bag is better for the environment regardless of what it is made from, as long as it is used at least four times, according to a 2004 study by the French retailer Carrefour.
The use of reusable bags requires a change in customer behaviour, which usually doesn't happen without some type of inducement. Various carrots and sticks are brought out to help customers switch to reusable bags.
The Sticks
The movement against single-use plastic shopping bags has gone global. Increasingly, cities, provinces, states, countries and stores are implementing or proposing charges on plastic bags. Examples of initiatives by retailers and jurisdictions are listed below.
- In 2002, Ireland mandated a fee of 15 cents per bag on all plastic bags. According to the Irish government agency that monitors the program, it has reduced annual plastic bag use from an estimated 328 to 21 per person. Various sources cite the fact that the use of thicker purchased plastic bags went up by 400%, offsetting the reduction of plastic shopping bags. However, the main objective of the law was to decrease plastic bag litter, which it achieved, reducing the amount by 95%.
- In 2007 IKEA Canada started charging five cents per bag. IKEA claims that as a result, plastic bag use at its stores has dropped by 90%.
- The Washington D.C. City Council passed a five-cent tax on plastic and paper bags. Money collected under the bill will go to clean up the Anacostia River. The city's stores report that they gave out 85 percent fewer disposable bags the first month the law took effect.
- In Toronto, according to the city's bylaw, retailers keep a five cents charge. A few large chains have rolled out the five-cent fee across the country. Almost all large retailers reported a 70 per cent reduction in plastic bag use since the law began.
- China prohibited retailers from giving out free plastic bags as of summer 2008. It has also banned plastic bags less than 0.025 millimeters thick. Worldwatch Institute reports that China's move to ban free plastic bags in 2008 has reduced demand by some 40 billion bags.
- Attempts by some jurisdictions to charge for plastic shopping bags have failed, including Seattle, where citizens overturned legislation to charge 20 cents per bag.
- M&S: after just 12 months the decision to charge 7 cents for single use food shopping bags has cut the use of the bags by 83% from 464 million to 77 million bags.
A more drastic measure is to ban plastic shopping bags. A United Nations official called for banning plastic bags world-wide. Said Achim Steiner, executive director of the U.N. Environment Program: "There is simply zero justification for manufacturing them anymore, anywhere."
- In 2001, Bombay (now Mumbai) banned the use of plastic bags to stop them from becoming litter and blocking up the city's sewerage system.
- In Bangladesh, plastic bags have been banned since early 2002 when they were the main reason for a blocked drainage system, causing two-thirds of the country to be under water during the 1988 and 1998 floods.
- Thin plastic bags have been banned in South Africa since 2003; thicker ones are taxed. Similar measures exist in Eritrea, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda
- In 2007, San Francisco became the first city in the US to ban non-biodegradable plastic bags in its large grocery stores and pharmacies.
- Oakland and San Francisco are promoting compostable plastic bags as one alternative. Because both cities have composting programs that will accept the bags, residents may collect food scraps in the bags.
- A ban in Paris took effect in 2007, with a nationwide ban to take effect in France in 2010.
- Thirty towns in Alaska have banned plastic bag use.
- Several countries in Asia and Africa have forbidden certain types of plastic bags because of the troubles bag litter causes with flooding and sewer systems.
- Several towns in the United Kingdom have banned plastic bags or are considering bans.
- The Whole Foods Market chain stopped offering plastic grocery bags in 2008, giving customers instead a choice between recycled paper or reusable bags.
Opposition to these bans has been successful in blocking them in several places.
- The Bay Area city of Fairfax in March 2008 gave up on its bag ban because of the risk of a lawsuit by the plastic bag industry
- New York and Philadelphia considered outright bans but decided instead on plastic bag recycling programs because of pressure from the plastics industry and retail commercial stakeholders.
- An industry group called Save the Plastic Bag Coalition sued Manhattan Beach, California after the city outlawed plastic bags at retail stores in July 2008. A judge overturned the ordinance, ruling that the city must first review the effect of replacing plastic with paper.5
- Oakland, California introduced a ban but dropped it after a judge blocked its enforcement in response to a lawsuit by the plastic bag industry.
The Carrots
While bans and fees can be effective, voluntary incentive programs can also yield reductions in plastic bag use.
- In 2008, the City of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, launched a Reusable Bag Pilot Project. In this partnership between the city, the Ontario Ministry of Environment and the Recycling Council of Ontario, retailers offer incentives to customers who choose reusable bags. The result has been a reduction in the dissemination of grocery store bags in Sault Ste.Marie by 35% to 40%. The success is attributed to consumer education, moral suasion, and the participation of retailers and young people in the community.6
- Two towns, Aspen and Telluride in Colorado, held a contest to see which one could use the most reusable bags. Telluride residents used 29,351 reusable bags at local grocery stores, compared to the 26,793 bags carried by Aspen residents. If the estimate that one reusable bag equates to about 2.5 plastic grocery bags is correct, then the 140,000 plastic bags from being used.7
- Target started with a pilot program in 2009 in 100 stores, in which customers received a 5-cent discount every time they used a reusable bag. The project resulted in a decrease in plastic bag use by 58 per cent.8
- H.E. Butt Grocery Co. celebrated Earth Day by giving away reusable shopping bags to those who recycled plastic ones.
- Massachusets has designated a "Reusable Bag Day." Retailers encouraged customers to bring in their own bags or purchase a reuseable one.
- Sainsbury's offers a 1p refund for reusing a bag or a box. This money contributed pound;750,000 to local charities in 2002/3.
Distraction or Stepping Stone?
Plastic shopping bags are a drop in the bucket compared to the total waste generated by our 'throwaway' society. Hopefully, all this concern for plastic bags will spill out into other areas of waste. Plastic bags use is just one small battle in the war against waste, but that doesn't mean it should not be waged. Success here will give us confidence to keep on reducing, reusing and recycling.
1. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/15/atlantic-garbage-patch-pa_n_538514.html
2. Laist, D. 1997. Impacts of Marine Debris: entanglement of marine life in marine debris. In Coe, J. and Rogers, D.B. (Eds.) Marine Debris: sources, impacts and solutions. Springer Series on Environmental Management.
3.ExcelPlas Australia, Centre for Design at RMIT, and NOLAN-ITU. 2004. The Impacts of Degradable Plastic Bags in Australia.
4. http://www.plastics.ca/Recycling/PlasticBags/MunicipalitiesCollectingBags/index.php
5. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/04/23/BAJD1D2SK2.DTL#ixzz0maTZYwfp
6. Waste Diversion Ontario, Board Meeting Minutes, Wednesday, February 25, 2009, Food & Consumer Products of Canada, Toronto, Ontario
7. http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20080910/NEWS/809104769/1062/AROUND09&parentprofile=-1
8. http://reusablebags.wordpress.com/
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Green Products or Greenwashing?
A lot of people want to buy 'greener' products and many companies want to sell them. However, communication between manufactures, retailers and consumers about the environmental benefits of products is often unclear, creating confusion, mistrust and allegations of 'greenwashing' .
In retail, the environmental impacts of products make up a huge portion of the overall footprint of a company. The number of news stories about green products posted on the Greening Retail web site reflects the growing recognition about the importance of making products greener and the need to let people know how the products are more environmentally friendly.
Confusing Labels
Confusion is created by the plethora of labels claiming environmental credentials. An article in the Washington Post noted that there are over 600 eco-labels worldwide. It's difficult to know which labels are legitimate. As the article says, "... because certification is a self-regulated industry, the integrity of these labels varies wildly."
An example of confusing, unregulated labeling is the use of terms like 'biodegradable, compostable, and oxo-biodegradable'. Customers can become perplexed about what the words mean and which label is best for the environment. A study from Loughborogh University concluded that oxo-degradable plastics were not better for the environment than regular petroleum-based plastics. On the other hand, a professor at Aston University countered with another study that concluded that oxo-degradable plastics do biodegrade and break down to the point where it can be consumed by bacteria and fungi. (businessgreen.com) Which of these academic studies is the average retailer or consumer to believe?
Another example of claims and counter-claims made about products revolves around cleaning products. A study released by consumer rights magazine Which? accused a number of companies of making unsubstantiated 'green' claims about items such as laundry detergent and toilet cleaners. These companies (such as Tesco, Sainsbury's and Ecover) defended their environmental credentials, but whom shall the product buyer trust? (businessgreen.com)
A Growing Skepticism
With all the accusations of greenwashing flying around, consumers find it difficult to know which environmental claims are true, and they become skeptical.
A poll done in 2009 found that 64 per cent of the consumers doubt claims that products are 'green' or 'sustainable' and believe the companies making those claims are 'unauthentic'. Also, in a questionnaire called 'The Greendex', performed by Globescan , consumer habits in 17 countries were surveyed. Forty-six per cent of Canadians said that they did not buy more green products because they believed that companies are 'greenwashing'.
The term 'natural' on products is especially problematic because its meaning is vague. The Natural Products Association (NPA), which represents 10,000 retailers, manufacturers, wholesales and distributers of products issued a Standard and Certification for Home Care products, which allows products to bear NPA seal. Critics say it is a 'step in the right' direction, but focuses on only one aspect of the product's life cycle.
Another type of product which has been under scrutiny are those made of rayon processed from bamboo. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has warned retailers labeling rayon clothing as sustainable, noting that, while bamboo is sustainable when used in its basic form, such as flooring, when processed into rayon, polluting chemicals are used. The FTC deems this 'greenwashing'. (sustainablelifemedia.com)
Resources for Avoiding Greenwash
Despite the confusion and skepticism surrounding green products, there is no need to give up on the quest to produce and purchase greener products. A search through the Greening Retail news archive reveals a substantial amount of advice to retailers and consumers about spotting and avoiding 'greenwash'. Relevant articles are listed below.
Below are a few other useful resources.
- The Competition Bureau of Canada's Guidelines for Environmental Claims at competitionbureau.gc.ca
- The Seven Sins of Greenwashing Guide for Marketers at http://sinsofgreenwashing.org/
- The U.S. FTC issued its Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims, commonly known as the Green Guides, to help marketers avoid making environmental claims that are unfair or deceptive under Section 5 of the FTC Actat ftc.gov
- From Greenwash to Great. A Practical Guide to Great Green Marketing (without the Greenwash)at ogilvy.com
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