This Is Not Just An Eco Shopping Bag…..

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This is a Marks & Spencer Eco Shopping Bag

Marks & Spencer have announced that shoppers will have to pay 5p per food carrier bag from May.

The company took the decision to implement the initiative across all their stores, including Putney, after conducting trials in other parts of the country which resulted in a 70% fall in the use of plastic bags.

Money raised from the sale of bags will go towards funding the activities of environmental charity Groundwork, which creates and improves green spaces.

M&S chief executive Sir Stuart Rose told retail industry publication Retail Week, "We want to make it easy for our customers to do their bit to help the environment and our trials have shown us that they want to take action."

He said that if his customers cut the number of food carrier bags they use by 70%, M&S would use more than 280 million fewer a year.

However, not everyone within the industry agrees with this type of initiative.

Legislation that would prohibit retailers providing customers with shopping bags and create an army of council bag-ban enforcers with the power to issue fines, has been condemned by the BRC (British Retail Consortium) who believe the bill is excessive.

The BRC also claimed that carrier bags make up only a fraction of one per cent of waste going to landfill and a total ban would make virtually no environmental difference but would have a serious impact on customers and retailers.

M&S will impose their 5p per bag charge from 6th May with customers being offered a free Bag for Life with every food transaction throughout April.

February 29, 2008