Before sustainability was on the minds of consumers and businesses the question “Will that be Paper or plastic?” was a common question in grocery stores and other retailers. As environmental awareness has increased many retailers are moving to more sustainable measures and now recycled bags are often one more choice available to shoppers.
Department stores such as Nordstrom and Macy’s have taken this step recently. Nordstrom decided to switch all their paper shopping bags to 100 percent recyclable bags in 2008. In response to complaints that the propylene handles built into Nordstrom’s shopping bags were not recyclable Nordstrom developed new, 100% recyclable shopping bags with sturdy cotton handles. They gradually rolled in the new, recyclable bags as their supply of existing bags ran out. Nordstrom is now also offering their customers reusable shopping totes and recycled gift boxes. Committed to satisfying their customers, Erik Nordstrom, president of stores for Nordstrom said, “We know our customers care about the environment and this is an effort to serve them better and reduce our impact. We will continue to look for ways we can be a better corporate citizen.”
Recently Macy’s joined the ranks of eco-conscious retailers and switched to new 100% recyclable shopping bags made with 30% recycled material. Macy’s uses more than 43 million handled shopping bags each year, so this is a significant step toward their sustainability efforts. Macy’s gift boxes and wrapping tissue are already recyclable. Vice Chair of Macy’s, Tom Cole expressed his thoughts about the company’s future goals when he said, “Our strategies for sustainability include aggressively reducing wasteful behavior, decreasing our use of scars resources and pursuing environmentally friendly solutions whenever we have the option to do so. As a leading national ret
In addition to Nordstrom’s and Macy’s, any company desiring to be more earth friendly, now also has the option of stone paper bags. Natural Source Partners (www.naturalsourcepartners.com) has created FiberStone® tree-free, water-free, water-proof shopping bags and gift bags made of natural limestone. FiberStone® is recyclable and ph neutral (addressing any landfill concerns) and performs well in WTE (waste to energy) plants thus offering an answer to the end of life concerns of consumers. FiberStone® tree-free paper uses no water, or trees in its production, and uses about half the energy of virgin paper. One ton of FiberStone® Paper saves 20 trees, 7,480 gallons of water/water borne waste, and 25 million BTU’s of energy.
So the next time you find yourself out shopping , don’t be surprised if you hear the question: Will that be paper or stone?
