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Boots will offer customers brown paper bags instead of plastic bags in a bid to tackle the growing global plastic problem.
Having already introduced the scheme to 53 stores, the company will extend the no-plastic bag rule to the rest of its outlets by next year.
The healthcare brand joins the growing group of major retailers to tackle the environmental problem with this new scheme.
Although the bags don’t come under the government plastic bags tax the company will charge 5p, 7p or 10p. The profits from this will go to children’s charity, Children in Need.
The Director of Marketing for Boots UK, Helen Normoyle said, “We have seen a significant shift in our customers’ attitudes towards plastics and recycling in recent years.
“Our new paper bags have been carefully tested to make sure that, over their entire life cycle, they are better for the environment, whilst still being a sturdy, practical option for customers who haven’t brought their own bags with them when shopping.”
Greenpeace have commented that even though the move is a positive one it might not be the answer to the larger environmental problem of the throwaway culture.
“If our oceans had a doctor, what they would order is a drastic cut in the amount of single-use plastic in circulation. So it’s great to see a major high street brand like Boots listening to public concerns and ditching plastic bags,” says Louise Edge, the Head of Greenpeace UK’s ocean plastics campaign.
“But retailers need to be careful that by swapping plastic for paper they don’t end up shifting the problem from our oceans to our forests. This is why as well as looking for new materials for their carrier bags, high street chains should also encourage their customers to bring their own reusable bags and truly tackle the throwaway culture that’s damaging our living world.”
