Coop Danmark has announced that its chain Irma is the first in the country to replace its plastic carrier bags with a ‘climate-friendly’, reusable sack.
"Irma will be at the forefront when it comes to more sustainable consumption. Our customers have requested more climate-friendly bags. Therefore, we are pleased that we, as the first, can offer this type of carrying bag, "said Søren Steffensen, the director of Irma.
Plant Resources
The bags, made from sugar cane-based polyethylene, will initially be rolled out to half of Irma stores and then introduced to the entire chain.
The sacks are more sustainable as they are made from renewable resources, said Coop. The reason the bags are called ‘climate-friendly’ is that their plant-based components took in CO2 emissions as part of the growing process, removing them from the air.
"Although it's the most climate-friendly carrier bag in Danish retail trade and is sustainable, it's still a good idea to reuse its bag as many times as possible," says Signe Frese, the corporate social responsibility director of Coop Danmark.
The new bags cost 25 øre more. Once the bag has reached the end of its life cycle, it can be recycled as soft plastic and made into new bags.
In February, Coop Danmark opened an organic Irma store in Copenhagen.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Karen Henderson. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
