Spar Austria is trialling a new reusable shopping bag in its stores across the country, providing customers with an alternative to single-use plastic bags.
The organic biodegradable Spar Natur*pur bag is made from renewable, GMO-free sugar cane, and is produced by Graz-based biopolymer company Weforyou.
It is now available in Spar Austria stores for €1.79.
Responsible Retail
Spar Austria says that its new bag is sturdy and will last for 'many trips to and from the supermarket'. However, when the bag has reached the end of its usable life, it can also be decomposed and recycled.
The adoption of reusable shopping bags in a growing trend across Europe. Last year, Spar Austria says that it saw sales of reusable bags increase by 8%.
In January, the European Commission launched the first-ever Europe-wide strategy on plastics, with a focus on reducing waste and moving towards a more circular economy, which has lead many retailers to examine the use of plastic in their stores.
Discount retailer Aldi, for example, is scrapping the sale of single-use plastic bags in all of its stores in Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Sarah Harford. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.