Target announced today that they plan to offer a 5-cent discount for every reusable bag customers use to pack their purchases.
The programs come at a time retailers are feeling heat from advocacy groups, lawmakers and customers to take actions on environmental issues.
CVS has also taken on the green initiative by planning to give participating customers $1 cash bonuses on their CVS cards every four times they buy something but don’t request plastic bags.
A pilot test in 100 Target stores earlier this year resulted in a hefty 58% reduction in plastic bags used, says Shawn Gensch, vice president of marketing. “The best-case scenario is that we’ll have 100% success and every consumer will use a reusable bag.”
“Plastic bags are the most ubiquitous form of waste on the planet,” Herskowitz says. “They are among the most deadly forms of marine debris, lethal to threatened species of marine mammals throughout the world.”
The Target program, which will roll out on Nov. 1 at all 1,700 Target stores nationwide, could save billions of plastic bags. The chain posts upwards of 1.5 billion transactions annually — most ending up in more than one bag.
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