Despite Covid-19 disruptions, they have announced new sustainable plastic reduction achieve-ments on the path to these Good Business Journey goals. One of these innovations is the phased national rollout of their specially designed FSC™ certified paper bags for Fashion, Beauty and Homeware (FBH) purchases to an initial 19 stores as the start of a national roll out.

The new FBH paper bags are locally made by a supplier development beneficiary and con-structed from Forest Stewardship Council™ certified recycled content sourced from the same mill where Woolworths sends its recyclable cardboard and paper (FSC N002141). This is an excellent example of closed-loop recycling. The design process has included durability to ensure the bags can handle the weights and sizes of different fashion, beauty and homeware items. From the consumer perspective, the bags may be re-used for ongoing fashion, beauty and homeware purchases. The new paper bags are also fully recyclable, making it easy for Woolies’ customers to dispose of the bags responsibly and ensure they don’t go ultimately to landfill.

“Last year, we ran a successful trial of three different FBH paper bag sizes at our stores in the Blue Route and Midlands Malls. Since this trial, we have worked with our supplier to readjust the bag sizes based on customer feedback and have made changes in our supply chain processes in order to optimise store ordering and storage systems”, says Feroz Koor: Woolworths Hold-ings Group Head of Sustainability.

“Although lockdown and the subsequent restrictions have caused production delays for our supplier over these past months, we are delighted to be able to resume with our plans to further remove single use plastic bags and reduce our plastic packaging use,” continues Koor.

In August the retailer launched the paper bag in an additional 17 stores nationally which includedsome major outlets such as Sandton city, W&A waterfront, Eastgate Mall and Walmer Park (Port Elisabeth).

Woolworths, a leading retailer in sustainability initiatives, was one of 29 global companies to recently sign the petition calling for a #PlasticPollutionTreaty supporting the existing call from leading NGOs including WWF and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation for a UN Treaty on plastic pollution.

“Smart, sustainable solutions often take time to get off the ground but when they do, they change our world for the better instantly. While Covid-19 has impacted our roll out, we remain committed in our journey to remove single use plastic from our stores. Together with our cus-tomers, we are looking forward to removing all single use plastic bags from our stores,” concludes Koor.