Paper or plastic? How about neither? As more consumers switch to reusable bags, companies that make the durable shopping sacks are seeing a surge in sales – even in a weak economy.
“In the last 24 months, sales have increased about 10 times,” said Vincent Cobb, founder of reusablebags.com, an online shopping site that sell canvas and synthetic bags intended for multiple uses.
Cobb attributes his business’ rapid growth to consumers’ increasingly awareness that plastic bags are bad for the environment. Retailers, he said, also are cashing in on the popularity of reusable bags by either giving them away free to customers or selling them.
Increased Sales
Sharon Rowe, founder of the reusable bag company ECOBAGS, also has seen sales jump in the last two years.
“Our business is really strong now,” said Rowe, whose company reported sales of more than $2 million last year.
“We are seeing more orders from supermarkets, conventions and museums,” said Rowe, whose customers include Whole Foods, and businesses in Asia and Europe. “The popularity of reusable bags has become a social phenomenon,” she added.
Some retailers, most notably Whole Foods, have dropped plastic bags. Earlier this year, the natural foods giant switched to paper bags. The company also stocks reusable bags at its stores, with prices starting at 79 cents for a medium shopping bag to $25 for an organic cotton tote bag.
Branding Tool
“We see more and more shoppers using reusable bags,” said Fred Shank, a Whole Foods spokesman. To encourage their customers to reuse grocery bags, the company offers a 10-cent refund on every reusable bag the shopper brings.
Cobb noted that Walmart and Trader Joe’s also recognize that reusable bags can help promote business. “Think about how used we are to seeing company logos on plastic bags,” said Cobb. “Now they are doing the same to reusable bags and using them as a marketing tool.”
Government is getting in on the reusable bag bandwagon, too: Mayor Bloomberg has proposed a six-cent tax on every plastic bag customers take home.
Cobb warned one downside of his industry’s continued growth could be that market will become flooded with reusable bags – which would contribute to more waste if they go unused.
“I was at an event recently and they were giving out cheaply made reusable bags. At the end of the day I saw several of these bags sitting in the trash and I thought that completely defeated the purpose of having reusable bags,” said Cobb.
