WoolWorths holdings limited 2013 good BUsiness JoUrneY report

Environment
PLASTIC BAG USAGE
AND REUSABLE BAGS
Woolworths is committed to reducing
plastic bag usage as a way of reducing
its impact on the environment, saving
costs and assisting customers to save
costs as well. Woolworths customers are
particularly encouraged to use reusable
shopping bags, thereby reducing the
number of new shopping bags that
need to be made.
These have created an opportunity for
Woolworths to preserve the environment
as well as support enterprise development.
Woolworths’ two main reusable bag
suppliers, Isikhwama, based in Cape
Town, and Gusco, based in Uitenhage,
have sustained 140 jobs since the reusable
bag business began eight years ago.
Isikhwama employ and still recruit from
the local area, semi-skilled and unskilled
people, who were previously out of
work. Gusco, being a cooperative,
have retained the same employees.
Woolworths is the first retailer to start
using post-consumer PET waste (recycled
Polyethylene Terephthalate bottles) to
make the colourful range of fabric reusable
bags. The fabric is made using 80% postconsumer
waste mixed with 20% of a
“low-melt binder” to ensure the bag is
durable enough to carry groceries.
To date, Woolworths has used 121 tonnes
of fibre made from recycled PET bottles
to make the fabric bags. This translates
into 3.5 million bottles recycled and no
longer going to landfill, and reducing
carbon emissions associated with
producing virgin material by 54%. It also
helps create jobs – it’s estimated that
some 10 000 people earn income from
collecting bottles. This would not have
been possible without the support and
close working relationship between
Woolworths, Extrupet and Propet.
Reusable bag sales remain fairly strong
as consumers switch from plastic bags,
with almost 1,46 million bags sold
(1.6 million in 2012), and a number of new
designs launched. Through the designs,
Woolworths aims to raise awareness
around sustainability related issues such
as sustainable fishing, water, sustainable
farming, biodiversity and endangered
wildlife. Some designs specifically raise
funds to aid conservation efforts to help
save Africa’s most endangered species.
Since the launch of the first limited edition
rhino bag in 2010, we’ve donated over
R1.2 million to rhino conservation, and
some R1.3 million has gone towards
Cheetah, African painted dog and
Vulture conservation. In 2013 Woolworths
launched the “My Ocean Promise”
range, in partnership with the Two
Oceans Aquarium, shifting the focus to
our threatened marine species. To date,
Woolworth’s customers have helped
raise over R3.6 million for conservation
efforts to save our threatened wildlife
and marine life and these bags have
emphasised and educated consumers
on the facts, highlighting that wherever
we are in South Africa, our behaviour
affects our precious wildlife.
Relative plastic shopping bag usage
has, however, remained stable, with 0.79
achieved during the past year. The 25%
reduction target (of 1.0) had been set for
2012, off a 2007 benchmark of 1.3 plastic
bags per transaction. Woolworths has
targeted to halve the amount of plastic
bags used in foods by 2015 (to 0.5).
Woolworths’ “green carriers” food bags
are made from 55% recycled plastic,
harvested from post-industrial waste.
The shopping bags used for clothing
and general merchandise also contain
55% recycled material which is also
harvested from post-industrial waste.
Woolworths Is currently in the process
of moving to 85% recycled post-consumer
waste in our foods plastic bags.
Plastic Bag usage
120 000
118 942 118 729
100 000
80 000
88 502
76 926
86 104
72 350
60 000
62 140
60 317
40 000
20 000
0
05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12 12/13
2013 GOOD BUSINESS JOURNEY / WHL 79