KEPONG, 3 April 2018:
If you’re tired of the flimsy plastic bags to cart away groceries and other items you buy, Tesco Malaysia has come up with a hardier carry-on which you can buy for 50 sen each – which you can reclaim later, 20 sen at a time, if you return with this for your purchases at Tesco stores.
This different take on plastic bags was launched today by Tesco Malaysia chief executive officer Paul Ritchie – aiming to encourage change in the behaviour of shoppers to keep their carry-ons instead of simply dumping them.
Since these hardier plastic bags come with barcodes embedded within the marine animal designs, shoppers will get a token 20 sen discount off the grocery bill.
By bringing this specially designed plastic bag, shoppers will keep getting 20 sen off their grocery bills – hence the “Unforgettable Bag” moniker to remind shoppers to keep claiming the discounts.
And until Dec 31, Tesco will also replace torn bags for free – taking the initiative further to reduce indiscriminate disposal of plastic bags.
“We have halved the number of single-use plastic bags given out at our stores between 2011 and 2017, despite increasing the number of stores,” noted Ritchie.
“But the rate of reduction isn’t fast enough.”
Asked about the irony of using hardier plastic bags to raise awareness against throwing away such as rubbish – when other retailers had gone for alternate material – he explained the aim of Tesco Malaysia’s campaign is to change consumer habits and attitudes towards plastic bags in particular.
“It’s a trial and we’ll review customer feedback as to what changes we should make to further improve this campaign.”