In New Zealand, organic supermarket Commonsense is doing away with corn starch shopping bags in favor of “borrow” bags because the former requires the use of commercial composting and often ended up in landfills. The new bags will be made from natural fibers and recycled cloth. Customers can borrow the bags and return them to the store.
“We looked at getting cheap re-usable plastic shopping bags, but decided they were still part of the problem,” says co-owner Marion Wood. “Fewer single use shopping bags creates a win-win-win situation. It means a win for the landfills and the oceans, a win for our customers, and a win for fair trade reusable bags.”
Commonsense, which has five stores in Wellington and one in Auckland, stopped using plastic bags a decade ago.