ADVICE FOR RETAILERS

You are not required to provide customers with a bag.

The bag ban presents an opportunity to assess whether you really need to offer bags at all. For example, you may already provide products in packaging or containers that the customer can carry or place inside another bag. 

Retailers can substantially reduce the number of bags they give away (and the costs associated with this) by simply asking customers "Do you need a bag?"

If you have decided to continue offering bags to customers, you need to ensure these are compliant, as well as being practical and suitable to your business needs. There are many alternative bags available – or you could even design your own.

Some of the things to consider when weighing up alternatives are:

• What size and weight are your products?
• Will you need multiple bag sizes and options?
• How much do the alternative bags cost?
• How reusable are they (i.e. care, longevity, cleanliness)?
• Are they recyclable at the end of their useful life?
• What option aligns with your brand (i.e. quality, image, country of origin, eco status)?
• Will you brand the bags? Can we add value to our brand and marketing efforts with our bags?
• Do your bags need to meet food safety standards ie. will they come into contact with foodstuffs?
• Do you need handles? How strong must these be?
• What would your customers expect you to offer?
• What would consumers be prepared to pay for?

Sometimes it can be difficult to know the most sustainable option for your business and customers.

Here's some key questions to ask your supplier >

Remember, suppliers face substantial penalties if they provide false or misleading information. You can report suspected offences here >

The following lists the most common alternative bags available, and some of the pros and cons of each.

1. Reusable non-woven bags

• often called ‘green’ bags, commonly used by supermarkets
• includes variations – some have a plastic insert base, some are adapted to cooler bags
• simple branding can be printed on the bag
• consumers are already familiar with the reusable nature of these bags
• consumers already expect to pay a small fee ($1 to $2) for these bags

2. Calico/Fabric reusable bags

• fabric shopping bags, often made of calico, hessian, cotton or bamboo
• tend to be more expensive than other options but do tend to be the most durable
• statement branding and patterns are popular, creating higher perceived value
• tend to be used by consumers for longer periods and less likely to be thrown out
• consumers seem to be willing to pay $2 to $5 per printed calico bag

You may also be able to arrange Boomerang Bags for your store. Volunteers from all walks of life get together to make reusable ‘boomerang bags’ using recycled materials, as a means to provide a sustainable alternative to plastic bags. The bags are given away to friends, family, colleagues, bagless strangers and so on, as a plastic bag alternative that can be used and reused, or passed on to others in need. Read more about Boomerang Bags >

3. Premium cardboard bags

• often used by department stores, fashion boutiques and jewellery stores
• may have cut-out, rope, ribbon or plastic handles
• vary in weight, size and quality
• tend to be considered higher quality or ‘premium’ by customers
• provide high quality branding opportunities but do cost more than most other alternatives
• customers are not familiar with being charged for these types of bags so retailers usually incorporate the cost of the bag into a product’s price
• generally reusable and recyclable

4. Paper bags

• small and medium paper bags are often used by pharmacies, newsagents and food outlets
• can be flat or have fold-out bases, can have handles
• recent advancements mean these bags can be stronger than plastic bags
• cost-effective compared to other alternative bags
• can be raw or coloured, and can be made from recycled paper
• branding can be printed or stamped on the bags at low cost
• easily recycled
• customers may be prepared to pay 10c to 50c for these bags

5. Heavyweight plastic bags

• usually more than 60 microns thick
• most commonly used by department stores, fashion boutiques and supermarkets
• come in various sizes but most popular for large items or large basket counts
• branding is printed on the plastic pre-production
• reusable though this can depend on the size, brand popularity and durability
• recyclable at soft plastic recyclers
• some retailers provide these bags free to the customer but consumers have also show willingness to pay a small amount (eg. 15c) per reusable plastic bag 

Note: The NRA strongly recommends against using lightweight plastic singlet bags close to 35 microns thick. 

6. Other options

• there are many creative, eye-catching options
  some retailers have chosen to make a statement with their bags and packaging, aligning this with their brand
• some retailers have decided to add bags as a high volume product line that doubles as branding
• there is growing popularity for reusable bags that fold or scrunch up so that they are easily slipped into a handbag or glovebox. This may present an opportunity for retailers to sell these bags.

The NRA believes that retailers who use plastic shopping bags close to 35 microns thick (and suppliers who promote them) are exposed to substantial risk for several reasons:

• inconsistent micron measurement
• future adaptations of the ban
• consumer perceptions
• willingness to pay

Read more about these risks >

As outlined in the examples above, each alternative bag has advantages and disadvantages. Alternative bags cost more per unit but customers seem willing to pay for truly reusable bags.

How you introduce alternative options is up to you. You can either provide no bag at all, supply alternative bags free to your customers, offer them for sale, or a combination of the latter two:

1. Provide no bag (customer must bring their own)
   If you have previously provided free lightweight plastic bags to your customers, and you remove the banned bags without providing a replacement, you should save on business costs. If you currently give away 100 plastic bags a day, this could be costing your business up to $15,000 over 5 years, with little chance of recompense.

   If you decide to not provide bags at all, you should carefully manage the transition to ensure customers are informed and prepared for the change to avoid negative feedback or loss of business.
   .

2. Provide alternative bags to customers at no charge
   Reusable bags carry a higher unit cost than lightweight plastic bags, so if you choose to supply the new alternatives free to customers you will likely incur higher business costs. This is untenable for many small businesses and you may want to consider a bag fee.

   You might choose to offer alternative bags for free, for example, if you believe that consumers expect a free bag in your retail category, you want to increase ‘walk-around’ exposure of your brand, or you can accommodate the additional cost in your product margins.
   .

3. Offer alternative bags for sale
   Retailers across Australia and the world have been introducing reusable bags over the past ten years in Australia, with many now charging a small amount per bag – creating widespread consumer familiarity with paying for reusable bags.

   Large retailers tend to be providing a range of bags for sale at different price-points to suit customer budgets. Smaller retailers may only need to offer one or two size and price options. This option presents a positive opportunity for retailers to recoup the cost of bags while giving people the choice to avoid a charge by bringing their own bag, rather than increasing the cost of all products to all customers.

   An additional environmental benefit of bag fees is that typically bag usage drops by up to 90% when consumers have to pay for a bag. This decreases the volume and consumption of bags, and therefore less landfill and less chance of them being littered.

   Note: Consumers appear to be willing to pay for quality, truly reusable bags and seem reluctant to pay for plastic bags which look or feel similar to banned bags even if they are technically compliant.
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4. Combination of free and charged bags
   Particular retailers, such as pharmacies, may choose to provide recyclable paper bags for small items at no charge, while charging for larger reusable bags.

Please note: retailers cannot supply banned plastic bags from 1 Jan 2019 – regardless of whether they are free or charged.