Working on the tri-band motivation of people, profit and planet, Reusablebags.com has provided a smart and trendy alternative to plastic bags. Vincent Cobb spoke to BE's Priyalina Basu about his company's green initiative.
Q) What motivated you to start this enterprise, and how has it taken off?
A) I founded the site back in 2002 after witnessing the success of Ireland’s PlasTax (Ireland stores began charging an approximately USD 0.25 fee per plastic bag). In just a year, the country's plastic bag consumption dropped more than 90%, and I saw that this was an incredibly smart solution to a growing problem. Seeing the potential to wake people up to smart solutions, I launched Reusablebags.com to serve as a grass roots hub with practical tools and thought leadership on the issue.
Q) What motivated you to start this enterprise, and how has it taken off?
A) I founded the site back in 2002 after witnessing the success of Ireland’s PlasTax (Ireland stores began charging an approximately USD 0.25 fee per plastic bag). In just a year, the country's plastic bag consumption dropped more than 90%, and I saw that this was an incredibly smart solution to a growing problem. Seeing the potential to wake people up to smart solutions, I launched Reusablebags.com to serve as a grass roots hub with practical tools and thought leadership on the issue.
Q) According to your website, you donate 1% of all sales proceeds to the environment. Could you elaborate on this? How has networking with likeminded environmental groups been leveraged there?
A) Our partnership with 1% For the Planet represents our dedication to being a triple bottom line business (one that considers people, profit and the planet). We chose to support nonprofits that are agents for real change that make significant impact through grassroots efforts. In addition to our 1% donation, we also donate to other grassroots organisations doing important work.
Q)In 2009, you enabled 190,000 customers to reduce their consumption of “use-and-toss” items by more than 700 million units. Have you set any target for this year?
A) We don’t have a specific target, but with our transition to Reuseit.com, we will be expanding our product selection to help people replace even more use-and-toss items. So, this number should increase significantly. By the end of this year, that number could eclipse 1 billion.
Q)What initiatives do you take to ensure fair trade practices? As far as India is concerned, what would you think are the prospects of using recycled bags? Do you have a client base here?
A) Speaking under the assumption that you are referring to reusable bags, we always discuss manufacturing and trade practices with our suppliers and call for documentation of Fair Wage/Fair trade claims. There is huge potential in India for initiatives to encourage recycled and reusable bags. The consumer market is growing rapidly, so promoting reusable bags as an alternative to plastic bags will help curb the kind of out-of-control consumption that has plagued the US. Our informational site has been visited by audiences worldwide, I’m sure many from India.
Q)What measures can India initiate to increase use of recycled bags?
A)The country seems to already be headed in the right direction – many cities are implementing, or considering implementing, fees and bans on polypropylene bags. Stores like Fabindia package merchandise in bags made from old newspapers. We strongly believe that fees are the most effective, market-based solutions to over production and consumption of plastic bags. This was very successful in Ireland, reducing consumption of plastic bags by more than 90% in the first year. India has a strong, efficient market economy, so a small fee collected per bag would have a dramatic impact. Money collected from the fee should be allocated for environmental programmes.
