Major retailers join reusable shopping bag pilots

The Kroger Co., Target, CVS Health and Dollar General are among seven chain retailers participating in a pair of reusable bag pilots in three states with the Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag.

Under the consortium’s three-year Beyond the Bag Initiative, retailers have been called on to “think outside the box” to find and test options to single-use plastic shopping bags that help reduce global plastic waste while upholding consumer convenience. The Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag was launched last summer by the Center for the Circular Economy at New York-based green investment firm Closed Loop Partners.

The pilots announced Wednesday—covering more than 150 stores in Colorado, Arizona and New Jersey—are aimed at engaging national retailers and local shops to test solutions that spur shoppers in adopt reusable bags.

The "Bring Your Own Bag Pilot" is aimed at swaying consumers to make reusable bags part of their everyday shopping. / Photo courtesy of Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag

First up will be the “Bring Your Own Bag Pilot,” which will make reusable bags “the norm wherever customers shop” to evaluate the effect of collective action by retailers in driving broader cultural shifts, according to the Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag. In stores across Denver; Tucson, Arizona and the surrounding areas, participating retailers—Kroger, CVS, Target, Dollar General, Dick’s Sporting Goods, TJX, Ulta Beauty and mom-and-pop shops—will test solutions from the consortium’s “Playbook” released in March, including signage, marketing and customer prompts about reusable bags. The “Bring Your Own” pilot is slated to run from April to July 30.

“As we expand these reusable bag solutions across CVS Pharmacy locations and learn about consumer behaviors, we continue to see the power in collective retail action,” Sheryl Burke, senior vice president of corporate social responsibility and chief sustainability officer at CVS Health, said in a statement. “With everyone’s drive, dedication and collaboration, we will continue making a lasting impact on creating a healthier world today and for future generations.”

Kicking off May 1 and also running to July 30 will be a complementary initiative, the “Returnable Bag Pilot,” which will test a new reusable bag solution for customers who forget to bring their own reusable bags to stores. At stores in New Jersey, retailer participants CVS and Target will collaborate on a returnable bag service that enables customers to buy a bag at checkout for $1 and return it at any participating store to get their deposit back. Returned bags are then washed, redistributed and reused by other shoppers.

In the "Returnable Bag Pilot," shoppers will buy reusable bags at the store and bring them back to a kiosk for redemption of a $1 deposit. / Photo courtesy of Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag

The consortium noted that recent legislation in New Jersey has banned single-use plastic bags in certain stores, creating a need for sustainable and convenient reusable bag solutions. Returnity and 99Bridges, two winners of the “Beyond the Bag Innovation Challenge,” will provide operational services for the returnable bag system, a service model built by the consortium based on insights collected over the past two years.

“We’re proud to work with our guests, communities, and partners like the Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag toward co-creating an equitable, regenerative future together,” commented Amanda Nusz, senior vice president of corporate responsibility at Target. “Through our collective efforts, these pilots will offer valuable insights for enhancing circular capabilities and providing accessible alternatives to the single-use plastic bag for all.”

CVS, Target and Walmart are founding partners of the Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag, which is managed by Closed Loop Partners. Other food, drug and mass retail participants include Kroger as the grocery sector lead partner, Dollar General as the discount sector lead partner, and Ahold Delhaize USA, Albertsons Cos., H-E-B,  Hy-Vee, Meijer, Wakefern Food Corp. and Walgreens as supporting partners. Closed Loop Partners serves as managing partner. Ideo serves as innovation partner, with Conservation International and Ocean Conservancy as environmental partners.

In August 2021, nine CVS, Target and Walmart stores in Northern California launched a pilot to test reusable bag models and enabling technologies to extend the life of retail bags and bring more visibility into a bag’s full life cycle, with solutions provided by challenge winners ChicoBag, Fill it Forward, GOATOTE and 99Bridges.

Solutions sourced by the consortium have included technology-enabled reuse models, new materials, and software and hardware innovations, all aimed at replacing today’s single-use plastic shopping bag.

“We need to consider a range of needs, contexts and policy landscapes to create a less wasteful future for the retail bag. These two pilots are complementary by design, understanding that a diversity of solutions is needed to effect systems change and mitigate unintended consequences,” stated Kate Daly, managing director and head of the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners. “We are bringing retailers together to advance reuse solutions collectively that support customers and reduce single-use plastic bag waste. We look forward to piloting at this large scale, engaging multiple retailers both in and beyond the consortium to generate greater industry engagement and ecosystem impact.”