Whole Foods Market announced this week it plans to banish all plastic grocery bags from its US, UK and Canadian stores with the goal to be plastic bag free by April 22, 2008 (Earth Day).
With the slogan: 'Bring your own bag - save your own planet', the natural and organic foods supermarket chain has been conducting tests eliminating plastic bags in its San Francisco, Austin and Toronto markets. The tests were well received by customers and paved the way for their chain wide plan to remove plastic shopping bags from their stores. The company estimates the impact of its plan will be felt immediately keeping 100 million bags out of landfills in 2008 alone. So get down there and support this great new initiative (if you can afford the cost of the groceries!) [Via Sustainable is Good]
Related: Abi gets a sneak preview of UK's first Whole Foods Market | Sainsbury's says goodbye to plastic bags (for a day)
In order to help facilitate the plan the company is aggressively pushing reusable bags including their new "Better Bag" The Better Bag is made from 80% rPET fabric and is designed to be shopper friendly by being larger and easier to use than other reusable bags.
The Chinese Government announced a law to ban the production and use of plastic bags in China, starting on June the 1st.
Given its population, it represents a hell lot of plastic bags that won't end up around!