Closed Loop Partners has released a new playbook for retailers to reduce their use of single-use plastic bags.
Closed Loop helped form a Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag and its "Beyond the Bag" initiative in 2020. The effort now includes 15 retail partners representing more than 50,000 stores.
The playbook highlights strategies for retailers to reduce the number of single-use bags and to encourage consumers to use reusable bags. New York-based Closed Loop Partners is an investment firm focused on development of the circular economy.
The playbook covers communication, employee training, bag and fixture design and customer incentives.
According to Closed Loop Partners, a 1 percent reduction in bag use in the United States would mean 1 billion fewer bags.
"This tool is for retailers who are looking for quick wins and those seeking innovative, new approaches," Kate Daly, managing director of the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners, said in a news release.
This spring, stores will test strategies from the playbook in two cities in Arizona and Colorado, including signage, marketing and customer prompts across stores. The consortium is inviting more stores to join in, from mom-and-pops to large brands.
The consortium will also test a return bag service model, in which customers are borrowing a bag, then returning it the retailer to be washed and reused.