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Sue Ryder Care introduce new addition to its BOBB range of environmentally friendly bags

19 May 2008

Shoppers are being encouraging to support Sue Ryder Care’s environmentally friendly ‘BOBB - Bring Our Bag Back’ reusable bag campaign and say no to single use plastic bags. 

Inline with government recommendations for retailers to reduce plastic bag usage by 25% by the end of 2008 - and in time eliminate single use plastic bags altogether – Sue Ryder Care has introduced a new addition to its BOBB range of environmentally friendly bags.
Following on from the success of the healthcare charity’s award-winning ‘Bring Our Bag Back’ reusable bag campaign in November 2007, Sue Ryder Care has extended its range of environmentally friendly bags to include a multi-use, durable plastic bag as well as its natural fibre jute bags.

Called Spring BOBB, Sue Ryder Care’s durable plastic bag is a cheaper alternative to the charity’s jute reusable bags yet can still be re-used time and time again.  Through encouraging shoppers to purchase its reusable BOBB bags, Sue Ryder Care aims to discontinue its offering of free single use plastic bags in its 370 shops by 2009.  

Carrier bags currently cost Sue Ryder Care nearly £100,000 every year, vital funds that could help the charity care for more people living with conditions including Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease, Stroke and Cancer.  As well as the monetary cost, the charity’s BOBB campaign aims to encourage people to think about the environmental impact of constantly using new carrier bags.  
Kay Barnes, Recycling Business Development Manager at Sue Ryder Care, said, “We extended our BOBB range of reusable bags to offer our customers more choice.  If the customer has forgotten to bring a bag with them on their shopping trip, we hope that a ten pence donation for the reusable bag will be considered worth it to support the environment and our charitable work.  By offering a more affordable reusable bag we hope to appeal to more of our customers to choose to re-use.”

Kay added, “As a result of the introduction of our jute BOBB bags, our shops have ordered 310,500 less plastic bags this year compared to last year during the months of January to March.  In just three months this reduction in plastic bag usage saved Sue Ryder Care £16,567. We hope our new Spring BOBB bags will build on the success of our jute reusable bags and reduce the number of free single-use carrier bags we give out to customers even further.          

“Our BOBB reusable bag range is part of Sue Ryder Care’s move towards ISO 14001, a recognised award for environmental excellence.  We are the first charity retailer in the country to develop this.”

Awarded the prestigious Gold Green Apple Award for Environmental Best Practice, the charity’s BOBB campaign was the first of its kind to be launched from the charity retail sector.  Its family-friendly cartoon campaign logo, BOBB aims to reinforce the ‘reuse’ message to people of all ages. 

Sue Ryder Care’s BOBB campaign is a positive attempt to educate shoppers about the benefits of reusing items and ultimately save the charity some of the money spent on providing customers’ bags.  All money saved as a result of charity’s ongoing BOBB campaign will help Sue Ryder Care continue to deliver specialist neurological and palliative care across the UK. 

Shoppers at Sue Ryder Care are encouraged to donate a minimum of 10p for a Spring BOBB bag and the charity’s jute BOBB bags are available in two sizes and sell for £1.99 and £1.49. 

For further information on Sue Ryder Care visit www.suerydercare.org

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About the demise of the plastic bag:

• Traders in 80 mainly small towns round Britain have either introduced a voluntary ban or are considering one as a way to reduce landfill.
• More than 17billion plastic bags are handed out by supermarkets a year, causing nearly 60,000 tonnes of plastic to go to landfill sites.
• The government has resisted a national ban or a levy, preferring a voluntary agreement with supermarkets to reduce the "overall environmental impact" of carrier bags by 25% by the end of 2008.
(Source: The Guardian Online)

 

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