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The Entrepreneurial Agenda by Robb Mandelbaum
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June 10, 2008
Solving the Plastic Bag Problem
Posted at 12:54 PM
Six months ago the folks at Target asked us to solve two problems. They wanted to solve the plastic bag problem and they wanted a new designer bag to sell. We solved them both simultaneously.
Everyone knows how big the plastic bag problem is. According to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. Plastic bags don't biodegrade. Instead, they photo-degrade, breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits that contaminate soil and waterways and enter the food web when animals accidentally ingest them. On top of this, it can cost up to $4,000 a ton to recycle plastic bags, and the resulting polymers are worth only a fraction of the cost, rendering the recycling of plastic bags economically unsustainable. Since legislated plastic bag collection exists only in select parts of California, the vast majority of plastic bags are discarded improperly.
After some thinking, we found the solution in fusing used plastic bags into durable sheets and then sewing those sheets together into a designer bag. The bag was quickly dubbed the reTote and scheduled for launch in April '08.
While this was happening, I was also invited by Newsweek to help with the magazine's green issue. That's when it dawned on me: Why not upcycle the magazine's cover to make a collection envelope. The idea was that you remove the front cover, turn it inside out, tape the edges, and -- voila! -- you have an envelope. Then, fill that envelope with plastic bags and send it in courtesy of prepaid shipping printed on the ad.
Well everyone said yes, and on April 17th the issue ran:
This was the inside cover:
Here is what it looked like full of bags:
So far, more than 35,000 people have sent us their Newsweek cover filled with plastic bags. I've got to think that each of these people spent more than the average couple of seconds looking at a typical magazine ad to execute this program.
And thanks to Target's support we may have created the most eco-friendly magazine advertisement in history to launch what may just be one of the most eco-friendly bags in history. Not to mention that so far we've upcycled millions of used Target plasic bags.
Now I've got a question for you: What other ways could we create a magazine advertisement through which you upcycled the magazine? Seriously, please post your ideas.
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well this idea is not a magazine cover, but I do think it's a valid idea. Create a simple threaded coupler that will convert plastic 2 liter soda bottles into solar stills.
You could do the same thing, for books, electronics etc. Anything that has some sort of resale value and use the processed to fund some sort of green issues
1. Color the cover with a bright orange reflective ink on one side, printed with the words, "Call 911." Add a strip that peels back to stick the edges together. People could carry it in their cars to act as a safety alert to stick to their back inside windshield in case they break down, or on an antenna for high visibility if they get stuck in the snow.
2. Use it again like you did with Target bags, but for a different recyclable each month. One month people would send their batteries into a battery manufacturer, another month printer cartridges to to, etc. For added incentive, have them include their cell phone numbers on the bag for a retail coupon that would be text-messaged for them to show at check out for a discount on new (better yet, rechargeable) batteries or recyclable of the month--no paper coupons to end up in land fills.
How about discouraging the use altogether? When the recycling programs started, it was not about "recycle". It was about three: reduce, reuse, recycle. "Recycle" is at the end because it is the least desirable option. Recycling wastes energy and wastes materials, and most of the time no one wants to buy recycles products.
If you really want to make a change, tell people to reduce their consumption which will make the biggest change. However, I have a feeling your clients won't like it when their ad tells customers not to buy their products. That's the problem with corporate interests and the environment -- all they do are token gestures to make themselves look good in the press.
Actually, if you really want to make a change in the world, there are bigger issues to fight than plastic bags. Litter seems to be the biggest complaint against bags, but the bags aren't littering themselves. Using too much oil is also quoted, but plastic (all plastic) is made from the waste of refining oil for fuel, and only about 4 percent of the oil goes into plastic. Only a fraction of that goes into bags. The other complaint is how bags are filling the landfills. Not true...only about 1 percent. About half the stuff in landfills is paper products.
Bag bans and taxes are sweeping the world, but they don't really do anything. Ireland's tax resulted in less checkout bag use, but sales of packaged bags went up 400 percent, resulting in an overall increased use of plastic bags. A recent study also showed that San Francisco's much touted ban has done nothing to affect their litter problem.
Want to stop littering? Stop litterers. Want to conserve oil? Promote fuel efficient cars. Want to keep landfills from filling up? Recycle. Fighting against plastic bags accomplishes nothing.
What a great idea for a magazine cover.
Ken - Turning those plastic bags into an attractive reusable cover is a much better option than having them pollute the environment. They already exist so why not have them do something useful?
Hey guys, if you all really, really want to make a difference in this world of obsessive consumptionists just don't have kids!
Wow, this is great that Target is moving in this direction....maybe instead of compacting and destroying all their display furniture and letting it further advance the growth of landfill sites, they could donate to charities and non-profit organizations???? I know this because I recently called Target looking for a donation for a Group Home (non-profit) and was told that it is company policy to destroy ALL display furniture.
I'm thinking that you should keep the idea of the envelope. This time, have folks send back the entire magazine (or any other magazine they choose) at the end of it's useful life. Then, have Target re-use these magazines somewhere in their business cycles. I imagine they could use the shredded magazines in their distribution & shipping process. Or, the magazines could be crudely recycled into gift wrap.
As far as I know, the magazines can't be upcycled into stuffing for their furniture, can they? If so, that might be an interesting option...
While this is an admirable and creative effort by Target, I agree with Brian's comment on the three R's. Reduce, reuse and THEN recycle.
There's a funny green video on ChicoBags (tiny resusable bags that fit into your purse or clip to a belt loop) featuring Eco Elvis singing "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle." Worth a laugh.
I thought this was a great idea . I subscribe to Newsweek and had just shopped at Target. I mailed my envelope mid-April. It is now the end of July and I have yet to get my free bag coupon. I also no longer see the bags in my local stores. Is this great idea a bust?
I would like a follow up on Roben's question.
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