Goodbye to free plastic bags in Flügger-owned stores

When our customers visit us prior to a painting project, brushes, paint rollers, paint tape etc. are often part of the purchase. Unlike the paint buckets, which have a practical handle, these small parts usually end up in plastic bags, which we provide free of charge to customers. All in all, it amounts to 1.7 million bags in just a year from the stores.

But from today it is time for a change in our own stores. The plastic bags will still be located under the counter, but if the customers want a bag, they will have to purchase it for 2.50 Danish kroner.

"Every year we hand out 1.7 million free plastic bags, which corresponds to more than 37 tons of plastic," says Jimmi Mortensen, and elaborates that getting a bag may actually have more to do with habits than necessity: "Often our store employees help the customers in getting their purchased goods into their cars, and sometimes it is just two or three smaller parts that can be stacked on top of the bucket, and then the plastic bag is not necessary.

10-20 tons less plastic annually

The purpose of the initiative is to reduce the consumption of plastic and to get our customers to actively consider whether they need a plastic bag or not. The hope is that with the initiative, we can reduce the consumption of bags by 50%, but of course it depends on customer behavior:

"It takes time to change habits, but small actions can make a big difference. If by this initiative we can help reduce the use of plastic by 10-20 tons, it is definitely worth it, and I hope everyone will support the initiative, ”says Jimmi Mortensen.

Flügger has decided to donate the surplus from the sale of bags to charity. In addition to this, we are investigating whether the current Flügger bag can be replaced by a more sustainable version.