Dick’s Sporting Goods announced a commitment to remove all single-use point-of-sale plastic bags from its stores by 2025 and a partnership with Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy.
The retailer said in a statement:
“It’s estimated that the U.S. alone uses 100 billion plastic bags per year, and less than 10 percent of these are recycled. Single-use plastic bags are typically made from fossil fuel-derived virgin plastic and are among the Top 10 items found on beaches and waterways worldwide where athletes play and explore. Dick’s has been working to reduce its environmental footprint with a recycling rate of 70 percent for its retail stores and operations. As the next step in this journey, the [company] is putting a focus on eliminating single-use retail plastic bags.
“As a first step to meet this goal, Dick’s has joined the Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag as the lead Sports & Outdoors sector partner and will work alongside founding partners CVS Health, Target and Walmart, as well as Kroger and Walgreens. Dick’s is partnering with Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy, Managing Partner of the Consortium, in its quest for more sustainable solutions to replace the current retail bag through the Beyond the Bag Initiative. Closed Loop Partners launched the initiative earlier this year to identify, test and implement viable design solutions and models that more sustainably serve the purpose of the current retail bag.”
“Our customers are outdoor enthusiasts who are passionate about working together to keep our planet clean and safe for future generations,” said Peter Land, chief communications and sustainability officer at Dick’s Sporting Goods. “Like our customers, we’re committed to doing what we can to prevent waste from ending up in our oceans and natural environment, and we look forward to working on the Beyond the Bag Initiative.”
The Consortium recently launched the “Beyond the Bag Challenge” in partnership with IDEO, which is currently accepting ideas to re-invent the plastic retail bag. As the Consortium’s Sports & Outdoors Sector lead partner, Dick’s will direct priorities and activities for the challenge.
“We want to realize a future in which waste is a thing of the past. Dick’s commitment to creating a more sustainable world for its customers makes them a perfect partner of the Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag,” said Kate Daly, managing director of the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners.
Photo courtesy IDEO
