According to reports from Japan’s NHK News Network and Yomiuri Shimbun, First Retailing Group, which owns Uniqlo and other brands, announced a plastic reduction plan on July 3, 2019, and will expand its operations in 12 countries including Japan. A total of 3,500 stores in China and the region will gradually replace plastic bags with recycled paper bags starting from September 2019, and the use of plastic bags is expected to be eliminated by 2020. This move will reduce the use of plastic packaging by 85% compared with the current level, which can be approximately Reduce usage by 7,800 metric tons.
First Retailing Group’s companies use 500 million packaging bags every year, of which nearly 400 million are plastic bags. The group has used paper bags for areas with strict environmental requirements such as Europe. However, plastic bags are still used in other areas. Uniqlo and GU in overseas countries such as Europe, the United States and South Korea will implement a plastic bag charging system from September 2019. In addition, in order to encourage consumers to bring their own reusable bags, Uniqlo and GU in Japan are scheduled to implement a plastic bag charging system on January 14, 2020. There is a minimum fee of 10 yen per paper bag (excluding tax).
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