Japan consumes 300 billion bags each year.
The Green Purchasing Network (GPN), made up of 2,800 members that include bodies such as corporations and environmental groups did a "Green Purchasing Action" campaign in October 2007.
The aim of the campaign was to make all five million employees of GPN go without plastic bags for a month. Two million people participated in the event.
Promotion
The project reported that people during the month rejected plastic bags on average eight out of 10 times when asked.
A major supermarket chain, Seiyu Ltd., did a promotion in July 2007 to bring awareness about their new eco-bag, created from recycled plastic bottles.
They partnered with Coca Cola and sold the two products together as a set.
Seiyu Ltd. launched another promotion to encourage customers to bring their own bags by refunding the people who did.
