Green purchasing action drive

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.