Stores in The Warehouse may have switched from plastic bags to re-useable bags at check-out but one thing remains the same – money raised from the sale of bags goes to back to the community.

The Warehouse led the way in committing to reduce the use of plastic bags in 2009, introducing a 10-cent charge for bags and donating funds raised by this charge to charity.

This initiative both significantly reduced the use of plastic bags at check-out, as well as raising many hundreds of thousands of dollars for charities and community groups throughout the country.

Last year, The Warehouse Group committed to phasing out plastic bags completely, supporting the government’s national ban on single use plastic bags, and on April 15^th 2019 moved to re-useable bags at check-out.

What hasn’t changed is that proceeds from the sale of bags goes to charities and community groups supported by the company.

The proceeds from the $1 cost of a re-useable bag goes to either The Warehouse’s national charity partners or into a donations fund for community groups.

The Group’s Chief Sustainability Officer David Benattar says it was important in its move to re-useable bags that the company continue to support its community partners.

“Obviously getting rid of around 21 million plastic bags a year is a good thing, but we didn’t want community support to fall away, given the significant amounts that our customers have given every year via our bag charge,” he said.

“This way we can help customers do what’s right for the environment knowing this support to vital community partners will remain,” he said.