Bentonville, Ark., Sept. 16, 2008—Sam’s Club Members and shoppers often bring their own bags or reuse boxes from product and packaging to take their groceries and other purchases home. Sam’s Club announced today it will offer a new option – a reusable shopping tote available in all of 594 locations nationwide by Oct. 1, 2008.
Sam’s Club estimates it will be able to remove 1.9 million pounds of cardboard and package waste or more than 3,200 pounds per club, per year, by offering the reusable shopping totes. This translates into approximately 1,800 more recycled material bales per year.
“These new reusable bags will give our members an alternative to using the boxes we provide, and help us reach our goal of zero waste,” said Greg Johnston, executive vice president, Operations, Sam’s Club. “We will continue to offer boxes, but believe we can increase the amount of material we recycle and further ensure we are closing that loop.”
Sam’s Club will offer polypropylene reusable shopping totes at a price of $2.74 for two; each bag is capable of holding more than 50 pounds. Sam’s club estimates the bags will last approximately five years and members can return them to Sam’s Club to be recycled when they are to be replaced.
The reusable tote bags come in black and white and both display the water and leaf icon and tag line “simple steps to saving green.” This symbol also appears on eco-friendly products and displays in Sam’s Club to designate items that take steps to be more environmentally sustainable. For more information about sustainability at Sam’s Club, visit samsclub.com to learn about waste reduction, energy efficiency, water conservation and responsible farming.
About Sam’s Club
Sam’s Club is a division of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT). The first Sam’s Club opened its doors in Midwest City, Okla., in 1983. Today, Sam’s Club serves more than 47 million U.S. Members with locations nationwide and in Brazil, Canada, China, Mexico and Puerto Rico. Sam’s Club offers exceptional values on merchandise and services for business owners and consumers. Online merchandise and Club information is available at samsclub.com.
# # #