Uniqlo is set to roll out eco-friendly paper bags to all of its Australian stores in the coming weeks.
In line with the new Victorian plastic bag ban legislation and its commitment to sustainability, the brand will equip all 21 Australian stores with paper bags through a phased program.
Each bag will retail for $0.15, to encourage consumers to use their own bags.
Uniqlo Australia COO Kensuke Suwa said that the switch to paper bags is just the beginning.
"Sustainability has increasingly become a priority on the global agenda and as a leading retailer, it has been crucial for Uniqlo to look at how we can address this key issue, whether from a clothing design perspective, or current in-store practices.
"Introducing the paper bags nationally is one of the steps we are taking in our move to become more environmentally friendly, and is well-timed to coincide with the Victorian Government’s single-use plastic shopping bags ban which comes into play this November.
"We definitely recognise that Uniqlo has a role to play and the team is consistently exploring new sustainability initiatives to roll out in this market," he said.
Aside from the paper bags, Uniqlo will also offer bags made from recycled PET plastic bottles for $2.90.
The introduction of paper bags helps Uniqlo's parent company Fast Retailing reach its wider, global mission of eliminating plastics in its suuply chain as well as reducing the use of single-use plastic passed to customers in store.
Its goal is reduce the single-use plastics by 85% by the end of 2020. Currently its plastic shopping bags and product packaging amounts to approximately 7,800 tonnes annually.