How it started

Let’s hear it from our founder, Udaya.

“A Greenpeace study revealed that one major supermarket in the United Kingdom observed a tenfold increase in Bag for Life sales from 2018 to 2019, from 3.5 million to 34 million. For the next few weeks, I began researching online available data to better understand the current situation in the Netherlands regarding reusable and disposable shopping bags. Although there was not much concrete shopping bag sales data available, the research did produce estimated numbers. The lack of available information is an effect of people believing that the ban on free single-use plastic has solved the problem. However, it has not solved the plastic problem because my research and investigation already revealed that supermarkets alone are selling about 200 million plastic reusable bags and about 1 billion free paper bags every year. In fact, reusable bags can contain three to four times as much plastic as the single-use bags version, which would suggest that a lot of plastic waste is generated.”

“Two factors led me to the solution. First, I came across a useful article from Stanford researchers. Furthermore, the National Geographic report explicitly indicated that reusing the same bag several times is the only way to lessen the negative impact on the environment. Secondly, when it comes to purchasing a new shopping bag, the first thing that comes to mind is what I will do with the existing collection of 10-15 bags that are being unused and sitting at home.”