UK grocery retailer Sainsbury’s plans to roll out “eco-friendly” milk bags and jugs across its range to help reduce its carbon footprint.
It is launching whole milk bags today, while skimmed and 1% fat milk bags will launch in June 2011.
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The move follows the successful trial of its 2% fat milk bags, with the supermarket saying customers bought twice as many as it originally predicted.
Sainsbury’s and supplier Diary Crest have invested over GBP2.2 million (US$3.46m) in a new processing plant at its site in Gloucestershire.
The company said customers switching to bags could save up to 1.4m kg of packaging each year. It added that the bags cost 6p less as they use 75% less packaging and are cheaper to produce.
Sainsbury’s senior dairy buyer Emma Metcalf King said: “Milk bags in all fat varieties are already a regular choice for 60% of consumers in Canada, Poland, South Africa and China and we believe they will be just as popular in the UK.”
The move comes despite rival Waitrose withdrawing a similar product earlier this year due to poor sales.
