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Qatar today f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 178

G r E E N S C E N E

bag that

degradable bag

In a few months, only the bag wIll be extInct readthe colourful eye-catchIng bags from the onestores. the store has now Introduced Its new de-gradable plastIc bags to paInt Its servIces green.

b y C a s s e y O l i v e i r a

or many, a shopping bag is just another use

and discard plastic accessory that holds

your purchases together, every time you go

shopping. But or THE One, the same can

prove to be a great tool in carving a green

niche.

At par with its mission to become more

environmentally responsible, the store has

now introduced 100% degradable plastic

bags to its customers. Thomas Lundgren,

CEO (Creative Emotional Originator) o

THE One speaks more about the initiative

to Qatar Today.

How can bags make a diference?

Ater months o research we believed that

100% degradable plastic bags are the best

answer to help keep the planet green. I cus-

tomers invest in our eco-chic FEED bags

(made o jute and organic cotton) they will

not only help save the planet, but also help

in ending child hunger. Thats the dierence

shopping bags can make! says Lundgren.

Ater an initial trial at THE Ones Jumei-

rah Theatre, these bags were ocially

launched in all UAE stores in March 2010.

Soon the concept crossed over other mar-

kets Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar

(in both its Landmark and Villaggio Mall

Theatres).

The mechanism behind this trendy de-gradable bag lies in an additive known as

d2w, which is included at the time o manu-

acture, and causes the bags to start disinte-

grating six months ater production, even-

tually vanishing into thin air ultimately

leaving H2O (water), CO2 (carbon-di-ox-

ide) and biomass in negligible quantities.

Customers reactions

When the home ashion brand decided to

discontinue their regular plastic bags as

well as their distinctive red paper bags, toF

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switch over to degradable bags, they aced

some resistance rom the customers. Lun-

dgren eels people still consider paper bags

more eco-riendly than other bags.

Dismissing this misconception, he ex-

plains, Not only does paper cost the world

trees, but making a paper bag uses our

times more energy and causes fve timesmore water pollution vs. a plastic bag. It

also takes seven times the number o trucks

to deliver the same number o paper bags

vs. plastic bags, causing seven times more

air pollution and road congestion.

Lundgren also believes that putting a

price on the bags is necessary to give them a

value. Anything you get or ree has no val-

ue. We hope that charging QR1 or a medium

bag and QR2 or a large bag will encourage

our customers to buy as ew as possible and

reuse them until they disintegrate. Ater all,

what is the price o a plastic-ree planet?

Green alternatives

THE One oers its shoppers two other

alternatives you can either reuse their

boxes by taking home your purchases in

them, ree o charge, or invest in one o their

eco-chic abric bags. Funds raised rom thesale o FEED Bags go towards helping end

child hunger through the United Nations

School Feeding Programme. Our latest ar-

rival is the FEED 2 Kenya Bag, which has

been handcrated by women and hearing

impaired Kenyans. Every purchase will

not only support these artisans but will

also eed two Kenyan children or one year,

thanks to a $100(QR364) donation to the

United Nations World Food Programmes

School Feeding operations in Kenya, says

Lundgren.

While we still have a long way to go in

limiting our companys environmental im-

pact, we encourage green initiatives and

thereore provide our customers with vari-

ous eco-riendly alternatives, rom bedding,

towelling, cookware and wood products to

recycled glass, iron and tyre ranges in addi-

tion to soy wax candles.The brand has also started its Good Wood

urniture range. Made rom Verifcation o

Legal Origin certifed wood, this collection

eatures a host o dining and coee tables,

entertainment units, sideboards, mirrors

and chests o drawers that have all been

created using wood rom managed orests

or plantations and not rom illegal logging.

THE One has continued with its commit-

ments towards green initiatives, and with

the introduction o degradable bags, it has

added another eather to its green cap

bag it!

A shopper using A

degrAdAble bAg

turning green

with shopping...

The new 100% degrAdAble

bAg by The one

More about the degradable concept

during The mAnufAcTuring process, The d2w AddiTive

is included in The bAsic polymer resin. d2w breAks The

moleculAr chAins so ThAT AT The end of iTs predeTer-

mined service life The plAsTic sTArTs degrAding in The

presence of oxygen by A process of oxidATion, which is

AccelerATed by lighT, heAT And sTress, buT noT depen-

dAnT on iT. finAlly, The degrAdATion process is biologi-

cAlly concluded by micro-orgAnisms.

d2w plAsTic does noT need A biologicAlly AcTive

environmenT To sTArT degrAding This will hAppen

even if The plAsTic is lefT in The open Air! for This

reAson Among mAny, d2w conTrolled-life plAsTic is

superior To composT-Able which requires The plAsTic

To be in A biologicAlly AcTive environmenT before The

degrAdATion process cAn proceed.