Nearly 460,000 People Sign Petition Telling Target to Ditch Plastic Bags

Plastic bags, which are infuriatingly antiquated at this point, are now potentially on the petition-boosted chopping block at Target.

“The response to it has been pretty amazing. I think people just really care about this issue,” Minneapolis resident and frequent Target customer Theresa Carter told MPR News. Carter joined other concerned Target customers on Thursday to present the company with the petition, which was published to Change.org by the Customers Who Care group.

At the time of this writing, the petition had landed around 460,000 signatures. “For those of us who also shop at Costco or IKEA, we know we can survive without plastic bags,” the petition states. The Customers Who Care group also points out the success of tax-based initiatives aimed at ditching plastics and decreasing the use of single-use bags, including efforts put forth in Ireland and Australia, as well stateside pushes like those in Los Angeles County. 

Meanwhile, Target said in a statement to MPR that the plastic bags currently found in its stores are made from 40-percent recycled content. A company rep also pointed to the presence of recycling kiosks at locations around the country. The company’s full statement can be read below.

At Target, we’re committed to putting solutions in place that leave the planet better for future families to enjoy. We have many initiatives in place to help reduce our use of plastic, including sustainable packaging goals, plastic bags that are now made with 40 percent recycled content, a 25-year commitment to recycling plastic garment hangers and Target’s work as a global signatory of the New Plastics Economy. Since 2010, we’ve also offered recycling kiosks at the front of our stores, including ones for plastic bags. In addition to established efforts, Target teams across the business are working to eliminate, reduce and find alternatives for plastics in our products, packaging and operations.

In short, fuck plastic bags. Do better.