(SGI+) Surfdome, a surf, snow and skate online retailer from the U.K., has teamed up with Patagonia to develop a solution for the poly bag problem. 80 billion items of clothing are sold every year, and most of these items are, at some stage, wrapped in a poly bag. These bags can’t be recycled curbside, which generally means they don’t get recycled at all. According to Surfdome’s Internet blog, 72 percent of the world’s plastic still winds up either in landfill or escaping into ecosystems. For poly bags, that figure may be even as high as 90 percent. That’s why the retailer decided to start a trial initiative called “Plastic Cutback.” When you buy a Patagonia product on Surfdome between now and June 16, you’ll automatically take part. The boardsports retailer began rethinking poly bags with its “Zero Plastic Pollution Strategy,” initiated in 2015. Since 2019, Surfdome’s own outbound packaging is 99.81 percent plastic-free and 99.44 percent is made up of recycled natural fibers. But the merchandise is still wrapped in plastic, because that’s how it’s delivered. Patagonia distributes its products in 100 percent recycled poly bags, and now Surfdome will remove those bags right before shipping and bulk recycle them itself. The retailer notes on the website that this may not be the perfect, final solution but their solution – and maybe it can inspire others to take action as well. In time, Surfdome hopes to extend the initiative to the 800 odd brands stocked by Internet Fusion Group, to which the retailer belongs.

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