Shopping bags

Before the introduction of self-service supermarkets, carrier bags were not available at Sainsbury's.

Paper bags were provided for eggs and other loose items such as sugar and flour were measured into special bags. Customers would either take goods home in their own baskets, or have larger shops delivered to their homes.

When paper carriers were first introduced in the 1950s they cost 4d each, but contemporary photographs show that many customers still brought their own baskets with them. Plastic carrier bags were available from 1978..

Over the years carrier bag designs have reflected Sainsbury's changing brand identity and slogans.

In 1989 recycled plastic carrier bags were introduced and Sainsbury's won several environmental awards. In 1991, the company launched its 'Penny Back' scheme which gave customers a penny back every time they used an old bag.

When the first environment report was produced in 1996, it showed that 80.2 million bags had been reused that year as part of the scheme. 1.5 million pennies were being refunded every week and £3 million had been raised for charity by customers donating their pennies.

Various other permanent shopping bags were introduced during the 1990s including Bags For Life and special wine carriers and cool bags.

In September 2006 new 'green generation' plastic bags were introduced, containing one third recycled material, 10% chalk and 43% less plastic. Recent 'Make the difference days' where free 'Bags for life' are given out have resulted in a considerable fall in the use of disposable carrier bags.