During the “Saturday for Future” initiative, Coop's campaign to promote reusable bags received the most votes. And the fight against plastic will continue in the years ahead.
What do we value most when we walk into a supermarket? For our shopping to be sustainable, we ask above all to limit the use of plastic, then we are careful to avoid foods containing pesticides, we look for products that respect the people who grow them or the animals they come from, and then foods with transparent origins that are good for us. This is what emerged from the Coop day dedicated to the Saturday for Future initiative, promoted by ASvis, the Alleanza Italiana per lo Sviluppo Sostenibile, and inspired by the Fridays for Future movement of Greta Thunberg.
During the event, which took place on Saturday 28 September at 7 Coop stores across Italy, supermarket visitors were asked to vote on a board — choosing, from among the most significant commitments pursued by Coop over the years, the one closest to their hearts. The campaign that received the most appreciation was the 1980 one for the fight against plastic, "Sacchetti usati? Qui grazie", which gathered 310 votes in total. 271 people voted for "Fermiamo l'abuso di pesticidi" from 1993, and 262 for "Buoni e giusti" from 2016, concerning the ethics of at-risk fruit and vegetable supply chains. "Alleviamo la salute", the 2017 campaign to improve conditions for animals in farms, received 256 votes, while 184 people voted for "Origini trasparenti" from 2013 and 124 for "Alimenta il tuo benessere" from 2007, aimed at living better and preventing the risks of obesity and disease through nutrition. Participants in the initiative explained their reasons for voting in the video you can watch and share below.
To limit the damage caused by plastic — a topic towards which consumers have shown a certain sensitivity — Coop has committed to using, by 2025, 6,400 tonnes per year of recycled plastic in place of virgin plastic, a target that will be reached on the Vivi Verde product line as early as 2019.
This action will be accompanied by the increasingly widespread use of recyclable and compostable materials for Coop-branded products, which by 2022 will be entirely sustainable.