Each year, Target, one of the United States' largest retailers, purchases many MILLIONS of plastic bags to provide to their customers to carry out purchases.  No question:  Target is a great company. Many of us rely on and respect Target, and they're known for generously giving back to communities in which they operate.  Their stores now feature recyling bins for batteries, plastic bags and ink cartridges, which is great, but it's not enough to address the problem.  Now we need Target to do the right thing and take a stand for the environment by no longer providing single-use plastic bags that are so destructive to our planet.  

The impact of plastic bags on the environment is enormous. Consider this:

Each year, approximately 380 BILLION plastic bags are used in the United States---that's more than 1200 bags per US resident per year.

An estimated 12 million barrels of oil are used to manufacturer these bags.  

Thousands of marine animals and more than 1 million birds die each year as a result of plastic pollution. It is estimated there are 46,000 pieces of plastic litter floating in every square mile of ocean. 

Every single piece of plastic ever manufactured is STILL ON THE PLANET.  Did you know there is a "plastic soup patch" floating in the Pacific Ocean that is twice the size of the continental United States?  It is roughly 80% plastic.

Some people say:  "But these bags can be recycled, right?" In theory, yes, but only a miniscule percentage actually ever get recycled, and the vast majority end  up in the landfills where it takes over 1000 years for them to break down.

In many parts of the world, stores no longer provide plastic bags for their customers, who now routinely bring their own bags to carry home their purchases.  In October of 2012, San Francisco passed an ordinance prohibiting ALL retailers from distributing single-use plastic bags to customers.  CHANGE IS POSSIBLE.

We consumers need to change our habits for the sake of the planet, and Target--- as a leading US retailer---needs to step up and do the right thing by no longer providing single-use plastic bags.  By leading the way, Target can be instrumental in changing consumer behavior, and help reduce plastic bags' hugely negative impact on our planet.