Aarong, one of the country's most popular lifestyle brands, will no longer give free shopping bags with purchases. The decision, taken to build eco-friendly habits and reduce single-use packaging, takes effect on 1 September.

Aarong announced it on its Facebook page on Friday (1 August) in a post headed "Bring your own bag".

Aarong said customers will now have to pay a set price for paper bags. As an alternative, reusable cloth bags will be available at all Aarong outlets throughout the year, with a 50 per cent introductory discount until 31 August this year.

The company said money from selling paper bags will be spent on tree-planting projects in local communities, as part of building a green and sustainable Bangladesh.

With the message "Every choice matters. Let's do something good for our planet together," Aarong urged customers to bring their own bags when shopping.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.