Protecting the Environment

Independent tobacco dealer NewCo recently started to dispatch its leaf samples in biodegradable, pesticide-free cotton bags, rather than in traditional plastic bags.

Rainer Busch, the company’s principal, said that the move away from plastic is part of NewCo’s growing effort to provide for a sustainable future.

The printed, cotton bags are considerably more expensive than are plastic bags, though, as Busch points out, their extra cost is irrelevant when set against the cost of sample consignments and, especially, against the positive contribution the bags will make to the protection of the environment.

The first batch of 2,000 cotton bags, comprising 1,000 bags in each of two sizes, were received earlier this week at NewCo’s offices in Friedberg, Germany. They will be used for the dispatch of all samples unless a client insists on the use of plastic bags, something Busch believes is unlikely.

In another change, NewCo will dispatch scraps and DIET tobaccos in carton boxes rather than in hard plastic boxes or plastic bags.

With about 1,000-1,500 sample bags expected to be dispatched by NewCo during the next 12 months, the positive impact on the environment will not be huge, but, as Busch says: “Each of us can do something to help—we can stop using plastic bottles, use bicycles and public transport, and buy food fresh from the city market instead of at the supermarket”.

The new bags will be on display at NewCo’s stand at the TABEXPO exhibition due to be held at the RAI Exhibition and Convention Centre, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on Nov. 12-14.