Starbucks Korea to charge for paper and reusable bags

Starbucks Korea announced Monday it will charge 100 won for paper shopping bags and 500 won for reusable bags starting Feb. 20. [STARBUCKS KOREA]

Starting from Feb. 20, Starbucks Korea will charge 100 won ($0.07) for paper shopping bags and 500 won for reusable bags to reduce the environmental impact.

They have been offered free of charge up until now.

Customers can make the purchase when placing an order, while separate purchases for the bags or requests for exchanges or refunds will be restricted.

The move is part of Starbucks' proactive initiative to curb the annual escalating consumption of paper bags and reusable cups. The company said Monday that it aims to achieve a 50 percent reduction in the use of paper and reusable bags this year.

"This reduction equates to approximately 320 tons, saving an estimated 13.43 million liters of water and mitigating carbon dioxide emissions by 526 tons," Starbucks Korea said.

The company added that a portion of the proceeds from the sale of these items will go to an environmental fund and contribute to local communities.

This follows its previous efforts to promote green practices, including offering reusable cups for customers eating in-store and introducing paper straws and strawless lids. Starbucks Korea increased the discount for personal cup usage benefits from 300 to 400 won starting from January 2022, resulting in a 16.2 percent increase in personal cup use last year, reaching a record-high of 29.4 million uses.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]