Grow NYC /Greenmarket
Project: Reusable Bag and The Plastic Cleanse
Client:
Grow NYC /Greenmarket
Founded in 1976 by New York nonprofit Grow NYC, Greenmarket has a two-fold mission: to promote regional farms and locally grown products and to ensure that all New Yorkers can access the freshest food the region has to offer. Greenmarket is New York’s most celebrated Farmer’s Market, with 50 locations across the boroughs.
The challenge:
Greenmarket locations are committed to sustainability and environmental responsibility. However, they struggled with the rampant use of plastic bags. Growers were giving away thousands of single use plastic bags each market day. GrowNYC wanted a solution but knew that the solutions that could work for a retail supermarket or chain store could not be the answer at a Farmer’s Market.
What we did:
After studying shoppers’ needs, Singer Sustainability came up with a bag menu that included reusable produce bags, a bread and grain bag and a canvas market tote. The bags were sold directly to Greenmarket’s eco-conscious shopper community, enabling them to stop taking home plastic bags from the market.
In addition to interacting with Growers and spreading awareness, Singer Sustainability created a social media campaign, The Plastic Cleanse, to discourage the use of plastic bags and encourage shoppers to bring their own reusable bags. The campaign created a buzz in the active social media community of Greenmarket loyalists. Singer Sustainability supported social media with onsite bag sales and creative messaging.
Result:
Singer Sustainability helped Greenmarkets to reduce single use plastic and paper bags across numerous locations and continues to partner with Grow NYC for a plastic-free revolution.
What’s next:
Moving into 2020, Grow NYC’s more than 50 markets needed an experienced team to help them understand and adapt to the NYState Plastic Bag Bill, banning plastic bags. Singer Sustainability and ECOBAGS, both reusable bag suppliers to the markets, formed a strategic alliance to create a turn-key program for Grow NYC’s Green Market. With over 224 regional farmers and food producers and 250,000 customers frequenting the markets every week in peak season, a well thought through solution was needed.
The program, rolling out early 2020, will focus not only on the functionality, branding and aesthetics of the bags, but social media marketing, messaging at the markets, and ease of use for producers and members — delivering solutions for streamlined ordering, stocking and merchandising.
