Netto Marken-Discount takes sustainability one step further by introducing recyclable, reusable nets in May 2019, which can be used for fruit and vegetables as well as loose baked goods. The environmentally friendly alternative to the disposable plastic bag will be available from 20 May 2019 in almost all 4,200 Netto stores nationwide.
Germany is the European leader in packaging waste. According to the Federal Environment Agency, a total of 18.2 million tons were produced in 2016 alone. 3.1 million tonnes of these are plastics that pose a particular problem for our ecosystem. Netto is therefore constantly increasing its commitment to sustainability. Netto is one of the first discounters in Germany to introduce an alternative to disposable plastic bags for fruit and vegetables and bake-off-baked goods nationwide.
"A reusable alternative to the plastic bag for fruit and vegetables and baked goods is another important step for more sustainability. The 
reusable nets are only one of many measures that we are pushing forward. For example, we have already introduced packaging from grass paper and natural branding in our fruit and vegetable department," says Christina Stylianou, Head of Net Corporate Communications.
Reduction of packaging waste
Netto takes a broad approach to optimizing and reducing packaging. Since 2015, the topic of packaging has also been one of the key topics of the partnership for sustainability with the nature and environmental protection organization WWF Germany (World Wide Fund For Nature). Together with the WWF, the goal is to completely dispense with packaging, to reduce it, make it more recyclable and increasingly make it from recycled material. This includes -among others- the reduction of disposable carrier bags and other disposable bags.
New, more sustainable ways in the net assortment
Since mid-January, the grocer has been selling apples with packaging made up of 40 percent grass paper. As early as mid-2017, Netto Ginger had introduced its own "BioBio" label with natural branding. In the summer of 2018, organic cucumbers were sold, which are currently sold regionally. with natural branding, the labeling is applied to the peel of the product by laser instead of plastic packaging or a plastic label. With organic ginger alone, more than 43 tons of packaging can be saved per year. In addition, Netto has already converted many articles in its fruit and vegetable assortment to non-foiled, bulk goods.
In addition, Netto is selling selected SB meat products in an innovative FlatSkin packaging instead of a conventional plastic tray: The packaging, which consists of one FSC-certified virgin fiber carton and two very thin film layers, saves up to 60 percent plastic compared to conventional packaging. Since the end of 2018, a large part of Netto's SB poultry meat products have been available in lighter plastic-reduced packaging, saving nearly 13 tonnes of plastic per year.
Focus on plastic bags
Netto also participates in the voluntary commitment to reduce the consumption of plastic bags. Unless people's own shopping containers are used, the grocer offers customers a selection of different shopping containers, which are suitable for the most frequent use and consist mostly of recycled material. In addition, Netto has switched its entire range of plastic carrier bags to Blue Angel products.