Northern/NorthMart customers get Greener for Tomorrow and reap the rewards

Winnipeg, MB, April 22, 2019 – Northern and NorthMart’s northern customers who gave up plastic bags are going to see $379,000 come back to their communities through the Greener Tomorrow program.

The program helps reduce communities’ use of plastic bags by encouraging the use of reusable bags. It started when Northern and Northmart gave every household two reusable shopping bags and implemented a fee for plastic bags at the till. The plastic bag fees collected each year go back to the communities that “participate in the program”, says Alex Yeo, President of Canadian Retail at The North West Company.

“The Greener Tomorrow success relies on the willingness and commitment of the people, to work to improve their community,” says Yeo. “We’re pleased to see acceptance and growth of the program in communities. Going back eight years now starting with Nunavut and Nunavik in northern Quebec and is now in northern Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan.”

The plastic bag fee is collected all year and then distributed in full to a community-led initiative, chosen by the community leadership, beginning on Earth Day, April 22^nd every year. All funds collected stay in the community in which they were raised.

This year, $379,000 will return to the communities, to support recycling programs, community clean-up, maintenance of parks, breakfast programs, on the land programs, environmental education, sports and wellness, solar energy, and greenhouse and seeds programs. In addition, 16 communities are completely plastic bag-free thanks to the support of community leaders who have decided to eliminate plastic bags.

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About The North West Company

The North West Company (NWC) is a retailer serving rural communities and urban neighbourhoods in Canada, Alaska, the South Pacific and Caribbean. We are committed to helping our customers live better by bringing them the best products and services together with a tradition of community support. North West’s Northern and NorthMart stores are the largest local private employer of Indigenous people in Canada, with close to 3,000 employees and an annual payroll exceeding $65 million.

For more information contact:

Derek Reimer
Director, Business Development
934.1469 | E: dreimer@northwest.ca

NT4