Huge changes coming to Woolworths after supermarket giant copped huge customer backlash over bags shipped in from China
- Woolworths have announced a multi-million dollar partnership with Detpak
- The Australian owned, Detpak will now produce paper bags for Woolworths
- Last year Woolworths faced customer backlash as they were produced overseas
- The supermarket chain released a statement saying that it would create 25 jobs
Woolworths supermarkets will now be manufacturing their paper bags in Australia after customer backlash over its Chinese-made carriers.
The major supermarket chain made the announcement on Monday that it had entered into a multi-million dollar partnership with family-owned Australian manufacturer, Detpak.
Its current paper bags came under fire in June last year because they were originally manufactured in China and Vietnam.
There was customer backlash over the paper bags being manufactured overseas in June last year
Despite the customer backlash, Woolworths have said that the long term plan was always to manufacture the paper bags in Australia.
A spokesperson for Woolworths told Daily Mail Australia that the company had, ‘been in conversations with Detpak since early last year.’
They also said that Woolworths had been using paper bags from China and Vietnam because Detpak were so far unable to meet the demand.
‘The local production capacity didn’t exist at the time, but we had always planned to manufacture the bags in Australia,’ the spokesperson said.
Woolworths released a statement that said the partnership represented its significant efforts to grow Australia’s local production, claiming it creating 25 new jobs.
Despite the customer backlash Woolworths said they had always planned on manufacturing the bags here in Australia
‘The move represents a significant investment in local manufacturing, which will create around 25 new Australian jobs and contribute to broader efforts to grow Australia’s local production capacity,’ the statement read.
The Australian made bags will now be offered in over 400 stores in Victoria, Western Australia and Tasmania, with the Detpak bags to be rolled out in all stores nationwide by the end of the year.
The paper bags are now one of four different types of bags available for purchase since Woolworths phased out single use plastic bags in 2018.
Detpak’s Australian made paper bags will be made from 70 per cent recycled paper with all paper used in the bag sourced responsibly and certified by PEFC.
They will be sold for 20 cents.
The Australian-made paper bags are one of four purchasable bags and will be sold for 20 cents