‘Eliminating 37m plastic bags in a year’: Lotus Trolley Bag eyes Australian market after US success
“With the average American family using almost 1500 plastic bags a year, we are proud to say that we have helped eliminate over 37,000,000 plastic bags in the last year,” said Lotus Trolley Bag co-founder Farzan Dehmoubed to FoodNavigator-Asia.
“[Lotus Trolley Bag] is not just another environmentally friendly shopping bag, […] but an altogether new bagging system that can transform shopping carts [to] save time, steps and energy,” he added.
The bag features a deep insulation bag, specialised egg pocket, wine sleeves and strong mesh bottoms to prevent spills from pooling and/or collecting mold. Each bag can hold over 27kilogrammes, and can be rolled up for storage.
Australia has rolled out multiple initiatives in hopes of tackling its plastic waste, from plastic bag bans, to the creation of a special Australasian Recycling Label to guide Australians on recycling initiatives.
Lotus Trolley Bag could well provide another alternative. It entered the Australian market via its Kickstarter launch just this month, launching version 3.0 of its symbolic bag.
“We have had requests from over 14 different countries,” said Dehmoubed. “In the next year or two we plan to expand into Europe, Mexico, Canada, Japan and possibly Peru.”
“With so much positive bag legislation around the world we hope the demand for such sustainable products increase.”
Social media and positive word of mouth are the main media by which the company intends to expand its market in these regions, though Dehmoubed admits that conquering new markets is a tough undertaking.
“In new markets it is more challenging at first to establish a brand and concept,” he said.
“We have luckily had a lot of success advertising our video online and gaining support. Facebook has played a big role and we expect will continue to play a large role in our expansion.”
In line with trends
“I think we are at the start of a very popular trend as people become more aware of the detrimental effects of plastic waste,” added Dehmoubed.
“It’s amazing to see legislation changing in so many cities and countries and we want to be on the forefront of that with convenient and eco-friendly options for customers.”
Lotus Trolley Bag is the brainchild of Dehmoubed and his wife Jen, who hope to make a real difference.
“Our business was born out of pure frustration,” said Dehmoubed. “Americans use 100 billion plastic bags per year. Only 1% of plastic bags are recycled per year, and they are used for an average of 12 minutes.
“By providing a single set of bags with all the features people need, we hope to eliminate the need for additional wasteful bags.”
The Lotus Trolley Bag Kickstarter for Australia is currently available online.
