iBFL - Demonstrating the market feasibility of a digital Intelligent Bag For Life

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A Bag for Life (BFL), is a shopping bag which can be reused several times. An alternative ofsingle-use paper or plastic carrier bags, it is often made from Jute, Cotton, Juco or Hessian. Ifethically produced, BFL presented a significant opportunity for positive impact on the planet.However, of the 380billion retail plastic bags used per year in the USA, just 2.5% (9.7billion)have been replaced by a BFL– arguably because they were not fit for purpose. The BFLsimply duplicated the load carrying function of a plastic bag, and relied on social moraldrivers to bring about global environmental change. But BFL did not offer users additionalfunctionality or ‘wow’ factors, and failed to seize the opportunity to address ergonomic andassociated long term health issues that result from carrying unbalanced shopping bags (plasticor otherwise) with extended arms. As a result the BFL has become a disposable product witha limited lifespan. This project seeks to demonstrate the market feasibility of a digitalIntelligent BFL (iBFL) that addresses known limitations and creates a market pull - led by thedigital generations of today and tomorrow.BFL have several limitations. Medical Mycologists report BFL lead to food poisoning, andincreased risk of food borne illness (up to 50% contain coliform, and 12% E. coli) becauseBFL cannot be easily washed. Further, Ergonomists and Physiotherapists warn that their usecan injure the neck, back, and shoulders, because they distort the natural curve of the spine(leading to more serious injuries such as herniated discs, accelerated degeneration of thecervical spine, and less commonly, traction injury of the brachial plexus (causing numbnessover the shoulder and arm). Treatment for these injuries costs approx 0.2% of Gross DomesticProduct (GDP) in the EU. Functionally, consumers complain that BFL offer just one storagecompartment, forcing fragile, fresh and heavy items, in addition to hot and frozen products, toreside together.