Anger among shoppers as Safeway loses paper bag handles amid tariffs, supply chain issues
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Some Bay Area shoppers are frustrated after Safeway removed handles from its paper grocery bags, citing a supply chain problem.
The grocery chain said it is unable to offer paper bags with handles due to a global shortage affecting multiple retailers. Many customers say the new bags are weaker and tear more easily.
"Cheap bag just ripped right there!" one shopper said while loading groceries into his SUV.
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"I think it's terrible," said Tyler Simpson, a shopper at Safeway who noticed the change immediately. "As soon as I noticed they didn't have handles I was like, 'Wow, what's up with that? What's going on?'"
Another shopper questioned how to carry the bags without handles. "I don't like it, it's inconvenient. I cannot carry -- I need two hands to carry," she said.
Safeway, owned by Albertsons, is the largest grocery store chain in California. It issued a statement saying, "Due to supplier issues, including a global shortage of paper bags with handles that is affecting numerous retailers, we are currently able to offer paper bags without handles only."
Nick Vyas, executive director at the University of Southern California, said the shortage stems from several factors, including tariffs on Canadian lumber, Indonesia revoking lumber permits, and California's ban on plastic bags that took effect earlier this year.
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"When we make this environmentally-conscious decision, which is a right thing to do, but we don't think through it in a sort of a long way, to say, 'Let's make sure that we have processes and alternate solutions in place,'" Vyas said.
Safeway said it is working to resolve the issue, but did not provide a timeline for when handled paper bags might return.
