Coles weren’t necessarily forthcoming with the reasoning for it’s recent decision to continue handing out reusable plastic bags free of charge at checkouts, according to a report by Fairfax.

A leaked internal memo, obtained by Fairfax, said the decision was made to help customers move through checkouts faster in order to facilitate better adoption of its Little Shop toy promotion.

“As you know, teams have been working hard to bring Little Shop to life for our customers and we’ve had a great response across the country,” the leaked memo says.

“To help make life easier for our team and customers during this busy time, we have made the decision to extend the complimentary 15c Better Bag offer until further notice.

“This means you can focus 100 per cent on serving customers quickly through the registers. It also gives our customers additional time to form the habit of remembering to bring their own reusable bags.”

Both the Little Shop toy giveaway, and the decision to hand out reusable plastic bags at no charge, have been criticised by environmentalist groups, industry experts and customers.

Clean Up Australia managing director Terrie-Ann Johnson said the toy giveaway sent mixed messaging about the supermarket’s commitment to reducing plastic.

“They’ve worked hard on that messaging and now to come out with something like this – it’s just so inconsistent, and it’s fairly questionable as to why,” she told AAP.

Coles has been approached for comment but didn’t respond in time for publication.

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