On 18 October 2026, Europe will celebrate the 9th European Paper Bag Day. This year, the campaign is built around a slogan that perfectly reflects the changes taking place around us: CARRY THE CHANGE!
In Spain, La Bolsa de Papel has chosen to interpret this message through its own expression: EL CAMBIO QUE SE LLEVA — THE CHANGE WE CARRY. A simple, direct and meaningful idea. Because a paper bag does more than carry our purchases. It also represents a way forward: towards a more circular economy, more sustainable retail and solutions that increasingly reflect what consumers value.
Paper bags are part of everyday life for thousands of retailers and millions of people. They accompany simple yet meaningful moments: shopping at a local store, buying a gift, purchasing food or visiting a specialist retailer. In all these situations, paper bags fulfil a useful purpose while also expressing an approach to consumption and our relationship with the environment.
When we talk about the change we carry, we mean real progress. We mean the development of the circular bioeconomy, based on renewable raw materials, the efficient use of resources and the ability to recover and recycle paper fibres, extending their useful life.
We also mean a retail sector that needs practical, reliable solutions consistent with the expectations of consumers who are increasingly attentive to packaging materials, where they come from and what happens to them after use.
Paper bags also meet a fundamental requirement of everyday retail activity: being useful. They are designed to carry products safely and comfortably, adapting to the needs of a wide variety of sectors. The range of sizes, paper types and handles makes it possible to provide suitable solutions for different shopping needs. And their usefulness can continue when they are reused before entering the recycling system.
But this campaign has an even broader message. It reminds us that change is not driven by a single group. It is carried forward by manufacturers, retailers and consumers alike.
That is why the message on our paper bags is expressed in the first person:
I CARRY THE CHANGE
A change that begins with a renewable resource, becomes a useful product, accompanies our purchases, is reused, recycled… and shared in the pursuit of a better tomorrow for everyone.
European Paper Bag Day is an opportunity to highlight all these contributions. To remind everyone that paper bags continue to evolve. To recognise their value to retailers. And to express, in a positive and collective way, that some changes are not simply announced: they are carried forward.
This 18 October, we celebrate European Paper Bag Day.
We celebrate the change we carry.
