Hundreds of thousands of people are petitioning Target to drop plastic bags from its stores

• Shoppers are asking Target to toss out plastic bags for good.
• A petition for Target to nix plastic bags has gained traction on Change.org, accruing 459,414 signatures as of December 26.
• "Target teams across the business are working to eliminate, reduce and find alternatives for plastics in our products, packaging and operations," a Target spokesperson said in a statement to Business Insider.
• Sign up for Business Insider's retail newsletter, The Drive-Thru.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Hundreds of thousands of shoppers have called on Target to ditch plastic bags, once and for all.

A Change.org petition on the topic has collected 459,420 signatures as of December 26, 2019. The petition was started by Customers Who Care, and is addressed to CEO Brian Cornell and 11 other Target executives. This is the first Change.org petition put out there by the group.

"We understand this won't be convenient to us, but it is time to act," the petition reads. "For those of us who also shop at Costco or IKEA, we know we can survive without plastic bags."

The petition goes on to say that "Target's plastic bags are choking the earth" by adding to the two million singe-use plastic bags "consumed every minute" and left to degrade water and soil.

For its part, Target says that it is pursuing environmentally-conscious solutions.

"At Target, we're committed to putting solutions in place that leave the planet better for future families to enjoy," a Target spokesperson told Business Insider in a statement. "We have many initiatives in place to help reduce our use of plastic, including sustainable packaging goals, plastic bags that are now made with 40 percent recycled content, a 25-year commitment to recycling plastic garment hangers and Target's work as a global signatory of the New Plastics Economy."

Target has included recycling kiosks in the front of the stores that allow shoppers to recycle plastic bags.

"In addition to established efforts, Target teams across the business are working to eliminate, reduce and find alternatives for plastics in our products, packaging and operations," a Target spokesperson said in a statement.

In the United States, states like New York, California, Oregon, and Hawaii have implemented bans on plastic bags, while dozens of countries around the world have instated similar prohibitions or taxes on plastic bags. The petition cites a few examples, including Ireland's plastic bag tax.

If Target does adhere to the petition's request, it will join Kroger and Giant Eagle in the ranks of major retailers phasing out single-use plastics.

As of now, the petition argues that Target isn't going far enough in its bid to reduce plastic bag consumption. The petition writers argued that the chain's five cent "incentive for those bringing bags" doesn't make much of a dent, and includes a number of caveats, noting that a switch to paper bags "is not the answer."

"We can bring our own bags," the petition says.