This Thanksgiving, leftover stuffing and turkey drumsticks aren’t all that will go into plastic bags.
Some 25 million passengers are expected in the nation’s airports during the 12-day Thanksgiving travel period ending Nov. 28, the busiest travel time of the year. That means some 25 million baggies filled with liquids and gels under new carry-on regulations imposed by the TSA.
Thanksgiving will be the first major holiday since the Transportation Security Administration imposed new regulations that allow liquids and gels onto airliners only if they are in containers that are 3 ounces or less and in clear, 1-quart zip-top plastic bags.
The new rules are pushing toiletry makers to make more travel-sized items, said Marshal Cohen, chief analyst with the NPD Group Inc., a market-research firm. That includes companies like Unilever, whose brands include Dove soap, and Procter & Gamble Co., which makes Pantene and other shampoos. Roughly 10 percent of the industry now makes those sizes, Cohen said. He expects by the next holiday travel season that will reach 25 percent, driven by the new regulations.
“There are companies that are starting to recognize that this is something that is not going away,” Cohen said. “Sometimes the difference in being bought and not being bought is the size of the packaging you offer.”
The TSA’s ruling in late September followed a six-week ban of carry-on gels and liquids on all planes, ordered Aug. 10 after an alleged plot to bomb U.S.-bound jetliners was foiled.
Now the TSA is touting its 3-1-1 initiative, holding news conferences and urging travelers to remember they can have 3-ounce bottles or less, in a 1-quart-sized, clear, plastic, zip-top bag and only one bag per passenger.
The entire plastic-bag market – which includes garbage bags to sandwich bags – was worth $763 million in 2003 – and private label brands, commonly sold under grocery store names, have a solid place at the top, she said. The top brand name is Ziploc, whose storage and freezer bags made up 14 percent of all sales last year, said Marcia Mogelonsky, a senior analyst with Mintel International in Chicago.
Dozens of airports are buying bags and giving them to travelers. The two major airports in Washington, D.C., have given out bags for several years for people to place jewelry and other metallic items into while going through security. The two Washington airports gave out larger bags for that purpose but switched to the 1-quart size.
