R006348 - Polybags RFI

The California State Lottery has issued a Request for Information seeking market research on environmentally sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based polybag mailers, with responses due November 3, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. PST. The RFI is non-binding, and the Lottery has no obligation to issue a solicitation or make a purchase from it.

The Lottery currently ships Scratchers lottery tickets and expired tickets to retailers and distribution centers in 5.0 mil tri-extruded polyethylene bags. It wants alternatives that keep water resistance, tamper resistance, and opacity, and that accept customization for ticket pack sizes from 10" x 4" x 0.75" to 13" x 4" x 0.25". The Lottery is targeting suppliers capable of approximately 1.6 million units annually. The questionnaire also asks about external sealable pouches for invoices or manifests.

Respondents should address material alternatives, production capacity, domestic versus import sourcing, production lead times, per-thousand unit costs, durability specifications, sizing and branding customization, and tamper and water resistance capabilities. Responses must be submitted electronically to Oriana Danielson at odanielson@calottery.com in Microsoft Word or PDF format, with specified cover page information. The Lottery provided responses to questions on October 27, 2026.

The Lottery will not reimburse response costs. Samples are submitted at the vendor's sole expense and will not be returned. Information in RFI responses will not be evaluated for future bid submissions, respondents will not receive notification of results, and protests will not be considered.