The Teddy Bear Company manufactures stuffed bears. The number of bears to be produced in the upcoming three months are as follows:

July 12,000

August 15,000

September 10,000

Each bear requires 2 pounds of plastic pellets used as stuffing. The company has a policy that the ending inventory of plastic pellets each month must be equal to 20% of the following month's expected production needs. How many pounds of the plastic pellets does the Teddy Bear Company need to purchase in August?

a. 20,000 pounds

b. 24,000 pounds

c. 28,000 pounds

d. 40,000 pounds