I've been noticing people using their own reusable bags at stores, something I rarely saw even a few years ago. Here's how I've seen the behavior break down by store.
- Target – A lot of people (half?) at the SuperTarget I go to regularly are using reusable bags. There has been a swift upward swing in BYOBags at Target.
- Meijer – I never see anyone reuse bags there.
- Wal-mart – a few bring their own. (Can't say I go there too often, either, so my observations here are weak.)
- Whole Foods - Most of their shoppers use their own. A few leave with brown paper bags from the store.
- Trader Joe's – At least half of the people reuse. The alternative is brown paper bags from the store.
Also, unless I've missed something, Meijer and Wal-mart don't offer a bag credit for using your own bags. I haven't received such a credit, at least. Target and Whole Foods offer a bag credit of about 5 cents per bag to use your own. I think Trader Joe's offers some sort of incentive. I used to get a ticket for every bag I used to enter a weekly raffle.
These stores are all relatively close to one another, by the way. So, I've ruled out geography as a factor. Being that my observations are limited to the stores I visit...well, let me just reinforce the completely unscientific nature of my observations.
Oh, one more...Aldi. They have always required you either pay for bags or use your own. I'm still surprised to see people buy bags there. I've been known to load my trunk with loose items when I forget my bags. (I know. I'm a dork.)
You've probably figure out by now, I take my own reusable bags to the store. Not just the grocery store where I finally remember them every time, but I also take them to clothing stores, bookstores, shoe stores, etc. There I need a little more practice before it's a habit.
That's it. No lesson. Just my reported observations. Any thoughts on BYOBags?
3 comments:
Interesting bag thoughts. I read through some of your archives and I like your blog.
Tom Bailey
Is it just me,or does it seem silly to buy reusable bags rather than reuse the "disposable" bags that accumulate so quickly? Granted, we have the typical collection of purpose-built reusable bags, (amazing how often they're free, just to get somebody's logo out there) but we save our disposable ones, too, for art fairs and incidental use. Plus, the disposable ones take up so little space...
--M
I've made the same observations. Marsh offers a bag credit but you have to ask for it -- I was only given it once without asking, which is how I found out about it -- and only lately do I consistently get a cashier that knows what I'm talking about. I think the stores that sell their own branded cheapo bags should encourage their use but that's not always the case. Wal-Mart cashiers seem to prefer that you not bring your own bags because they are operating by habit and doing something other than mindlessly stuffing those plastic bags on the rack is a change to the routine. (By "stuffing" I mean "adding 1-3 items and moving on to the next bag" since I go home with about a dozen bags for every 20-30 items that I buy.)
I try to take my own bags as much as possible to as many places as I can remember them. Sometimes I ask for no bag when I'm only buying a few items and walk out carrying them in my hands. I bought a giant blue tarpaulin bag at IKEA for something like $0.69 and it holds a cart's load of stuff, which is crazy convenient at Sam's Club and Wal-Mart. My favorites are a black and white set of Envirosax that I leave in the car.
My MIL loves to shop at Aldi and I gave her a set of Envirosax once I found out about their no-free-bags policy. She loves having a stylish set of bags to take with her. She tells me that people pay for the disposable bags which BLOWS MY MIND.
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