Pet Product News Editorial Blog:
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Bag of Choice
By Sherri Collins
Editor, Pet Product News International
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Paper or plastic? I haven’t been asked that question for some time, no matter where I shop. Why? It’s not because I live in an area that has legislated plastic bags out of existence, nor that I only patronize eco-conscientious stores. The reason is my preemptive behavior. The first thing I hand over at the checkout is a reusable shopping bag—they never get the chance to ask. Pardon me for boasting, but I haven’t taken a plastic bag home in at least two years. However, it took me double that amount of time to reach the stage where I always remember to bring my own bags.
Several years ago, I dutifully purchased reusable bags from retail establishments and environmental groups and brought them home with the admirable goal of reducing my carbon footprint. Unfortunately, that’s where they tended to remain (good intentions alone, as everyone knows, never get you where you want to go). No problem, I thought, I’ll keep them in my car. Great, now I had a new place to leave them behind. What finally got the bags out of the car and into my hands before entering a store were: 1) self-inflicted guilt; 2) an overflowing bin of plastic bags I couldn’t just throw away; and 3) in-store incentives.
The latter was particularly effective at one store, since every time I brought my own bags I got an entry into a monthly raffle for $100-worth of groceries. I haven’t won yet, but hope springs eternal. Once I started remembering one set of bags, the others followed suit. It also helped that most of the other stores I shop at offer bag credits, ranging from 5- to 15-cents per bag brought in and used. Moreover, even at those outlets that don’t actively promote bag reuse, I usually receive a thank you from the checker for bringing my own.
It took a while, but the BYOB(ag) habit is finally—and permanently—ingrained. Hey, if I can change a lifetime habit, then so can others—and you as both retailers and consumers can help. Encourage your customers to bring their own bags by offering the above-mentioned reuse credit. Sell reusable bags with your logo placed front and center (I now have, at minimum, 10 such logo’d bags in my car and ready for use). Hold a raffle—weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, etc.—with the prize being a product or product line you’re seeking to promote. Whatever your chosen method of promotion, helping your customers and the world at large break the plastic habit is good for the environment in so many ways. (Statistics: According to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags a year and an estimated 12 million barrels of oil are used to make those bags.)
For even more incentive, make sure you read this month’s online web exclusive,‘Green Matters: Paper, Plastic or Neither? Retailers worldwide see value in trading disposable bags for reusable totes.” Author Wendy Bedwell-Wilson takes a look at the changing attitudes toward plastic bags and reports on how pet-specialty retailers have already begun to make eco-friendly choices for themselves and their customers.
If we all pitch in, the question of “paper or plastic” could soon be as frequently asked as “smoking or non-smoking.” In other words, never.
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