The problem with carrier bags

[beatsworking]

I'm a small retailer in the heart of rural Suffolk and I'm desperate to get rid of the carrier bags. Its very interesting to see the reaction of customers when you ask "Do you need a bag?" and if they say yes, "Is paper ok?"

I reckon about 50% of my customers decline a bag or tell me before I've even asked "Don't bother with a bag!"

Of the rest, half feel very sheepish and apologise for not bringing one with them - "I usually have a bag with me, but I left it in the car!" Its all the little old ladies and old men who have no real concept of the re-use or multi use bag.

I've thought about charging for the bags but am scared of the reaction to this. If I get rid of them altogether, I'll potentially alienate a chunk of my customers. When I go out and do markets and food shows, the bags I use are from a big supply I picked out of a skip last year from a video shop that's closed down in Ipswich, but no one seems to mind they are buying jars of jam and chutney in a "Choices Video" bag. My wife was horrified when I raided the skip for boxes of brand new carriers, but if they are going to be dumped, they may as well at least be used!

In the shop I have recycled carrier bags, but I've heard somewhere that these are not particularly environmentally sound.

Any suggestions please?

Jim

[Annpan]

When I worked in a highstreet clothes shop we sometimes ran out of the mid sized bags and only had tiny ones or huge ones... 80% of customers would say,"oh it's OK I have one here", and pop the items in a bag they had got elsewhere, rather than carry a silly tiny bag... this was before the current trend of getting rid of all carrier bags. So could you only have really small bags, then most customers will avoid taking them?... totally cheeky I know.

A better suggestion might be to sell them reusable ones for as cheap as you can, and do away with plastic carriers altogether... enough other people ar doing it these days... I don't think your customers would mind.

[beatsworking]

Oh I do - I have a nice lady in Ipswich who makes me some lovely fabric bags which are dotted around the shop, but only a couple of people have bought them so far.

I think you're probably right - I'll just have to bite the bullet and take the plunge and get rid of them altogether, but its the food shows and markets that might still cause problems as most people at these are pedestrian and buying lots of stuff from lots of different stall holders.

Stock comes in in cardboard boxes which some people are happy to use too.

Who'd be a retailer, eh?

[Annpan]

What do you sell? (If you don't mind me asking)

Can your lady or someone else you know... or hey do it yourself... Run up some really basic bags no fancy fabric or anything, just dead basic... I reckon you can make 20 an hour (maybe more - once you get the nack of it) and sell them for £1 or £2 each, enough to encourage re-use but not too much to turn away customers. you could charge a deposit on bags, if they return them to you they get their money back, then you can re-use them.

[kiery]

Hi Beatsworking,

I would agree with Annpan about making some bags is a good idea. I think giving them away for free though could be used to your advantage and get you some good publicity for your business too.

Make the bags based on the morsbag pattern - free on the internet, sorry can't remember the website but i'm sure if you google morsbags you'll get it. Get some mates and family round and get sewing, make a night of it.
You could use some remnants from fabric shops, pillow cases etc and give them out free for say fortnight.

I made about five bags last year which I use for my messages (food shopping for those south of the border) and they are still going strong.

What about a delivery service for your older/local customers? Our local shop lets people buy their groceries and packs them in boxes at the checkout, then delivers them later on. It lets them do a bigger shop and frees them up of plastic bags.

[beatsworking]

In answer to both of your posts Annpan and Kiery, my shop is a strange hybrid of kitchen & table ware and local, speciality foods. I do lots of really nice local chutney, jam, apple juice, flour, biscuits, cakes, confectionery - its not quite a deli and not quite a farm shop but am getting a fridge soon so I can start to carry cheese and ham etc...

The delivery service would be ok for local people, but situated where I am, I get an awful lot of tourists too - I ain't gonna give free delivery to someone from more than 10 miles away!!!

I think I'm a problem because I'm still too small at the mo to be able to absorb costs like that. My turnover is well under£100K per year so if you take out costs and wages (not including paying myself) there's very little left. The business is less than a year old at the mo, but as I'm able to do more stuff and grow, the margins should improve to allow me to start doing stuff like that.

[Andy Hamilton]

Very interesting post. I imagine that there are many small business people who are debating the very same thing.

I can see why you don't want to alienate your customers and it can be difficult to get though to some people. Tricky, very tricky.

Recycled carrier bags - well you can get into the whole debate about growing corn for corn starch to make things. It brings up the price of corn, you still have to transport the corn (using petrol). There is also a bit of a political side to this with regards to the poorer nations not getting food. On top of all that a land fill site does not offer the right conditions for composting, in fact in an american study they found newspaper from the 1950's that you could still read. They are better than the non recycled but still not too great!

Reusable bags - these have to be the way forward, especially if made from jute or other renewable resources. You could talk to your local council, other traders or anyone else for perhaps joining together to pay for bags that could also advertise you. - Although you could also have an area in your shop or stall (if fesable) where customers can bring there spare bags to give to you in order for you to reuse them. If you get too many then rethink or start taking them to be recycled (some supermarkets will take them).

People who don't understand about reusing a bag - if they have no bag at all then give away your choices bags, it is better to use them than to have them sit there. You saved them from landfill once already. If they have a bag then say something like, shall I pop this in your bag for you. Mind you some can all be a little bit like this lady . Not all old people are bag users my Nan always carrys her bag!

Maybe you could also offer some small free gift to people who do reuse a bag and make a big thing about it so that people will stop leaving their bags in the car or even start to bring one. Does not have to be anything that costs anything but people do love something for nothing.

Well some ideas for you there!

[theabsinthefairy]

We used to turn plastic bags donated by customers and family and friends inside out, and write 'happy to recycle' on them to use in the shop, and had a carboard box for people to bring their bags to the next time they came in, so they did not have to make a special recycling trip.

I have also seen a loyalty card type thing for people who bought their own bags into a shop, where they got a little card stamped worth a couple of pence every time, that they could redeem against a fabric shopper or a bar of chocolate, maximum of £1 per card.

[snapdragon]

....I have also seen a loyalty card type thing for people who bought their own bags into a shop, where they got a little card stamped worth a couple of pence every time, that they could redeem against a fabric shopper or a bar of chocolate, maximum of £1 per card.

What a super idea

[beatsworking]

We used to turn plastic bags donated by customers and family and friends inside out, and write 'happy to recycle' on them to use in the shop, and had a carboard box for people to bring their bags to the next time they came in, so they did not have to make a special recycling trip.

I have also seen a loyalty card type thing for people who bought their own bags into a shop, where they got a little card stamped worth a couple of pence every time, that they could redeem against a fabric shopper or a bar of chocolate, maximum of £1 per card.

This is a really good idea! Thanks for that. I'll be instigating that from tomorrow!

Jim

[johnhcrf]

Remove the plastic bag from your town, create a must-have replacement, as a first step to waste reduction. It needs community solidarity to achieve success.

John.

[niknak]

Hi Jim I'm in the same boat as you. I have a retail shop and I would love to stop using plastic bags. I sell cheap re- usable bags, but people still want a carrier bag. I have a sign in the shop asking people to bring in their used carrier bags but we dont get enough of these. I have been thinking of asking for them on freecycle or I think in the end I may resort to charging for carrier bags - but refunding the charge when people bring them back.
Good luck with the shop I've been running mine for 18 years now

[Mirrie]

Hi our local shop has done this:
They've put up signs about reducing waste, then have eco friendly "Sack" bag at the pos for £1 and also thick plastic bags on show at just 10p. They haven't charged people for the "normal" carrierbags but have stopped asking if people want them so if someone needs a bag they have to ask for one...they started doing this about a month ago and nearly everyone in there brings a bag now!

Where abouts in suffolk is your shop? Might have to come and check it out!

[johnhcrf]

Good to hear about your efforts. Have your seen the town based plastic bag removal scheme. 7 towns have done this already. Become number 8, glory in the media coverage, sell must-have shopping bags. What are you waiting for?

John.

[hetty]

I,m really surprised that the 'little old ladies' don't seem to be aware of the reuse of bags etc as my Mum (who qualifies for this title but even at 80 would hate to be called one ) has never got out of the habit of carrying proper bags when she goes shopping. Observing others of her generation in local shops and the dreaded supermarket I would say that more seem like her than not. Maybe it varies from area to area.

Susan