The Incredible, Promotional Green Bag
January 30, 2014
I realize the word "incredible" is typically used in the context of something that is excellent or amazing, such as “the incredible catch our right fielder made last night in the sixth inning.” In this case I prefer to use it in the less common definition “hard to believe” or as some put it, “lacking credibility.”
First, allow me to say that I am NOT a sworn enemy of big box retailers in general or specifically Wal-Mart. I realize there are people and groups for whom criticizing Wal-Mart and other mega retailers, is considered good sport, but I have no such inclination or agenda.
At the same time, when any retailer intentionally or unintentionally deceives and/or confuses the green public they claim to serve, they must be exposed because of the tremendous positive or negative potential impact they have on our environment.
My Problem with Most Mass Marketed, Reusable Shopping Bags
Almost every large retailer is now selling their own custom printed reusable shopping bags to satisfy consumers’ demand for a solution to the “earth threatening plastic shopping bag problem.”
These bags are typically printed with the retailer’s logo and at another time, they would have probably been given away to customers for free. However, in the 21st century one of the first rules of retailing is to never, ever give away anything you can sell and if customers are eager to buy, who can possibly blame the retailers for selling? Ironically, while each printed bag in use serves as a walking billboard ad for the selling retailer, that marketing and advertising value does not always appear to result in a lower bag price to the eco-minded consumer.
Yet cost versus green value is a very personal decision so I would rather focus on these three questions:
- What sort of carbon footprint are we leaving behind when we ship inexpensive, “eco friendly” bags from the other side of the world?
-What is the composition of the bag? Is it natural or synthetic fiber? Is that fiber virgin or recycled content?
-What do you do with the bag when it eventually wears out? Is it recyclable? If so under what circumstances?
The Results of my brief, informal analysis …