Sunday 25 March 2007

Ikea and 25 pence shopping bag

I went to Ikea yesterday with my family. I was impressed to find that their durable (reusable) shopping bags have been reduced from 50 pence to 25 pence. I don't know if they are making any profit from it but it is an attractive price that should not put anyone off from buying them. If they are slightly smaller, they will be perfect for your groceries.

It is interesting to compare this offering by Ikea to the supermarkets here. If only they were prepared to offer something similar, we would have virtually cut out the waste from plastic bags. Why stop at supermarkets. The other stores that supply plastic bags should follow suit. Even if they lose money, the good deed to the environment should stick in the minds of the customers. I feel good moral business practices will be better in the long run. I think the short-sighted culture is to blame for not being able to stop the use of plastic bags at supermarkets.

There are much more radical approaches to reduce the waste from supermarkets but I fear that their short-sightedness will again be the obstacle to introducing them.

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