Single hen

[Guest]

I think we need to accept that, certainly at the moment, there is a world of difference between supermarkets, and other shops.

 

While we are all honest, law-abiding citizens, others are not, and shops like Clares or BHS or wherever lose far more through shoplifting than supermarkets (although, obviously people shoplift in Tesco as well).

 

THAT is the main reason for certain shops insisting on using their own bags for all purchases - they are not deliberately going out of their way to annoy people, and I'm sure that ALL retail businesses would be delighted if they felt they were able to get rid of the added cost of manufacturing branded bags.

[ubereglu]

I love french supermarket bags. I went to a supermarket over there when I went to France with school and they only cost about 1 and a half euros. Plus they come in cool colours!

[PurpleHen]

I've been using various re-usable bags for shopping for a while now. Until a few months ago - just in supermarkets, but since I've been making an effort to spend less money in them, I have started to use them all over the place. Either my local veg shop - clothes shops or farmers market.

 

So far I've had none of the problems people have mentioned above. Even in supermarkets when they are trying to pack my fruit/veg into smaller bags (at the veg shop too) - they even don't seem to mind when I say I'll just have them loose thanks......

 

I think part of the key is to tell the checkout person when you first get there that you have plenty of your own bags and want all your products loose.

[Cate in NZ]

I rarely take excess bags when I do any kind of shopping, and I seriously can't recall anyone ever being funny with me.

Last time I did general, non-food shopping I went to buy school bits & pieces for the new term. We started with shoes and underwear from New Look and I was given, and accepted a large paper carrier from them. Then I bought a pack of 2 school shirts and a pair of trousers from BHS, but when the assistant went to pack them I just asked if they could go into the New Look bag as well, as I didn't like to get laden up with too many bags. No problem at all. Same at WHSmiths where we needed a dictionary & a birthday card, nor Sussex Stationers where we got maths sets (too expensive in Smiths), nor in Partners where Imy stocked up on jazzy rubbers, pencil sharpeners and so on. I'd have thought that the stationery type shops would be more vulnerable to shoplifters, but no-one seemed to mind. Maybe they did take one look at me and agree that I was the scatty kind of sort who might go and lose shopping if she had too many bags to carry about.

I'm sure it varies from shop to shop, but generally it's not difficult to avoid taking too many bags as long as you stay polite and friendly.

I wouldn't start an argument though, or upset the staff, and have, in the past sometimes taken items that have been packed in the shops bag for me..... wherever possible though it gets stuffed into the original bag anyway- I genuinely don't like carrying too many bags, scared I'll lose or drop one

That said we shopped in JD the other day, son needed trainers and ended up with a t-shirt and sweatshirt as well. Ouch , and we did take their carrier bags, the drawstring over the shoulder style- the children love them for their PE kits or carrying excess items to school, they're considered cooler than the old fahioned PE bag. So, not exactly environmentally friendly I know..... but the children are happy

[theherd123]

...and we did take their carrier bags, the drawstring over the shoulder style- the children love them for their PE kits or carrying excess items to school,

 

They are great for swimming kits too.

 

Sainsburys have had an offer on in the past few weeks where if you buy 5 organic products you get a large jute shopping bag free! We now have 2 of them & along with the Omlet bags i got at the do in the summer i should have enough when my OH next decides we need to go shopping!