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RE: [GreenYes] Re: Grocery Bags
Title:
Goodness gracious, is that ever a great idea, Roger!  Seriously. 
 
I'm with Clothes Made From Scrap, and we've actually attempted to contact a few of the national large Supermarket Chains about using our products almost exactly as you mentioned.  A lot of you know about us, we manufacture clothing and accessories that are made from 100% (not 15%, or something like that) recycled materials, be it 100% post consumer recycled plastic bottles (i.e. our tote bags), or recycled cotton scraps.  We've approached them about items from tshirts, to, as mentioned below, reusable grocery bags.  However, not only reusable totes/bags, but bags that are also made from 100% post consumer recycled plastic bottles!  One of the very large chains in the nation (and possibly the largest) actually had some reusable totes in their stores, but ironically, they were not made from even one percent of recycled material, they were all virgin totes.  On top of that, the non-recycled bag they had in the store, wasn't being pushed hard at all, to say the least...I only saw ONE throughout the ENTIRE store.  
 
Anyway, I wanted to chime in and say that I fully agree with Roger, and think structuring a program as he described, and then using 100% RECYCLED CONTENT BAGS as well, would indeed reap tremendous benefits for everyone: the store, the consumer, and needless to say, the environment.  Perhaps it's time that we (Clothes Made From Scrap) personally pitch this idea again to the major chains across the nation, as I still see no reason why what Roger proposes isn't already being done TODAY in these stores! 
 
Steve G. Jarrett
Sr. V.P. of Sales & Marketing
Clothes Made From Scrap, Inc.
6461 Conroy Road, Suite 906
Orlando, FL 32835
Direct Phone: (407) 578-8910
Direct Fax: (407) 445-8952
www.ClothesMadeFromScrap.com
"Complete The Circle"
 
*** If you have to purchase clothing/accessories for any reason, why not purchase 100% recycled content apparel?! ***
 
  


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-greenyes@grrn.org [mailto:owner-greenyes@grrn.org]On Behalf
Of Waste Not
Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 4:28 PM
To: greenyes@grrn.org
Subject: Re: [GreenYes] Re: Grocery Bags


In addition to below (great idea, Roger!):

...a common excuse I encounter is people claiming that they cannot remember
to bring their reusable bags (although they never seem to forget their
wallets - another paradigm shift!).  How about the supermarkets offering a
resuable bag 'rental/refund' system? In other words, if you don't have your
own reusable bag, you can 'rent' one for, say, $1.00, which is refundable.
This way hugely forgettable people can effectively stockpile reusable bags,
then return them 'en masse' when they finally remember. The rental cost
could equal the purchase cost, but you don't get the added bonus of a
discount if you rent the bags!

Hope that wasn;t too cryptic!!!

Jessica

Jessica North
Resource Consultant

Waste Not
PO Box 33 1410
Takapuna, Auckland
New Zealand
Ph (64-9) 486 3635
Fax (64-9) 486 5764
Mob 021 268 2957
www.wastenot.co.nz

> Greetings:
>
>  I found a Waste Age article in the February 1999 issue, "Grocery Store
> Solid Waste Management: Looking Behind the Aisles" which is a great
article
> about supermarket waste management issues.  It includes a side box on the
> paper vs. plastic issue though I did not find a reference to the cost of
> paper bags (though it does have one for plastic).  The Paper Bag Council
> (part of the American Forest & Paper Association) also has an interesting
> website which may be helpful:
>
> http://www.paperbag.org/index.htm
>
> As a final comment, the environmentally superior solution would a reusable
> shopping bag.  One idea that I have, which I have not seen implemented
> (though I would be interested in knowing if it has been done) would be for
> the store to develop a branded shopping bag (one with its name and logo)
> that it could sell but then give a small rebate to the consumer each time
it
> was used.  Perhaps a barcode could be attached to the bag so it was
> scannable for the purpose of both awarding the rebate and tracking
customer
> bag reuse patterns.  Going further, each bag user could then become
eligible
> to win a prize that is awarded monthly by the store.  In this way, you
have
> a win / win situation - the store gets to save on single use bags, builds
> store loyalty and has an environmentally preferable advertising platform.
> The customer gets a useful (and hopefully nice-looking) bag, saves money
and
> gets a chance to win cash or merchandise.
>
> Roger M. Guttentag
> 610-584-8836
> rgutten@concentric.net
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Blair Pollock <bpollock@co.orange.nc.us>
> To: <greenyes@grrn.org>
> Sent: Monday, September 23, 2002 3:38 PM
> Subject: [GreenYes] Re: [Greenyes Digest] V3 #103
>
>
> > Greenyes/M. Lingenfelter:
> >
> > My memory is of one study several years ago  that detailed that cost of
> the bag at $0.047 each,  thus the nickel should be sufficient for the
store
> to justify the refund because it itself saves that nickel. Can't cite the
> study tho it may have appeared in Waste Age. there is some value to the
bag
> in the recycling mix at least here in NC, they call for it to be placed w/
> OCC therefore, always has a positive value, Therefore, I don't know how to
> comment on the 'cost' of recycling the bag. The large version of these
bags
> typically hold more than a plastic bag (the other day the checkout clerk
> gave me seven plastic bags for ten items, no kidding. Thus comparing one
to
> one unless there's a volume reduction factor, does not give a true
> comparison of that alternative.
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Date: Sat, 21 Sep 2002 01:55:06 -0700
> > From: "susankinsella.com" <seek@susankinsella.com>
> > Subject: [GreenYes] Grocery Bags
> >
> > I received the following request and don't have the exact stats he's
> looking
> > for. Do others? -- "I'm looking for a study done on or information
leading
> > to clear statistics on the cost of a traditional brown paper bag, what
it
> > costs to recycle that bag, and how much money is saved if the consumer
is
> > convinced to reuse that bag at the store of purchase. I am putting
> together
> > a presentation to encourage the grocery store I work at to return 5
cents
> > for every bag that is returned and reused.  Thank you." Rome
Lingenfelter
> > (You can answer direct to gypsywind71@yahoo.com.)
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Susan Kinsella
> > Conservatree
> >
> > ------------------------------
> >
> > __________________________________________________
> > Blair Pollock
> > Solid Waste Programs Manager
> > (919) 968-2788
> > fax: (919) 932-2900
> > PO Box 17177
> > Chapel Hill, NC 27516-7177
> >
> > ******************************************
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