Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5

Original poster

To think the Body Shop shouldn't be charging 5p for paper bags?

121 replies

FatherReboolaConundrum · 05/10/2015 11:33

Went in to the Body Shop at the weekend and the tills had a sign saying that from today bags would cost 5p. Since they only use recycled paper bags, not the plastic bags that are covered by the new law, AIBU to think the Body Shop is being very cheeky indeed?

OP posts:

TheStripyGruffalo · 05/10/2015 13:36

definiteissues the 5p matters though. When you are struggling to feed your family you need to look after the 5p pieces. I get paid each week, before pay day I usually have about £1 left, I wouldn't have that if I paid for carrier bags. It's another way that this government is making things harder for poor people.

DoJo · 05/10/2015 13:37

Next up I want them to ban fruit and veg being wrapped in plastic.

I heard a really interesting piece on the radio about this - obviously it is not true in all cases, but in many, wrapping things in plastic actually increases the lifespan of the fruit/veg and reduces wastage, meaning that there is a net benefit to the environment. They were talking about things like the shrink wrapped cucumbers etc, which have always annoyed me, and discussing how it minimises damage and means that if one goes off, it is contained and doesn't 'ming up' (pretty sure that's the technical term they used ) all the others in the box etc.

However, there are some things which are only packaged because they are 'premium' and therefore they don't want plebs to sneak through, for example, 4 pink lady or jazz apples and only pay fox cox's, which does annoy me, but presumably that's the only way to offer the variety that they do without needing apple DNA testing at the checkout.

Sorry - a bit off topic...

EponasWildDaughter · 05/10/2015 13:45

In next I put the items in the M7s and primark bags, the assistant looked quite peeved that I had done that though, insisting it was only a few pence for the bag.

I think the assistant has definitely missed the point

FlipperSkipper · 05/10/2015 13:46

I got asked if i wanted a bag in the body shop earlier this year, and told I would be charged for it. When will we realise we need to stop consuming so much?!

CherylTunt · 05/10/2015 13:49

I highly recommend Turtle Bags. They last forever, scrunch up tiny in your handbag and then expand to hold tons of stuff when in use. I have been using the same two Turtle Bags for about five or six years now.

Bakeoffcake · 05/10/2015 13:58

I heard today on Radio 4 that if you have raw produce and loose food- they can give you a free bag. I wonder if they will?

Even though I use reusable bags, I always separate raw meat and put it in a bag which I throw away what I get home.

Bakeoffcake · 05/10/2015 14:01

Ha those turtle bags bring back memories
My mum used to have them for food shopping in the 70s. She'd put all her tins in therm as they were very strong.

DinosaursRoar · 05/10/2015 14:23

Bakeoffcake - I bought some pork today, they put it in a tiny thin plastic bag (the sort they put in the fruit and veg section when you bag up your own), not a 'proper' carrier bag.

StillDrSethHazlittMD · 05/10/2015 14:24

So much outrage over this and, as a PP said "when will we realise we need to stop consuming so much?"

Funny how everyone has their heads buried in the sand over WHY we consume so much and WHY we keep producing more waste - ie, that we keep increasing the population at a ridiculous rate. In 1927 there were 2 billion people on the planet. In 2011 it was 7 billion and they think it will be 9 billion in 2037.

The carrier bag levy (it's not a tax as the money doesn't go to Govt) is like hurling a grain of sand into the Pacific.

IKnowIAmButWhatAreYou · 05/10/2015 15:49

Been using bags for life for ages, used to get a couple of shops in carriers to use in the bin, now I'll just be buying proper bin bags at less than 5p each.

No landfill reduction from this household due to the new law....

NicoleWatterson · 05/10/2015 15:58

Bodyshop shouldn't be charging for a paper bag it as part of the new law, if they want to charge they can.

I have no problem remembering to take bags to the supermarket to do my shop. What i will struggle with is if i go into a shopping centre knowing how many bags to take as I'm just going to get one thing but might end up getting ten.
Whilst it is 'only 5p' and going to a good cause, it does all add up and is blinking annoying if you haven't got enough and it will put me off buying something if i haven't got enough bags.

I can see men struggling as they don't have a handbag to keep a bag in.

Im truly in favour of the charge overall, something needs to be done about the damage to the environment and wildlife.

TheStripyGruffalo · 05/10/2015 16:00

Bakeoff they have to but it won't be a proper carrier bag. In any case, if you buy something else with it then you pay for the carrier bag because the other item isn't exempt just because you bought lose fruit/vegetables or raw fish/meat.

We won't be using any carrier bags once our stash runs out. We have 6 cloth bags which are enough for a weekly shop and will use those. We hardly used carrier bags anyway.

HesterShaw · 05/10/2015 16:07

No landfill reduction from this household due to the new law....

You say that as though it is something to be proud of. You sound like one of those idiots who thinks their right to consume as much as they can comes with no responsibilities whatsoever. Sounds nobbish.

HesterShaw · 05/10/2015 16:15

Carrier bags contain very small amounts of plastic. Their effect on landfill volume is minimal compared to all the other stuff we chuck away. However have the moaners never noticed the stuff blowing around the streets, the fields, the hedges, the beaches, the seas, the lakes....? But the area they cover is insane. We're being smothered by the stuff. Or do they just not give a crap?

But when you point it out they accuse you of preaching, being holier than thou etc.

WoodleyPixie · 05/10/2015 17:06

She definitely was missing the point.

MissBattleaxe · 05/10/2015 17:19

yanbu about bodyshop misleading why they are charging when its not a legal requirement for them to charge yet.

They can charge what they like when they like. You don't have to buy one.

IKnowIAmButWhatAreYou · 05/10/2015 17:58

No, I say that because it's true for this household and many others who recycled their carrier bags and now have to buy bags to fulfil the same purpose.

There is no reduction in landfill in this house due to this new law.....

The only person who sounds"nobbish" (and patronising in that familiar eco-manner) is you, with your desire to name call....

IKnowIAmButWhatAreYou · 05/10/2015 17:59

However have the moaners never noticed the stuff blowing around the streets, the fields, the hedges, the beaches, the seas, the lakes....?

No, not round here, maybe you should move somewhere nice??

fulldutypaid · 05/10/2015 17:59

No one should be charging for any bags.

honeyroar · 05/10/2015 18:11

I hate paper bags anyway, they disintegrate in wet weather, so I've always taken my own bags to Body Shop. I really can't see why this is such a big deal.

MissBattleaxe · 05/10/2015 18:23

fulldutypaid- but people use billions every year and they cause pollution. At least this initiative is a step in the right direction. The govt does not profit from it, but when introduced in Wales the scheme reduced bag usage by 90%.

In France and several other countries you have had to take your own shopping bags for some time. I really don't get the fuss.

MissBattleaxe · 05/10/2015 18:24

No, not round here, maybe you should move somewhere nice?

Just because you haven't actually seen any doesn't mean it's not a problem.

colleysmill · 05/10/2015 18:27

Those turtlebags also bring back memories for me - my mum had something very similar in the 70's.

A cautionary tale though - I have a scar above my eyebrow from a tin that was slightly jutting out from a netting style bag - unfortunately my mum happened to catch me with it (I was only small) and she always felt incredibly guilty although it was just an accident. She got rid of it the bag not long afterwards

fulldutypaid · 05/10/2015 18:59

All smoke and mirrors in my opinion.

I buy goods and I expect to be able to carry them home in something, couldn't give a shite whether it be plastic or paper. I just dont want to have to pay some stupid levy for it.

honeyroar · 05/10/2015 19:07

BUt you don't have to, you just take your own bag, easy!

Flip

1 2 3 4 5

Swipe left for the next trending thread