M and S charging for carriers

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AIBU to find it cheeky of m&s to charge 10p for a paper carrier bag when I've just spent £50 on a dress? Especially as I got caught in the rain and it disintegrated.
I can understand why you would charge for a plastic bag, but this is ridiculous.

Capacity?

you're one of the posters claiming that people using public transport are penalised for not carrying a reusable bag. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Depends where you live.

Though I am highly amused by all the Mumsnetters that begrudge 10p off their hubby's six-figure salary 😂

In USA Walmart gives out free carrier bags like confetti. One moderate shop and I had 10 bags.
Those bags for every shopper, in thousands of Walmarts !

Charging for a paper bag is an insult.

My parents have managed for many, many years to take their own bags shopping without a car. Even when I was young when we went to the supermarket we had the trolley to bring stuff back. (As a teenager that was very embarrassing)

It is just a habit for them, just like they recycled years before it became so easily accessible, which meant carrying it to the local recycling point.

Yes, the option of throwing it in the boot is taken away, but it just needs a bit more planning/ habit forming.

I’ve got feeling that OP was complaining about paying for flimsy paper bag not about paying for a bag at all but I might be wrong.
Tbh I do hate paper bags they are so unreliable so paying for them is an insult. I would rather have sturdy plastic bag and use it for quite a while. My paper bag from M&S with bananas disintegrated practically immediately.

Quite possibly. But I think it’s all indicative of them now using bag selling as a profit making side line rather than just taking the fee the law prescribes and/or covering costs.

Walmart doesn't exist in the uk. What's your point?

In Scotland all bags are charged for, whatever they are made of. Even a paper bag from the Maccies drive through costs.

I can't understand though why people don't carry the small fold out bags in their bag. I have several.

What's worse is that they charge 10p for a flower bag! People don't usually have a suitable bag to put a couple of bunches of flowers in.

It's interesting to read the differences in other countries, just wanted to say thanks for contributing to this thread.

In Scotland, we moved away from thin single use plastic bags years ago and the supermarkets started selling much thicker and better quality bags for £0.10 which is roughly $0.12 and they are meant to be reused. Some shops have now replaced them with paper bags. By law, shops aren't allowed to supply bags for free unless its for raw meat or drugs (proper medical ones, not dodgy Dave dealing in the dark alley drugs😀)

i wish they would and improve the quality. 10 seconds of rain and a primark paper bag disintegrates!

There's no charity scheme for paper bags and the plastic bag one is only voluntary

All your post does is reinforce the stereotype that Americans dont care about the environment

Can't work out where an insult comes into things

I can’t stand those M&S paper bags. I always reuse the plastic ones until they are literally not fit for purpose but the M&S paper ones are useless - you can’t reuse them - they’re a soggy mess. No more spontaneous M&S shopping for me!!

By moaning at the staff?

It's the law. It's not about what the bag is made of, it's about whether it is single use. The M&S paper ones are classed as single use. I'm sure it has been this way for about ten years....

The bags are paper and they rot down with zero impact on the environment.

They have to be manufactured in the first place, it's not that they aren't biodegradable

Absolute rubbish - whilst China and India aren't making changes how does M&S charging do anything other than penalise the ordinary person.

It's stupid policies like these that mean people turn off to helping the environment

I’m guessing they’d rather you brought your own. Of course it’s a huge effort to stuff a reusable one in your pocket but there you go.

I remember some controversy when the plastic bag charge came in whether paper bags were just greenwashing and were pretty bad for the environment too.

I do find it ironic though that I can order online and get clothes delivered for free, which come in a big plastic bag with every item in a separate plastic bag inside it. There must be an awful lot of plastic bags behind the scenes in clothes shops. Maybe they should put out a box of them by the tills for people to reuse, like supermarkets used to put out a stash of leftover cardboard boxes.

I think the upset comes from a very misguided idea that it's to make money. It's not. Even for paper bags. It's to encourage you from using single-use bags in the first place, and to bring your own bags. I honestly get annoyed that it's still normal for shops to ask me if I want a bag, as it defeats the whole point. It should be annoying to get a bag, and you should ideally always have a bag.

Most of the money made from carrier bags goes to charity anyway. It's a small charge to make you think just a little about your behaviour.

They are hopeless and far to expensive for what they are.

I worked at M&S years ago, we had to give you a bag for your pair of tights/knickers or whatever. If you didn't have a bag the store detectives would consider you have shoplifted.

Personally I don't mind paying for a carrier but I do think they could give me a small paper bag for something like knickers or a bra.

Wales brought in the carrier bag charge 13 years ago and I get annoyed that cashiers still ask "do you want a bag?" It should be up to the customer if they don't have one to ask not the cashier.