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.

It is. Charging for paper bags is a complete piss take

I think they need to weigh up the cost environmentally of food waste (apparently you get a lot more without packaging) and the packaging. We buy what we can loose but I can acknowledge the supermarkets are likely to have more waste that way. You won’t pick out the bruised apple or the one where a stalk from another apple has taken a chunk out of the skin for example where if you grab a plastic wrapped tray then chances are fruit isn’t damaged in first place but if it is you won’t see it

Glad to hear they do charge.
Many people have their own bags and the token charge works as an encouragement to actually use it.

I think a big part of it is intentional vs opportunistic shopping - I try to only shop if/when I have planned it as I have a strict budget every month and can't afford to just "pop into town" on a whim and if I do it is rarely for more than a single item or two, which can usually be carried without a bag of I don't have one. I don't live anywhere near my town centre so I have to actively make a conscious decision to go shopping and therefore also have the opportunity to take a bag with me.

Very, very occasionally I might buy more than I have bags for, or buy something I don't want to put in a bag with my existing purchases, but in those cases I see the bag charge as a consequence of that - I have the option not to buy the item, or of putting it in an existing bag but if I choose not to do that then I am responsible for the consequence of that action by having to buy a bag.

I always try to have a reusable bag on my person when I leave the house, my reusable shopping bags live in the boot of my car for supermarket trips and if I'm going into town to shop and/or am taking public transport then I take my wheeled shopping trolley for my general purchases (We used to live in Madrid where everyone used one and it is so much more convenient, even if it embarrasses the hell out of teen DD) and shove a couple of cotton totes in the front pocket that I exclusively use for clothing/delicate items.

Additionally to the intentional vs opportunistic shopping, it's habit - it took me a long time to get in the habit of replacing bags once I'd used them but now it is second nature as I have little routines - the wheeled shopping trolley lives behind the front door so as soon as I get home it gets unpacked and put away ready for the next shopping trip; the reusable shopping bags that live in the car - as soon as I get home I unpack the shopping and the bags get folded into one bag and then that bag gets hung on the front door handle, so that the next time I leave the house (even if I'm not going shopping or even going out in the car) they are right there for me to grab and put into the boot of the car; the reusable bags that live in my coat/bag - I have a basket on a shelf by the front door with a few reusable bags in the little pouches and as I get in and hang up my coat/bag I shove one of those into my bag/coat to replace the one I've used, then when I unpack the current purchases those bags go into their little pouch and get put into the basket to wait for the next cycle round.

I don't always carry bags if I nip in after work! I expect a decent bag to put my shopping in.

But why is it the shops responsibility to provide a bag as opposed to your responsibility to take one with you just because you "nip in after work"? You aren't forced to shop, you are choosing to just like you are choosing to buy a bag rather than have one with you.

I work in a supermarket and occasionally pick up a couple of bits like bread and milk after my shifts, which is why I always have a small shopping bag folded up in its little pouch in the bottom of my bag just in case.

If you know you're a "nip in after work for a couple of bits on a regular basis" type of person then just keep a small reusable bag in your bag/coat for those little trips. If they're happening often enough and you're buying enough that you can't comfortably carry the items then you need to be prepared for them and if they're happening so infrequently that it's not worth the effort of remembering a bag, then accepting the very occasional cost is the consequence of that.

I work in a shop. We don't charge for our paper bags. If I ask someone if they need a bag some people look at me like I've got 2 heads - of course I need a bag! Some people ask for extra bags because they're outraged that other stores do charge for bags and come into the shop juggling all manner of items knowing they'll get a free bag from us. What irritates me the most is people buying eg a lip balm for themselves and asking for a bag when they've got a handbag and various other bags. I wish we charged for the bags as its so wasteful.

@whatkatydid2013

Actually it's outdated advice/theory that packaging reduces food waste.
https://wrap.org.uk/resources/report/reducing-household-food-waste-and-plastic-packaging

Most fresh food deteriorates in plastic, for example potatoes last much better in a paper bag, carrots sweat in plastic, how many times do you see the ends of carrots rotting?

Whilst I agree you will end up with some that no one wants to buy, look at lidl they do boxes of damaged fruit and it sells...fast!

This !👌

Ofc there's been a massive reduction in single use bags since all this started. That's because supermarkets don't provide them any more. There's only reusable bags.

Millions more of them get produced than previously - numbers aren't clear because not all shops report how many they get through, plus many more are produced than are sold because customers use them without paying if they can. They are more environmentally damaging than the little flimsy bags we used to have and cost 50p-£1. Because they're not single use plastic they're not part of the bag charge scheme so the money can legitimately just stay with the shop.

And in all of this the original purpose of the 5p charge has become completely lost. It's not about the environment. Bags are now just another item that supermarkets can charge as they please for. The numbers produced aren't monitored and money doesn't go to charity - it's just a way for shops to add an extra couple of quid onto what they charge which is already now massively opportunistically inflated.

And ofc there is a seemingly endless supply of useful idiots ready to support this because anything that appears greenwashed taps into the whole "omg, why don't you care about the planet as much as I do?" puritanical self righteous one-upmanship that characterises so much of environmental debate.

Actually a bag for life fills the whole handbag up unless you're carrying a massive tote bag everywhere 🙄

@madeinmanc

You're how old and have never heard of a rucksack or tote bag?

No idea what the rest of your post is about.

What's stopping you from carrying your own bag? Get into the habit.

@madeinmanc @Ocani genuine question - why can't you take some fold up bags with you?

If I'm planning on shopping then obviously I do, but sometimes -the horror!- I go shopping SPONTANEOUSLY! 😮

@MsPloddingBottom Clearly, I have heard of a tote bag because I mention them in the bit of my post that you quoted in your post.

I keep a fold up bag in my handbag for just such occasions.

I'm not talking about myself. I'm talking about what supermarkets are doing.

If you can remember to take your purse/phone etc out with you I'm sure you can remember to bring a fold away bag with you.

I just don't get how people wouldn't want their area to look nice. 🤷‍♀️ Hence to pick up a bit of litter if they see it.
It doesn't take 2 mins. 30 second job. The poster was just making excuses.

So... what's your problem then? Bearing in mind I use public transport so I'm not some Range Rover driver with five servants and without a clue?

sometimes people forget to take a bag! It’s not that difficult to comprehend. When I forget I expect to be charged for a plastic one cos that’s the law but not for a paper one

Am I the only person who doesn’t want to put a brand new, expensive garment into the bag that I use to carry my groceries? I want a nice new paper carrier preferably lined with tissue. If the little shop in my local town can do it wtf can’t bloody John Lewis? JL is haemorrhaging customers and that has to be a factor.

What about having a different re-usable cloth bag for clothes. We have loads of hessian and cloth bags for supermarket /food shopping. They sometimes have old receipts/dirt from potatoes/ a bit of onion skin etc . But I do wash them and also use a different non food bag for other types of purchase. Surely its OK to use a bag that's had other clothing in - you don't need a new bag per item/shopping trip.

I mean a decent shop would give an automatic discount of the 10p on a big purchase like that so as to meet the law but also be good to customers. But I use a different trick. I buy some uncooked fish or meat in the food hall bit and they legally have to give you a free bag then I put the clothes I buy in there.

What about having a different re-usable cloth bag for clothes.

Because clothes are usually an impulse purchase and I want a nice crisp new paper carrier. It really isn’t much to ask in a shop that’s supposed to be relatively up market.

This. Fabric bags folded up take next to no space. And I have a messenger style bag that is itself big enough for small items like toiletries.