to think M & S should have swopped a carrier bag

[scaredoflove]

I was in M & S today, I bought jeans and sweater, a sandwich and packet of crips

I put the food into my handbag and refused the tiny free lime green carrier bag as I didn't need it

The jeans and jumper were put into the biggest dark green plastic bag I have ever seen and the checkout had run out of smaller ones

So I said, just stick it them in a larger lime green food carrier...'oh no, we can't do that, you will have to pay 5p for that carrier'

So they will happily give me a free enormous plastic bag but not a smaller food bag unless I pay for it

Anyone else find that bizarre??

I went to another till and got a small dark green one in the end

and before anyone has a go....I usually have my trolley dolly with me but my car and trolley dolly got taken to the garage this morning unexpectedly

I was a bit peeved in M&S at the weekend also. 500 grams green grapes £2.49. 500 grams black grapes £2.49. 500 grams green/black grapes £2.99. How do they work that one out.

Ah, you know they're trying to get us into good habits.

Them's the rools. And they must stick by the letter to them

hey, here's the biggest swizz going at M&s.

For ages, they have had an offer on buying two lots of bacon for £4. Big STicker - 2 for £4!

But one pack of bacon is £1.77.

It took me weeks to notice this. And even then, dd1 noticed it, not me.

I stopped shopping there because of their plastic bag charging because:

1. Their food is in so much flipping plastic packaging anyway I fail to see how charging me money for a plastic bag advertising the shop is going to help.

1. I want paper bags!! Why will nobody give out paper bags??

1. Their food tastes boring, tbh.

Another stupid M+S policy: I bought one of their eat in for £10 meal deals ( main, side dish, desert + wine). Didn't want the wine as can't drink atm and too heavy to carry home. So they charged me £11ish. When I complained they said I had to have the wine to get the £10 deal so I ended up buying a random bottle of wine and giving it to the person behind me in the queue.

I resent being grudged plastic bags as though I am some sort of irresponsible eco terrorist by any supermarket that

1. Flies in out of season fruit and veg from 3rd world countries,
2. Has more plastic packaging on their food than is necessary, since I have to cart that home and dispose of it

Yes, by all means encourage personal responsibility- I dont mind paying for bags but FFs put your own house in order and stop guilt tripping me at the checkout!

I say well done M&S. They're a well known, unthreatening mainstream shop and they have broached environmental issues with a core of people who are difficult to reach.

So they aren't perfect - you can't grudge them trying.

Personally I detest the argument 'I'm not going to change until they do'. Much good that argument will do us as we inch nearer towards climate catastrophe.

'I won't tidy my room until she's tidied hers' etc. It's not an adult argument.

They've now added orange juice into the meal deal thing. As a pregnant woman whose main trigger for migraines is OJ, that's not overly helpful... but bollocks anyway, I have the house to myself on Friday night so I'm going to pig out on Gammon, Ultimate Mash and something Chocolatey.

Boffinmum

I want paper bags too! WHY are shops not doing paper bags?? WHY?! I don't understand!

Sorry was trying to put across my level of crossness, failed somehow and ended up with some random stars... oh well.

GIVE ME A PAPER BAG!!

DSM you have made me laugh a few times these last couple of days

Thanks

Bloody hell, Pointydog, welll done to your DD for noticing it. didnt realise that about the bacon I actually bought the twinpack on friday aswell.

Maybe they charge because it is not just any carrier bag, it is an M&S carrier bag!

YANBU, that is nuts. They were about to give you 2 bags for free, FFS!

I've always found it annoying that M&S charge for their flimsy food bags and not their clothes bags though. It's obviously just some cynical ploy to look 'green' compared to other food retailers, but because clothes shops seem to have escaped this whole carrier bag scorn, the 'green' issue is suddenly conveniently forgotten. (And it seems back-to-front to me really, because I'd happily put my clothes in a reusable bag, but I don't always want to put liquids or meat in one).

Monsoon have used paper bags for ages DSM.

Pointydog - I noticed the same thing in Sainsbury's with the Dove soap, single soaps are less than 50 p, but a 4 pack is over £2. Works out to be about 20p or so more expensive to get the bulk pack!!

I ahve been charged a lot recently for M&S carrier bags but I don't mind as it reminds me to bring them (although not worked yet!)
But I agree about the clothes bags - I once bought some bras and my usual sandwich etc and she said "We'll have to charge you 5p for a food bag...oh unless you don't mind me putting it in with your bras" why wouldn't they anyway?! Suppose the idea is that food bags are given away by the dozen in a weekly shop whereas clothes bags not as frequently.
Also - do the people who reuse bags now buy bin liners? How is that better?

can anyone follow that ramble?

PolarBear, yes, I'm with you on the bin liner thing! Not only do I now have to buy bags specifically for this purpose, I also have a stash of plastic 'bags for life' (although I am slowly swapping to fabric ones but at £1-£5 a go I'm having to stagger their purchase) which means I am now using even MORE plastic carriers than before! It's madness, madness I tells thee!

I wish I had been behind leftangle at the checkout!!

Er Gagamama I think you will find it's becuase they use 5 times the number of food bags than clothing bags. It's a good thing that they charge for bags and I can't believe how many people moan about it.

Totally agree tonysoprano.

It's just the 'yes but' brigade. No matter what change anybody tries to get them to make for the better, it's always 'yes but'.

How can getting people to use fewer placcy bags be anything but a good thing? Not to mention, the fact that most people don't value anything they get for nothing, creating a wasteful society.

It's not as if the bags cost a fortune, it's just that they aren't free any more. Why other supermarkets don't grow a pair and follow suit I do not know.