Marks & Spencer to Charge 5p per Bag in UK to aid profitability?
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Is it just me, or is Marks and Spencer trying very hard to be green? I’m all about being green, but I’m not one for supporting pathetic, horrible business ideas, and Marks & Spencer have really done it with this one.
Apparently, they’ve conducted research which concluded that the average life of a plastic bag was short-lived, and that it was bound to hit the trash can shortly after the goods were purchased and handed to the customer in the bag. So, instead of learning from better business in the United States, they’ve now decided to charge every customer 5 pence per plastic bag, like that’s going to make any sense. So far, this applies to Marks & Spencer Food only; the flashy plastic bag image must stay with the clothing or what?
Look, I think it’s simply a stupid idea to ‘help the planet’ by charging people for bags. Do they really think that someone who’s spending £50 in a department store will mind paying 5p for a bag in a country where the sales tax / VAT is 17.5%? No! Not only that, the best solution to a problem is not to penalize the end, but to tackle it at the root.
Why doesn’t Marks & Spencer switch to paper bags? There are environmental hazards with paper too. But come on now, it’s a step in the right direction. This attempt at winning the ‘green supermarkets war’ is a bad one; all Marks & Spencer will do is turn off customers. Anyone with even a little common sense can see that there is a problem with this model to help the planet. Just charging customers is a pathetic publicity stunt, one at which I hope Marks & Spencer fails, because it is an extremely superficial attempt to justify their savings and profits above and beyond a rather noble cause.
Help the UK and the environment by switching to paper bags that can decay, Marks & Spencer, not by passing on your cost to the customer. A fine should be imposed on all stores that supply customers with plastic bags. Then we’ll see who charges 50 pence and who switches to paper bags.
On another note, why isn’t the UK switching to paper bags?
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February 29th, 2008 at 4:04 am
Marks & Spencer to Charge 5p per Bag in UK to aid profitability?
In an attempt to market themselves better in the green supermarkets war in the UK, Marks & Spencer have pulled a weak publicity stunt. I think it’s a bad start and it’s weak, and rather than addressing the problem at its root, they are simply helpin…
March 30th, 2008 at 4:22 am
i think it is a very good start by charging for carrier bags. It is a way to discourage customers from buying carrier bags when they shop. All money that the company make on carrier bags goes to charity, this includes the re-useable bags that they have been selling for years already. It is not a profit making scheme, all companies have to start somewhere and marks and spencer is doing more then most companies are.
And with regard to why plastic is used instead of paper, unfortunately paper bags take up alot of space and dont compress down like plastic carriers. Its the simple truth so therefore plastic bags are more practical for delivery and storage.
March 30th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Sarah,
Thanks for chipping in. High five to Marks and Spencer for giving the 5p to charity, but I don’t think it helps the cause even one bit. This is the wrong place to start. The fact that paper bags take up more space is a LOSS making proposition for Marks & Spencer, because they will have to pay more for storage and freight of such bags, so, sticking to plastic does aid their profitability. Now, it would be fair if Marks & Spencer had to pay a 5p penalty for every plastic bag they used to give to the customer. The plastic bag is the doing of the business, and penalizing the consumer is not the solution. It’s bad business thought by a bunch of rather incompetent and greedy management. They want you to think charity so you give them a break, which is what you are doing.
And how about reducing the amount of plastic on all the food items? All ready-to-eat food like the sushi and sandwiches in their refrigerators comes in plastic. Why not cut down on that?