Yesterday, my husband and I were at Whole Foods getting our goodies for the week. As we were checking out, I noticed little signs on the register stating that the days of plastic bags at WFM are numbered. As of March 1st, in our store in Massachusetts, and in all stores by April 22nd, Earth Day 2008, Whole Foods will no longer offer shoppers the option of plastic. It’s paper or bring your own.
Every time we go, when they ask, I always say plastic. And I notice a very slight, but noticeable, grimace in the face of the clerk. Hey, we have two dogs and, um, the plastic bags come in handy. I always want to say, hey, wait, I swear, I am doing something useful with these bags, I’m surely not as bad as you think I am!
But this time, after reading their happy little signs, and finding out I could purchase my very own reusable bag for $.99, I bought 5 of those Whole Foods bags. Yes, I know, Whole Foods isn’t necessarily an angel, and as one of my colleagues recently reminded me, they are closing a few Wild Oats stores following their acquisition of the natural food store chain.
But you know what? All that aside, I still walked out of the store yesterday feeling pretty darn good about myself. Not only is the company doing something good, and congrats to them for the bold decision, but they’ve executed it in such a way that they are letting us consumers in on the feel good experience. Win-win, right? Now here’s hoping I remember to bring my nifty new bags with me next time I shop.
I’m glad someone thought this story was worthy of a post. As a fellow WFM shopper, I was excited to see the “no plastic bag” announcement recently. A little nudge in the eco-friendly direction doesn’t hurt anyone. Here’s a tip, keep your reusable bags in a visible place or in your car, so that you’re not without them when you get to the grocery store. This has happened to me far too many times!
Being a dog-owner as well, the only thing I use plastic bags for is… well, you know, the same as Rachel… so now I guess I’ll have to get my dirty job bags elsewhere.
Even though the clerk or the cashier expressed a slightly negative reaction to your choice, I suppose it is a good thing. It shows that such environmental awareness trickles down to the most basic employees. They must have some sort of discipline going on in there. If only more people took the time to consider the effects of what they are doing. Hopefully, more and more people realize that this climate change is real.
“I’ll have to get my dirty little job bags elsewhere”???
No, you don’t have to use plastic bags for your dog’s poop. Those long handled dustpan-like metal pooper scoopers are fine, hold it under Fido’s butt as he goes and knock the load down the nearest sewer drain (it’s a more or less natural product, not much different than a banana peel) rather than put your plastic-enclosed gift to the future in the trash -> landfill-> forever.
If you’re going to feel good about yourself, it may as well be for something you really CHANGE, not simply redirect to someplace other than Whole Foods…
Yay for Whole Foods!! I was at Stop & Shop yesterday and while I was standing on line I noticed how many plastic bags were wasted on one person. The average amount was about 6 bags – some only had one item! I bring my own bags which I purchased at WFM for $.99.
As for your dog “issue,” there is a solution. Why not purchase biodegradeable dog bags? It’s an alternative to the scooper and it doesn’t sit in a landfill for years and years. Here’s a handy resource: http://www.idealbite.com/tiplibrary/archives/when_nature_calls_your_dog/
Well, all I have to say is: it’s about friggin’ time. I can’t wait til every grocery chain in the country follows suit and all of America will finally rid itself of plastic bag hell.
In Europe, it’s common practice to bring your own bags/boxes/baskets with you when grocery shopping. I have to say it’s taken me a while to change my behavior such that I actually remember to bring my re-usable bags with me before I leave the house for the grocery store, but I’m getting there.
Whole Foods is a joke. Why don’t they give away the bags?? I’m supposed to drop a buck on a grocery bag so I can give them free advertising on their bag/billboard??? Last time I checked all you elitist advertising people got paid (nicely) for performing your services.