Consumer Habits Killing Reusable Bag Rebates
Using reusable grocery bags is a win-win-win situation. The shop saves money, the consumers get a rebate, and the landfill gets less clogged up by single use plastic bags. Problem is, many people are willing to use reusable bags at the grocery shop, but far too many people simply haven't developed the habit of remembering to take those reusable bags into the grocery shop from their homes and their cars!
"Getting consumers to change their habits is difficult under any economic conditions," said Joel Makower, a consultant and executive editor of Greener World Media Inc. "Stubbornness is recession-proof."
The above quote comes from an ABC News report, that Kroger and Safeway are starting to end the 3 to 5 cents-per-bag rebates, saying that the rebates simply don't work as an incentive to get people to actually remember to bring their reusable bags.
Too many people fail to realize the importance of their actions. Every plastic bag not used counts! The consumer who forgets to bring reusable bags can conveniently ease the conscience by saying that it's just 4 or 5 plastic bags, but such a mentality makes is so that the grocer ends up using hundreds, if not thousands of plastic bags each day, seeing that there's a steady stream of customers all day.
Grocers save money when customers bring reusable bags. They also want to stay ahead of plastic-bag bans and taxes that could cost them or their customers more money. Forgetful consumers fail to see the big picture; when they bring in reusable bags, they're not simply using less plastics, they're helping the grocer keep cost low, which helps keep the prices of groceries low as well.
The good news is that retailers aren't giving up on changing consumer habits for the better because Kroger officials say they're focusing more on promotions and educational efforts, investing in signs and other visible reminders to get consumers to change their habits, but at what point should complacent consumers take responsibility for themselves?
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