Make up your mind, stores: Use a plastic bag or don’t
Retailers brainstorm on new alternatives for plastic bags
If you’ve been inside an essential retail store in the past five months (instead of ordering online), then you already know that grocers are sending mixed messages when it comes to plastic bags. Whole Foods Market and Target stopped issuing their $0.10-off and $0.05-off discounts for bringing your own bags (BYOB) at checkout. In Chicago’s Roger’s Park neighborhood (and possibly more), the Whole Foods location was so strict about not bringing in plastic bags that security would make people leave any plastic bags near the front entrance doors to collect when consumers exited.
ADVERTISEMENT ~ Amazon
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a percentage from purchases with my referral links. I know some consumers are choosing to boycott Amazon for its DEI removal. However, after thinking about this thoroughly, I want to continue promoting cool products from small businesses, women-owned businesses and (specifically) Black-owned businesses who still feature their items on Amazon. As of the first date of Black History Month 2025, each new post will ALWAYS include a MINIMUM of one product sold by a Black-owned business. (I have visited the seller’s official site to verify that Amazon Black-owned logo.) I am (slowly) doing this with older, popular posts too. If you still choose to boycott, I 100% respect that decision.
This was a noticeable business redirection from their more eco-friendly options in years’ prior, encouraging consumers to not use one-use plastic bags. Both store chains mentioned above, along with other retailers, even sold reusable bags at the front registers.
As of March 2020 and beyond, consumers were required to use stores’ onetime use bags because of the worldwide coronavirus health outbreak. Although the United States has passed the 4 million mark in coronavirus infections and almost 144K deaths as of this publication date, retailers are back at it again and trying to find ways to decrease onetime-use plastic bags. They’re also allowing the money-off discounts again while they figure out new bag alternatives.