I’ve been using PC Green Bags a lot over the last year. In fact I use these bags most places I shop – not just Superstore. While I like “doing my part” for the environment, I wonder how genuine the environmental efforts of Loblaws are.
Local fruit and veggie vendor Pete’s Fruitique has been charging for the use of plastic bags for a while now. This seems like a genuine effort from a small shop in the City Market. Of course their produce is shipped in from distance places – but still a small local business such as this can reduce waste and get brownie points from me.
Now Superstore has joined the pay-for-plastic segment of green-washed marketing. I’m not sure if Superstore means it. They are certainly reducing bag usage; last night I saw several people leaving the store carrying groceries stacked precariously in hand with no bags.
Still, I don’t know if I can respect this “green initiative” from a company that’s business model is to have multiple stores in the city with huge parking lots, high ceilings and every double-packaged food item the market requests.
I’m not the only cynic – Treehugger has an article with lines such as:
Selling a bag for 99 cents doesn't make you green; selling decent food at the peak of our short season to fill it does.
[ED: Interestingly the bags were half off this week making them unavailable for the new pay-for-plastic launch.
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