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Need a Bag for That?
Listed under: Interviews
Published: Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Marks & Spencer is going to charge, the Daily Mail has a campaign to ban them and even Prince Charles is getting involved. Retailer Clare Cook asks what craft stores should be doing about carrier bags
Gordon Brown announced last week that he would give firms a year to stop handing out single-use carriers or face a law requiring them to introduce a charge. But how does this issue affect craft retailers, and is there anything that can be done in the meantime to address the problem?
“I'm a small independent selling everything from rubber stamps to die cut machines,” says Clare Cook. ”Should I follow in the name of conservation or do I continue to pack my customers' goods according to their size/spend/the weather?
My first concern is the environment, but I've been thinking about this a long time as buying bags obviously costs me money. If the likes of Marks & Spencer is starting to think about this issue, how would my customers feel about my service if I started charging them for bags? The big shops can actually afford to buy and give away more bags than I can, but are now choosing to charge under the "green" umbrella. Should independent retailers follow suit?
When you're selling lots of little things as I do, it's difficult. I'd rather not give customers a bag but I can't stop supplying them altogether. Unless a customer says they don't need a bag you give them one, but it concerns me what they do with it when they get home. If I have to give a bag I'd rather use paper. But if it's raining outside and they're buying paper or card, you feel you have to give them a plastic version. I sell large sheets of paper, but you can't put that inside paper if it's raining. You've got to have a carrier that is big enough to take it without it crumpling. I've got some printed bags but customers only get these for extra sturdiness if they're buying heavy goods or lots of different products.
When I shop in a supermarket I take reusable bags and I feel guilty if I forget them. Some of my customers have these when they come to me, but the majority don't and I would prefer them to bring their own. Last year I sourced some plain cotton shoppers which people can decorate – they're going quite well.
Every single retailer has to address this. Unless the customer takes the initiative to come to shop with a bag, I have no choice but to give them one. The only way around it is to put the onus on the customer and ask them if they need a bag. I'd like to think that they will start bringing their own, with more companies charging. It's all about changing peoples' habits.”
Clare Cook is the owner of Crafty Clare's in Hailsham, East Sussex.
“I'm a small independent selling everything from rubber stamps to die cut machines,” says Clare Cook. ”Should I follow in the name of conservation or do I continue to pack my customers' goods according to their size/spend/the weather?
My first concern is the environment, but I've been thinking about this a long time as buying bags obviously costs me money. If the likes of Marks & Spencer is starting to think about this issue, how would my customers feel about my service if I started charging them for bags? The big shops can actually afford to buy and give away more bags than I can, but are now choosing to charge under the "green" umbrella. Should independent retailers follow suit?
When you're selling lots of little things as I do, it's difficult. I'd rather not give customers a bag but I can't stop supplying them altogether. Unless a customer says they don't need a bag you give them one, but it concerns me what they do with it when they get home. If I have to give a bag I'd rather use paper. But if it's raining outside and they're buying paper or card, you feel you have to give them a plastic version. I sell large sheets of paper, but you can't put that inside paper if it's raining. You've got to have a carrier that is big enough to take it without it crumpling. I've got some printed bags but customers only get these for extra sturdiness if they're buying heavy goods or lots of different products.
When I shop in a supermarket I take reusable bags and I feel guilty if I forget them. Some of my customers have these when they come to me, but the majority don't and I would prefer them to bring their own. Last year I sourced some plain cotton shoppers which people can decorate – they're going quite well.
Every single retailer has to address this. Unless the customer takes the initiative to come to shop with a bag, I have no choice but to give them one. The only way around it is to put the onus on the customer and ask them if they need a bag. I'd like to think that they will start bringing their own, with more companies charging. It's all about changing peoples' habits.”
Clare Cook is the owner of Crafty Clare's in Hailsham, East Sussex.
It’s fine for customers to use their own bags when they want or remember, but if you’re selling things like sheets of paper that are not already wrapped there is a risk that they could become dirty from the reused bag - this applies to clothes shops too, but nobody mentions these shops in their discussions.
What about biodegradable plastic bags?