A question of etiquette: Reusable bags
I recently stumbled upon a question on some private message boards that not only got me thinking, but prompted me to examine my own behavior. Do you feel a sense of etiquette when it comes to putting your reusable shopping bags to good use? Can you comfortably bring your Store A brand bags into Store B, or do you feel rude or tacky?
Before reusable bags were popular, my housemate and I used to walk downtown with our backpacks when we needed to buy food, carrying any overflow in plastic bags with our hands. Although this would still be a viable option, as many students know, store employees will shoot you funny looks for bringing in a backpack, if they allow it at all.
Personally, I don't like to use the reusable bags that I do own. They don't match, they look tacky, I hate the fact that they're made partly of plastics, and I don't much like carrying around anything with a store logo. Part of my New Year's Resolution this year will be to find a set of bags that I would use, and then get into the habit.
This question of etiquette will be weighing on my mind when I begin my selections.
Corporations do not have feelings, so why should I feel odd walking into a hardware store with the competition's reusable bags? If I were the type to wear something like a Nike sweatshirt, I certainly would not feel unwelcome in an Adidas store.
The alternative would be to acquire a set of store bags for every type of store that I visit, and this would be exhausting and ridiculous, not to mention costly.
On the other hand, it is not necessarily the corporation that one might be concerned about offending. The store employees need to be taken into account, and the etiquette might change when we're talking about a big chain hardware store's bag in a Mom-and-Pop shop.
Of course, we are paying them on that day for their goods and services, and it is not likely that store employees and small business owners shop exclusively at their own stores!
Businesses also pay for their plastic bags, so by using our own bags, we are saving them money.
Have you ever received negative comments from store owners or employees about your reusable bags? Do you, too, feel somewhat awkward where branded bags are concerned?
The alternative would be to acquire a set of store bags for every type of store that I visit, and this would be exhausting and ridiculous, not to mention costly.
On the other hand, it is not necessarily the corporation that one might be concerned about offending. The store employees need to be taken into account, and the etiquette might change when we're talking about a big chain hardware store's bag in a Mom-and-Pop shop.
Of course, we are paying them on that day for their goods and services, and it is not likely that store employees and small business owners shop exclusively at their own stores!
Businesses also pay for their plastic bags, so by using our own bags, we are saving them money.
Have you ever received negative comments from store owners or employees about your reusable bags? Do you, too, feel somewhat awkward where branded bags are concerned?
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