PRIMARK BAGS A COMPLAINT

 02-08-2007

Earlier this year, Britain's major retailers promised to reduce the environmental impact of their plastic carriers by 25%.  Primark - which has stores in Birmingham and Wolverhampton - has a funny way of going about it.

A shopper who went into one of their shops in the north of England recently to buy a jumper - but when he declined the offer of a plastic bag at the cash till, he was told he would have to take one anyway.

The till operator warned:  “You have to have the item in a carrier bag otherwise you can't buy it. You can throw [the bag] away once you leave the store.”

Writing about the incident in the excellent Grown Up Green newsletter (www.grownupgreen.org) the shopper says he told Primark:  “I never accept carrier bags in any store because of the environmental destruction that they cause

“It seems crazy that while other retailers are actively encouraging customers to reduce carrier bag usage, your store is forcing customers who do not want them to have them any way (and,hey just throw it away once you've left the store)!”

Primark, which signed up to the initiative to reduce the environmental impact of carrier bags responded:  “It is the strict policy of this company that all purchases, without exception, be placed in a bag provided for that purpose.

“This is to provide protection for both our customers and staff and acts as a visible proof of purchase in addition to the till receipts.

“As you will appreciate, although a receipt is issued for every item, it is not visible to store detectives and store security guards.”

In other words, it's a security measure, but that reply begs a few questions of its own. 

As another contributor to the Grown Up Green site observes, if shoplifters take Primark bags into Primark stores it sounds like they could be onto a winner!

More seriously, why doesn't the company just have a system of electronic tags for their clothes which can then be removed at the cash desk?

In the long term, the company is apparently planning to use more paper bags and reduce the amount of plastic in its carriers, but the fact remains that if you want to buy something at Primark today a bag must come with it - despite their green pledge.

Saving the planet is one thing - but it's obviously nothing compared to preserving the bottom line.