I regularly shop at Giant for my groceries. Over the past year, I’ve repeatedly seen their environmentally friendly, reusable bags on sale near the checkout counter. Each time I see them, I think to myself, “you know, I really ought to be more socially responsible and start using those bags.” Then I see the price tag for these bags – $4.99. One relatively small, reusable bag is $4.99?
Screw it. Give me the plastic.
And the cycle continues.
Today was different though. I was in Target doing some back-to-school shopping with my son and I ran across a large end cap full of environmentally friendly, reusable Target bags. Medium sized, red in all their Target glory, and only $0.68 per bag. So, I promptly bought a bunch of them and plan to use them on my next venture through Giant.
Target just earned itself a bunch of free advertising.
This got me thinking about what a joke Giant’s environmentally responsible position is. Instead of offering the bags at cost to actually promote and advance environmental sustainability and encourage their customers to switch from plastic, they mark the suckers up to the point where purchasing them is cost prohibitive. Instead of trying to make a difference, they are trying to make a few bucks. Not a really smart strategy if you ask me. It just goes to show you how disconnected from reality some of these initiatives can become without the right motivation driving the strategy. A few dollars in profit in the short-term just is not the right way to go here.
Sorry for the rant, but just thought I’d share. Would love to hear your thoughts.
Until next time,
Brenden
