Anyone else think Superdrug are having a laugh at our expense?

jenniewb

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Exactly. You are not paying for the privilege of advertising the company, you are donating to charity for the privilege of (a) helping to pollute the environment and (b) being too lazy to carry a bag at all times.

People shouldn't assume that Superdrug or TK Maxx are wasting enormous amounts of packing materials in stocking up their stores. Asda and M&S have committed to zero waste going to landfill within the next few years! Asda Bootle is the flagship store of this concept.

Sorry, seen the evidence myself. Plus, know people who work in SD who can also vouch for me. I used to work in a fashion retail store, the waste, cardboard, plastic is so much we required 3 massive massive bins (the type only industry and people in blocks of flats use). That happened twice a week. This was after our company made a statement about reducing waste.

This is not to mention the fuel costs, the lighting costs- ever seen a dim light in a shop? and the excess packaging on products. I mean, just how many wrappers does a box of pills/packet of chewing gum/ toothpaste box require? I have seen some [STRIKE]cost[/STRIKE]- sorry, environmentally aimed cut backs but no where near enough. If the stores really wanted to make a difference, they'd look at their advertising. Instead, they only seem to try to make cuts where they think it wont touch their profits.

frugalstephen

Since starting this thread, I'd like to congratulate Superdrug on changing their policy. I wrote to their Customer Service Department originally to highlight the errors of their ways, and they explained it was only a 'trial'.

They now use common sense and do not any longer charge their customers for them to supply a bag to put their purchases into.

Don't you just love a happy ending! :j

daveg72

I went into M&S the other week and found a big pile of pre-packed roast beef that was so overly packaged, it was unbeleivable. I went to customer services, kicked up a fuss and told them to practice what they preach. The went and removed it all from the shelves. This is by no means an isolated incident, why should they be allowed to get away with using as much packaging as they want (and charging us for it) and have the nerve to charge us for carrier bags on top. M&S is a farse.

I don't do any shopping there now and always carry a few bags with me.

FelinePrincess

I read the 1st page of this thread and scanned through the second, I don't want to get into any debates about wether bags should be charged for or not - although I personally think they should charged for and don't really see the big problem if superdrug or any other shop make 4.5p profit on them (although it's better if the money goes to charity), seeing as they are probably making several pounds profit everytime you shop there it's not really alot in the bigger picture.

Anyway, I wanted to comment on a couple of things mentioned in this thread..

Paper bags - although paper bags are ovbiously made from natural, renewable resources they cannot really be considered a very environmentally friendly option for the following reasons:
Most paper bags are made from a high content of non sustainably sourced virgin pulp - not recycled material.
A very high amount of energy is used in the manufacturing process of paper bags.
Paper bags are very heavy and bulky to transport meaning alot of fuel is used and emmisions created as a result
When paper bags break down they release a high amount of methane.

Biodegradable bags - I just wanted to clarify with these that the truly biodegradable bags are made from a cornstarch based material (PLA) and the majority of 'biodegradable bags' that are given out in shops are not actually biodegradable as they are made from polythene. One example of these bags are tesco carrier bags - they state they are biodegradable but they are infact 'degradable' meaning they are made from polythene with an additive to speed to the break down process, in most cases it will still take several years and you certainly would not want to put these on your compost heap. There is very little environmental benefit in using these bags as opposed to a normal plastic bag.

Corn starch based PLA carrier bags may be put on your compost heap and will break down leaving no harmful residue in as little as 12 weeks. These bags feel totally different to a polythene bag, they feel very soft and silky and are actually much stronger then polythene bags. If overloaded they will not split instead they actually stretch. Sadly I am not aware of any supermarket or high street shop which use these bags at the moment, however when it comes to carrier bags these are the environmentally friendly option.