Ask Auntie Kate, the advice columnist at Too Good to be Threw The Premiere Spot on the Web for Consignment, Resale & Thrift Shops

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Ask Auntie Kate

A shopkeeper asks:

This bandwagon of Plastic or Paper? Neither. has me thinking that we as resale shops should pay especial attention and try not to add to the litter of merchandise bags. But re-using old grocery sacks just doesn't do a thing for my shop's image. What can I do that's not only eco-savvy, but will build my shop's reputation and word-of-mouth?

Auntie Kate answers:

Oh wow am I glad you asked that! Here's what I had to say recently on my blog:

OOOHHH, let's go GREEN... by buying more STUFF

Doesn't it strike anyone else that "going green" usually involves buying more stuff, the manufacture of which is the antithesis of ecology? Do you see the irony? Go green... by buying stuff from me.

Take, for example, the "reusable" shopping/grocery/tote bag. Here's the text from the first 4 sites that I got while Googling:

As part of the solution our store features a wide range of reusable shopping bags and other innovative, practical products all designed to help people consume less
Our handpicked selection represents ...a wide range of styles.
So far, [company name] has sold over 2,381,111 reusable bags
We exist to provide products....that help people reduce, re-use and recycle

Take a look at those "not a bag" "neither" bags. What costs did the environment pay to make this stuff?

Well, fortunately, my buddies in the consignment, resale, and thrift industry could have the solution...and a fund-raiser and a great PR angle...at their fingertips. A way to cut usage of one-time plastic or paper bags WITHOUT causing the environment to shudder once more at the solutions that short-sighted consumers think up.

Here's the deal. Think of your customers and suppliers (consignors, sellers, or donors, doesn't matter how your resale shop operates.) Now imagine how many tote bags, shopping bags, mesh bags each one has accumulated:
Canvas "registration" bags from conventions
Totes that the cosmetic companies give away with purchase
Bags they got free when they signed up for a loyalty card
Totes that PBS sent them when they contributed to a fund raiser
Fabric shopping bags they received at a charity gala
Special-event totes handed out at festivals and fairs

I mean, they alREADY have reusable totes. And how many, after all, can one person use?

Well, let's say they're not overly fond of carrying a tote that says SillyFest 2004 on it. Or using the Lancome bag to carry stuff home from Target. Well, how's about they SHARE... and let people who have, gasp, come shopping in your resale shop without their reusable tote... get their items home in fine shape anyway?

Okay, so Ms. Overstocked-with-Totes brings in the half-dozen she and her family own but don't need. She donates them to you (if you're a charitable resale shop) or to an account which benefits a charity (if you're a for-profit shop.)

You tag them with a nice eco-message price tag (I'd suggest cutting up a brown paper bag to make these tags, and tying them on with twine) saying something like: A Fellow Citizen brought this in for you to use... because recycling means we ALL take part... or whatever you come up with.

You price them at a nominal price, and add to your tag that proceeds or profits will be donated to [name a LOCAL eco-friendly charity].

So every day, in your shop, you can have a 2-way or 4-way full of donated neither-paper-nor-plastic totes which your shoppers can use.

They don't want to buy a 50-cent or $2 recycled tote? Rent it to them! Tell them to take one for the price on the tag, and when they bring it back within a week, you'll refund their contributed $1 or 2 out of your wild-flowers-in-the-median or save-the-bluegills fund if they insist.

Of course, you will still have to have some merchandise bags on hand for the sour-pusses who could care less.... but you could charge 'em for those if you like... and put the nickel right in a big clear glass jar in front of them, labeled "I needed a bag so I'll pay the price... all nickels donated to [your charity again]."

Because you are helping a charity and being eco-conscious, these events can be turned into a newsworthy story that might get you some free press.