What you're about to read isn't a rant, but a rave. I had one of the most surprising, and wonderful customer service experiences this week.
As you may or may not know, Al and I are very committed to environmental concerns. We recycle everything we possibly can, always bring reusable bags to the store, limit utility usage, drive fuel efficient vehicles, and really try to do the right thing. We owe it to ourselves and our children's children to do something about our impact on the earth. Did I say this wasn't a rant? Whoops! :)
Back to the raving...
I bought two small zip around bags from Target several months ago. I carried them in my purse constantly and used the heck out of them. About two weeks ago, the zipper on one of the bags came off the track. Still usable, but not as convenient. I checked my local Targets for more bags, but they were out. The label on the bag said GreenBag.info so I checked them out. Ends up, they made most of the reusable bags we have - neat!
I sent an email to their US office asking if I could purchase a bag directly from them since my store was out. Nina, the sweet lady who responded, asked me to mail her the bag and she'd gladly replace it. Woah! Here I was willing to give them money, and she was going to replace my bag for free! I sent it off right away and had actually forgotten about it until UPS knocked on my door yesterday.
I had a box from Nina at GreenBag.info FULL OF BAGS of all sizes!!!!! Not only did she replace my Target zippy bag, but she included five other styles and a handwritten note.
The bags all laid out - sorry for the bad lighting. I was SO excited I couldn't be bothered with making the dog move or closing the other curtain.
The bags included:
Zippy purse-sized Target bag
Velcro purse-sized Whole Foods bag
wine bottle bag (woo woo!!)
Big Target bag (folds and snaps too!)
Big GreenBag.info tote with great outside pockets
Large NYU bag
I am still so excited and thrilled over this. Most companies don't take the time to even personally respond to an email and GreenBag.info not only did that, but they went above and beyond my expectations.
Thank you, GreenBag.info!
Next time you leave to go grocery shopping, bring your own bags! Tracey's doing it too now and I hope others who don't will start. If you don't have bags, I recommend checking out the GreenBag.info bags not only b/c they were so wonderful to me, but I really do like their bags best. They're soft, fold up nicely, are very strong (Al and I can do a HUGE grocery haul and only use 4 bags), and don't get all stinky from being stuffed in a storage bag all the time.
Stick some bags in your car, one at the office, hang them on your door - no point in having great bags if you forget to use them! I feel compelled to point out I'm not being paid or compensated in any way by this company...it's no different from us raving about shoes or dresses! Target doesn't pay us to talk about the clearance rack (though they really should, right?)
I'd love to hear from you who've "gone green." What do you do to make the world a better, cleaner place?
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Green up your shopping
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11 comments:
I use re-usable to. I have grocery bags (from the local stores, functional but not attractive) and a cute tote for clothes shopping. If I run in for a few things and forget my bag (as I do like 50% of the time) I just carry everything out in my hands. One less plastic bag in the landfill! :)
I love my reusable bags, and when I saw one from Target that zipped up into a little pouch the perfect size for putting in my purse, I was in love! But the very first time I used it, the handle ripped off. I wasn't even carrying like, lead in it or anything. Sigh.
Sometimes (usually when I'm going to the mall or somewhere else that isn't grocery shopping) I forget my bags. So I'll usually get a plastic bag with the first thing I buy, and then keep piling everything else into that bag. A lot of cashiers don't seem to understand what I mean when I say "I don't need a bag" and they get all confused even when I hold up my other bag! One time I even had a girl just say "uhhhh" and put my crap in a second bag anyway.
pearly - many grocery stores, like Krogers (I don't know where you live so I don't know if you have those there) recycle plastic bags. It's not as good as the reusable ones, but at least they don't go into a landfill!
As if my first comment wasn't long enough, I just found this link and thought I'd share:
http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080506/MULTIMEDIA02/80505016
Baggu Bags (www.baggubag.com) are fantastic reusable bags. They are a bit pricier, but they fold up so small, hold a ton, are comfortable to carry and after much use still look brand new. I gave all my friends and family a few as part of their Christmas Presents.
As for your story, Ally, two thumbs up for good customer service. It is so hard to come by nowadays!
You green people impress me! We dont have recycling bins or I would recycle. And Ive discovered I like aerosol hairspray which kills the ozone. Im afraid compared to the rest of you do-gooders, Im not doing my part!
Tiff - Yay! Every bit counts :) We end up with a plastic bag every now and then and I just save them all together and take them to Kroger for bag recycling.
Kelly - That's the same Target bag I had too - My straps were fine but the zipper crapped out. And OMG. I get SO ANGRY with cashiers over my bags. That's a post in itself. Thanks for the great link too...I appreciate the info.
Kimberly - Those are great too! I like the bigger "paper bag" size because I'm awesome at grocery Tetris and can fit and stack so much crap in one of these and then make Al carry it. hahaha
Leslie - We don't have recycling bins here either and we do it! No excuse, missy. At least get some reusable bags - it makes carrying in groceries SO much easier b/c your'e only using one or two bags and they can go over your shoulder too b/c the straps are long!
I do make second use of my plastic bags if that counts! I use them for carrying lunches, for trash can liners, to keep in the car for garbage.
Doesnt that count for something?!?!
It's not AS bad, but they still end up in a landfill.
I have a three-section laundry sorter and I toss my recycling in it. About once a month we drop it off at the recycling center (there's one close to you too) and that's it. We rinse everything so it never gets stinky and we use WAY less trash bags b/c of it now too.
We keep ours at the top of the basement stairs (the landing is large) but you could put something in your laundry room...
I use recycled paper carrier bags to give to mu customers in the shop (which cost a lot I could save money by usung plastic, but I dont want to) and I try to recycle all of the boxes that stock comes in, but this is a huge pain as they are so big and heavy. But every few months my bf brings a van home from work and we head off to the recycling plant!
In the house we recycle all that we can and use re-useable bags at the supermarket too!
That's great!! I always make a mental note of shops who either ask if I brought a bag, don't sass when I do bring mine, or provide recycled products.
Yay!! :)
I, too, love the Baggu bags. I've got six, and have them in constant rotation. And, for being a fashion blog, the Baggus are quite cute. You can choose from a large variety of colors, and they just started introducing some striped ones.
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