I mentioned before how supermarkets and convenience stores make customers pay for plastic bags. Actually it's a bit disheartening cause you are basically paying to advertise for the store. All shops in Taiwan give free bags, but they are just the simple bags you get in bulk 50 for a dollar from any megamart. Yet at the supermarket and convenience stores those bags have the logo of that store on them, so I guess that means they are a tad bit more to make, thus they charge you for them.
Well not that it really matters cause nobody ever asks for a bag....except when buying something embarrassing. A friend had to buy some feminine products and asked for a bag. I was a bit shocked cause I have never seen anybody actually pay for a bag, yet the bag was free....
Upon interrogating my friend, she mentioned that paper bags are free. I found this a bit surprising, cause if paper bags are free, why doesn't everybody just ask for a plastic bag? Instead you will see people leave the convenience store with hands and arms full of things, occasionally dropping them.
She then said perhaps they are free when you get some product to be embarrassed by. Which I guess could make sense, if it were not for the fact often I see people walking out of the supermarket with huge boxes of pads. Also if paper bags are only for carrying one specific thing, than wouldn't everybody know what's in it, thus any embarrassment would still be felt because the paper bag is just advertising "hey I'm carrying pads! Not only that but i'm too embarrassed by it so I have this paper bag, but you all know what's in it."
Regardless in the end I'm still not sure if paper bags are free or only free as a courtesy for people who bought more embarrassing products. I guess I could easily go to the store to find out, but then it would no longer be a mystery. Actually if it is just for embarrassing products, I am curious what do they consider an embarrassing product? Condoms? KY jelly? Pregnancy Test? And what about Vaseline? It has a variety of uses, if I have a more tawdry intent for it, can I get a paper bag?
Hmmmm, I thought this buy a bag concept was just in California. Within the past couple of years some cities in California are trying to eliminate both plastic and paperbags from landfills and general garbage. Customers have a choice, buy a bag for 10 cents, bring thier own bags, this is what the cities are hoping, or carry product in your arms. Yesterday I went to the grocery store and the customer in front of me had the bag boy carry her groceries in his arms to her car. The local mall is half in one city and half in another. It gets confusing because half the mall gives bags for free and the other half charges for them.
