Oct 31, 2009 7:40 pm US/Eastern
Some Retailers Plan To Reward You For Going Green
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
As the holiday shopping season gets underway, national retail chains Target and CVS are the latest to reward customers for going green.
Jessica Kartalija has more.
Bring your own bags, make a few bucks.
"Oh, I think that's fantastic," said one shopper.
Target stores nationwide are rewarding customers for being green, giving customers five cents for every reusable bag they fill.
Target, the nation's fifth largest retailer, launches the program Nov. 1.
"I think it's a good idea. Something to give people/consumers incentive to buy and come into their building," said Crystal Chinnea.
When they tested the program, the company saw a 50% surge in customers who brought their own bags. Some chains, like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, have had reusable bag incentives for a while. CVS also began its own environmentally friendly program. For every four bags they save, customers get a dollar toward their next purchase.
"Absolutely [I would bring bags in]," said Mitchell Heyman. "Not for the money so much as for helping the environment."
Ninety billion plastic bags are produced each year in the U.S. alone. CVS and Target are supporting the movement to keep these bags out of landfills.
"I think it's a great idea because I hate those plastic bags all over the trees and the highways and so if people would reuse them as opposed to throwing them away, I think that's a great idea," a shopper said.
Not everyone is buying into the idea. Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, has no plans to pay customers for using their own bags.
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