Auntie Kate The Resale Expert

A resale shopkeeper asked me, a while back: [I’m] 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 said here on Auntie Kate a while back: OOOHHH, let’s go GREEN… by buying more STUFF

And of course 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, how’s about they SHARE… and let people who have come shopping without their reusable tote… get their items home in fine shape anyway?

Okay, so Ms. Overstocked-with-Totes brings in the dozen or two 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 neither-paper-nor-plastic totes which your shoppers can use.

Got some folks who don’t have their “own” reusable bag, don’t want to spend a dollar or 50 cents or $3 on one from your “Recycle Tree that saves a tree”? 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 contribution, you’ll take it right 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.

I was inspired to present this promotional idea,  by an entry on another blog, The Environmental Cost of a Free Canvas Bag