Green Retailing Memo: New Issues Emerging From Growing Consumer Use of Reusable Bags: Worker Injuries, Shoplifting Claims, 'Double-Bagging'

In Australia, the shop assistants' union which represents supermarket clerks, is claiming the growing use of reusable shopping bags, especially those of the canvas and cotton variety, is causing injuries to store clerks because the reusable bags can hold up to 40% more weight in groceries than single-use plastic carrier bags or paper grocery sacks. As a result, all the lifting and toting of the heavier-when-filled reusable bags are causing injuries to the store workers, according to the union.

As a result, the shop assistants' union is proposing laws that would protect the store workers from injuries caused by the heavier-when-filled reusable shopping bags.

The Aussie store clerks' union says it has statistics which show about 11.3% of the nation's supermarket clerks have been injured lifting the reusable shopping bags after packing them with a customer's grocery purchases.

The issue is beginning to gain steam in Australia because the country's government is expected to pass a law banning the use of single-use plastic carrier bags next year.

The union is just beginning to formulate a series of laws it says are designed to protect the store clerks from back and other injuries they say are increasingly being sustained because the canvas and cotton reusable shopping bags can hold many more items than a single-use plastic carrier bag, thus becoming much heavier to lift off checkout stand counters, put into shopping carts and carry out to customers' cars at supermarkets which offer that service.

In a piece earlier this week in which we mentioned that one unintended consequence (although it should have been expected) of the single-use plastic carrier bag ban for supermarkets over 10,000 square feet the city of San Francisco, California enacted last year, is that the use of paper grocery sacks in the stores has increased dramatically. The allow still allows the store to offer paper grocery sacks for free to shoppers.

Our point isn't to suggest the plastic bags should not have been banned. That's the choice of people and governments in democratic societies.

Rather, we're just pointing up that there often are unintended consequences when laws like bag bans are enacted.

It appears the supermarket clerk health and safety issue being brought up by the Australia shop assistant's union is one of those unintended consequences; in this case of the growing popularity of consumers doing the right and "green" thing by bringing their own reusable shopping bags to the grocery store rather than having the store use single-use plastic carrier bags or paper grocery sacks to pack their purchases.

The issue isn't isolated to Australia

The heavier reusable shopping bag issue and store worker injury or potential injury issue isn't unique to Australia. We've noticed it personally in stores in the USA. The eyes of supermarket clerks sometimes glaze over when they see a shopper present three or four canvas or cotton reusable shopping bags for their grocery order to be packed in.

We've asked a store clerk or two about that "look," and they told us the only problem with the reusable bags is that when full they are so much heavier than plastic bags--and even paper grocery sacks when filled. They've added that after an eight hour day--especially one in which lots of shoppers brought their own reusable grocery totes--of packing and lifting the heavier bags, their backs and shoulders get rather sore.

Others have noticed this phenomenon in supermarkets as well.

For example, below is a post a consumer wrote on the Yahoo Answers website regarding a discussion of just this issue involving reusable shopping bags at supermarkets:

When the cashier started scanning my merchandise I told her I brought my own bags. She just looked at me confused as hell and then said she couldn't use them. I was a little baffled because why couldn't she? I come to realize it was mostly due to pure laziness in wanting to pack with my bags. She told me I had 2 options 1. let her bag them in which she'd use the plastic bags or 2. I bag them and use my own bags.

A bit later on Yahoo Answers, a number of posters mentioned the reusable shopping bag being heavier than plastic grocery bags when full issue regarding this poster's reusable bag experience at her supermarket, as the likely culprit to that store clerk's attitude and behavior.

We doubt if such flat out refusal's are the norm--or even a 5% of the time issue. However, other consumers say they've experienced similar (though not refusals like the shopper quoted above) situations regarding supermarket clerks and reusable bags.

Below is an experience one consumer posted on a website called Daily Green:

2008 @ 2:18PMBigGUM said...Only once did a grocery clerk not want to use my bags. I suppose I could have thrown a fuss, but I opted to bag my own stuff instead. Usually my grocery store doesn't blink an eye and recently they've even started selling their own bags. Now just the other night at Target the cashier first attempted to scan my bags, then just went ahead and bagged my bags (!) in a plastic Target bag. When she finally understood what they were for she was flummoxed. Didn't I *like* the Target bag? Oh, I must be one of those save-the-environment people, right? No joke!

Other emerging issues regarding reusable shopping bags

This consumer's post points up another issue (other than the store clerk health and safety one) we've been recently told about regarding reuseable shopping bags in stores.

That issue is that in some cases store workers either tend to think shoppers are buying the bags at the store--and thus try to scan them like the consumer quoted above experienced--or even worse, we've been told by a number of consumers that store personal thought the shopper might be shoplifting with the reusable bags.

For example, below is a quote posted on Daily Green regarding the potential shoplifting issue:

-2008 @ 7:54PMAshleyThe Amazon said...I have literally been chased down by Wal Mart greeters when I enter a store with my own reusable bags, usually on a regular basis. One greeter claimed it was a theft issue and she needed to put a pink sticker on it to differentiate from their merchandise. These were bags emblazoned with "IKEA" and "Whole Foods" on them!! So obviously not theirs! I usually get dirty looks from the cashiers as well. They don't understand why I try to cram all of my items in the bags I brought. I have had these issues at 3, count them, 3 different stores. I wonder if its really a big company issue. Kinda makes me less likely to wanna go there.

Lastly, it seems many supermarket clerks are used to a certain routine which all shoppers are aware of. That routine has been company policy at supermarkets for years, primarily for perceptual rather than real reasons, but flies in the face of the reusable bag culture.

Here is an example: Clerks will put fresh meat, poultry or seafood for example into a separate plastic carrier bag so as to not let the package come into contact with other grocery products. They often do the same with fresh produce and other perishable or frozen items. In the latter case to keep the items frozen or cold. The concept is that in the separate bag there will be no "contamination."

Many shoppers who religiously bring their own bags to the store say this practice still happens to them when the supermarket clerk is bagging their grocery order.

The clerk, following store and company policy will "bag" fresh meat, poultry and seafood items for example in separate single-use plastic carrier bags, then put those bags along with all the other groceries into the customer's reusable shopping bags.

Of course, such practices defeat the source-reduction purpose the consumer intended by bringing his or her own bag to the supermarket. The shoppers then say they have to ask the clerk to please remove the items from the single-use plastic bags; which the clerks always do in the cases we've been told about or read about.

For example, here is what a poster on Daily Green had to say about the situation:

1-10-2008 @ 11:37AMBrigid Keely said...When I shop at grocery stores other than Whole Foods, I get confused looks when I say I brought my own bags. Sometimes the bagger bags everything in plastic bags (double bagged, t'boot) and then drops them in the bags I brought.One cashier teased me for having bags emblazoned with logos from stores other than his, but it was very friendly, and he made sure the bagger bagged our stuff correctly (ie, not in plastic).

Conclusion

Like all behavior and policy change, the growing use of reusable shopping bags isn't without its problems, as our examples point out. And since the goal is to grow this behavior and practice further, the unintended consequences are likely to grow and multiply.

However, we believe the in-store related behaviors can be fixed with effort by management, consumer patience, cooperation by the store clerks, and time.

The supermarket clerk injury situation currently being brought to attention by the Australian retail clerks union though could just be a bigger and less easily solved issue.

With the consumer use of reusable bags growing, more governments banning single-use plastic carrier bags completely, with others passing bag-fee laws and even retailers like Whole Foods Market self-banning the plastic bags in its stores beginning on April 22, we think the health and safety issue regarding the reusable shopping bags and potential and real store worker injuries is in its infancy. In other words, as the use of reusable shopping bags increases, so will the intensity of the issue, and not just in Australia.

We expect the issue to begin to emerge in the United States and Europe soon, as it is presently in Australia. As such, it promises to add another layer to the already multi-layer issue of paper, plastic--or reuseable bags.

New TNS Retail Forward Study Looks at What We've Called the Small-Format Grocery Store Retail Revolution in America and Quantifies Our Analysis

As regular Natural~Specialty Foods Memo (NSFM) readers know, in August, 2007 we first suggested there was emerging the beginnings of a small-format grocery store retailing revolution occurring in the United States, in which major grocery chains were more-and-more getting into the game by creating and launching stores ranging in size from about 10,000 -to- 25,000 square feet, which is what we in the main define as small-format.

[Do a key-word search in the search box at the top of the blog using phrases such as small-format grocery retailing revolution, small-format grocery stores, small-format food retailing, Small Marts, small-format revolution, small-format stores, small-format food stores and small-format price-impact stores, (one phrase at a time of course) to get a sampling of those pieces. We also suggest reading through the NSFM archives for more pieces.]

We've sited the success in the U.S. of German Retailer Aldi, with its over 850 small-format, price-impact Aldi USA grocery stores, SuperValu, Inc.'s success with it's growing Sav-A-Lot small- format discount grocery chain, the Trader Joe's phenomenon, with the rapid-growth and high demand all over the U.S. for its specialty grocery stores, which now number well over 300, and the entrance into the Western USA by Tesco, with its small-format, convenience-oriented Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market grocery stores, as examples of this growing small-format grocery store revolution.

And that's not all. From August, 2007 to the present we've also sighted as evidence of a small format grocery store revolution in America, the fact that mega-retailer Wal-Mart has developed its very own small-format grocery store, it's 15,000 -to- 20,000 square foot Marketside banner, the first stores of which are set to open in the Phoenix, Arizona Metropolitan region this summer.

Additionally, we've reported on and written about Safeway Stores, Inc.'s planned intrance into the small-format grocery store segment. Safeway plans on opening four or five 15,000 -to- 25,000 square foot combined grocery and fresh and specialty foods-oriented grocery stores this summer in the San Jose region in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Other players in this small format revolution we've written about include Pennslyvania-based Wawa Food Markets, which operates hundreds of hybrid small-format grocery markets-convenience stores in the Eastern USA, supermarket chain Hy-Vee, which recently opened its first small-format grocery store in Lincoln, Nebraska, supernatural grocery retailer Whole Foods Market, which has created Whole Foods Express, it new small-format store of about 20,000 square feet, the first of which is set to open soon in a remodeled former Wild Oats Market building in Boulder, Colorado.

These players are just the tip of the small-format grocery store retailing revolution in the USA of which we've reported on, written about and analyzed here in Natural~Speciatly Foods Memo.

Lastly, we've also written about the fact that the original small-format food retailer, the local independent grocer, continues to thrive in Americaby building and operating small-format grocery stores. That independent is in fact the model in many ways for the small-format revolution being created by this larger, chain operators.

International small-format grocery store revolution

Further, we've also said there's an international small-format grocery store revolution occurring. Many of the players are the same--with a few more added--internationally.

Tesco, with its rapidly-growing Tesco Express hybrid grocery store/convenience store chain and German grocery chains Aldi and Lidl are leading the international small-format grocery retailing revolution.

France's Carrfour, the second largest retailer in the world, is becoming a major player in the international small-format grocery store revolution as well, especially in Asia.

And of course, many other smaller players, as is the case in the U.S., are part of the growing small-format grocery store revolution throughout parts of the globe.

New TNS Retail Forward small-format grocery store study

It's seems we were somewhat on track beginning nearly ten months ago when we proclaimed a small-format grocery store revolution was occurring in the U.S., as well as in many other parts of the world.

A new study just released by the well-respected market research firm TNS Forward's Columbus, Ohio office says consumers are ready and willing to shop at small-format grocery stores that feature convenience in shopping and fresh, prepared foods.

The study also includes a caution which we use frequently in our pieces here at NSFM, which is that the jury is still out as to whether small-format grocery stores in general will meet consumer expectations, satisfy their needs as a primary or even secondary shopping venue, and provide a return on investment for the stores' owners.

The study also hits on three key points we make often about small-format grocery stores:

>Research: The study says food retailers considering a small-format grocery store strategy must monitor and analyze shopper needs, attitudes and expectations well in advance of launching a small-format store or chain.

>Localism: The report says paying attention and focusing on local (region and neighborhood) culture (and cultural differences) and demographics is key in launching any small-format grocery store venture.

>Partnering: The research study says retailer's launching a small-format grocery store venture need to seek input from grocery, fresh foods and consumer packaged goods suppliers and partners, as they have national knowledge as well as local experience, among other reasons for doing so.

The above three aspects of small-format grocery store retailing, which we summarize as research, localism and partnering, are themes we've been including in out numerous pieces on the small-format grocery store retailing revolution occurring in the U.S. and in other parts of the world for months.

U.S. Consumer attitudes about small-format grocery stores

The TNS Retail Forward study says 64% of U.S. shoppers surveyed said they would either definitely or probably shop at a small-format grocery store. [Based on our own research and some others we think that number is a bit higher.]

The study also notes consumers surveyed indicated the combination of the small-format (convenience), combined with fresh, prepared foods offerings is a compelling offer for "the time-pressed shopper."

Jennifer Halterman, a senior consultant at TNS Retail Forward and the primary author of the study says, "The small-store trend is part of an ongoing evolution in the retail food sector, and we expect more players to throw their hats into the ring."

We agree completely with the latter part of her quote--that more retailers are throwing, and getting ready to throw, their small-format grocery store retailing hats in the ring. I

In fact, we invite Ms. Halterman--and our readers--to stay tuned over the next couple of weeks as we will be reporting and writing about some new entrants into the small-format grocery store retailing revolution who nobody else has reported on yet. In fact, look for one or more of those fresh pieces later today, along with lots of upcoming analysis in the weeks ahead.

Green Retailing Memo: Sainsbury's Rejects UK Bag-Fee Scheme; CEO Says Will Use A Customer 'Carrot' Instead of the 'Stick'

The combination of proposed legislation in the United Kingdom which would either levy a fee on each single-use plastic carrier bag a customer requests in a supermarket or ban the bags outright, along with a campaign called "Ban the (plastic) Bags," launched in February by London's Daily Mirror newspaper, has dramatically increased the plastic grocery bag use issue in the nation's supermarket and related retail industries, as well as among politicians and consumers.

British Chancellor Alistair Darling, who has the support of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, recently outlined a plan to pass legislation which would place a per-bag charge on the single-use plastic carrier bags unless the nation's retailers (especially supermarkets) take meaningful steps to reduce the bags' use.

In response, Sainsbury's CEO Justin King said yesterday: "Sainsbury's does not believe that charging for single-use bags is the only answer or that it is the most likely way to achieve lasting benefit for the environment."

"forcing customers to make a decision they don't fully understand is not the best way to achieve sustained behavior change," King added in a statement. "This (behavioral change) requires a series of actions to help customers to reduce, reuse and recycle."

Kings says beginning this weekend, Sainsbury's will test number of new initiatives and programs designed to determine what engages and helps people to reduce the number of single-use plastic carrier bags they use.

"Since last April, we (Sainsbury's) believe we've given away more free "bags for life" (inexpensive reusable carrier bags) than any other retailer," King says. "We now need to help customers remember to re-use them to make a difference on this issue and achieve a 50% reduction in disposable bag use."

Nearly all of the UK's leading supermarket chains--Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Waitrose, Marks & Spencer and the Co-op among them--have pledged to reduce the number of single-use plastic carrier bags they use in their stores by 25% by the end of this year, over the amount the respective chain's used last year.

King has now set the single-use plastic carrier bag reduction goal for Sainsbury's to 50% by this time next year.

The primary "carrot" or rewarding mechanism Sainbury's plans to use in its campaign to reduce the use of the thin, single-use plastic carrier bags in its stores is to begin giving customers extra reward points for using their own reusable shopping bags in the stores.

The grocery chain will give shoppers 1-point on their reward cards for every reusable shopping bag used at the checkouts, including single-use plastic carrier bags from any retail store. In other words, bring your-own bag of any kind and get a reward point.

A survey of Sainsbury's shoppers by the retailer found that 73% of those surveyed wanted an economic reward for using their own reusable shopping bags in the stores, according to King. The reward points program will begin in June.

King says Sainsbury's also will hold store parking lot campaigns in which employees will hand out free refrigerator magnets and car stickers that remind shoppers to bring their own grocery bags to the store.

This isn't an original idea. Numerous supermarket chains in the U.S. already have a similar reward card scheme for customers who bring their own bags to the store, as does Tesco, the UK's leading retailer.

King also said Sainsbury's will soon begin using single-use plastic carrier bags made from 50% recycled content. The grocery chain's single-use plastic carrier bags currently in use are made from 33% recycled content.

Sainsbury's plans to monitor the progress of its reward card points scheme. King says as the chain learns what motivates shoppers more to reduce their desire for the plastic bags it plans on initiating other reward-based programs if needed.

Meanwhile, as we reported some time ago, Marks & Spencer, which is a food, grocery, soft goods and general merchandise retailer in the UK, is thus far the first and only grocery retailer in the nation to announce it will voluntarily charge customers a fee for each single-use plastic carrier bag they request. That fee will be about 10 cents per bag.

However, since Ireland has had a per single-use plastic carrier bag fee law in place since 2002, every UK supermarket chain with stores in Ireland must charge for the bags by law.

Meanwhile, not one of the UK's leading grocery chains--not even the "super green" Co-op--has said they will stop using single-use plastic carrier bags completely, like Austin, Texas USA-based Whole Foods Market will do in all its stores in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom on April 22, Earth Day.

Whole Foods currently has just one store in the UK, a huge 75,000 square foot natural foods' superstore in London. However, the retailer is in the process of scouting for numerous locations in the nation to open more stores.

Ironically, come April 22, the only supermarket in the UK then that will not offer single-use plastic carrier bags at all will be a branch of a United States-based grocery chain--Whole Foods Market.

Natural~Specialty Foods Memo Analysis

With all due respect to Sainsbury's CEO Justin King, he's wrong that putting a per-bag fee on single-use plastic carrier bags doesn't change consumer or shopper behavior. There's plenty of empirical evidence--not to mention common intuitive sense--suggesting it does just that.

For example, as we reported here yesterday, Ireland passed a per-bag fee law in 2002. The government now reports single-use plastic carrier bag use has decreased by a whopping 94% since that law was passed.

A similar law in the island nation of Taiwan has achieved reduction results much the same as the Irish example.

Even absent this empirical evidence, don't we all believe in the main if a shopper is offered the choice of lets say three free paper grocery bags for their grocery order at the checkout, versus the choice of paying 10 or 15 cents each for three or four single-use plastic carrier bags to package the same grocery order, said customer will most likely on average say "paper please?"

We aren't criticizing King and Sainsbury's for its actions. Not at all. Nor are we saying the retailer's program can't achieve some results. Rather, we are merely stating facts in terms of behavior change on the issue, and offering empirical and inductive evidence for such change.

Further, whether we agree with the practice or not, the fact is laws that eliminate the use of the plastic carrier bags in retail stores most certainly change behavior fast.

For example, last year the city of San Francisco, California banned the use of the bags in grocery stores over 10,000 square feet in size.

There are about 30 supermarkets of this size in the city of about 800,000. The result: overnight there was a behavioral change since customers shopping those stores will no longer have the choice of plastic. Rather, it's either free paper grocery bags or bring their own reusable bags, which should be the ultimate goal of any scheme in our analysis.

Unfortunately perhaps for them, San Francisco's hundreds of grocery and convenience-oriented stores under 10,000 square feet in size haven't seen any increase in sales from consumers leaving the supermarkets over not being able to get plastic bags at the larger stores.

Our point is not to either advocate outright bans or bag-fees. There can be unintended consequences of even those schemes, such as a dramatic increase in the use of paper grocery bags which is occurring in San Francisco since the single-use bag ban was enacted last year.

However, although paper grocery bags actually require more energy inputs to produce than the plastic bags, and an increase in their use means cutting down more trees for the paper, they also are much easier to recycle. For example, nearly every city in the U.S. has household curbside recycling programs for paper grocery bags--but few if any take the single-use plastic grocery bags for recycling.

We hope Sainsbury's is able to achieve a 50% reduction in the number of single-use plastic carrier bags its stores use through its reward points program. However, we doubt it will, based on experience and data from with supermarket chains which have been doing similar schemes for sometime.

Further, the single-use plastic carrier bag issue is a serious one. The bags are littered all over the roadside by irresponsible individuals, are filling landfills and take decades to decompose once in them, and are clogging the Pacific Ocean with a plastic bag mass which currently is the size of the continental Unites States, and stretches from Hawaii to Japan.

Grocers are part of the problem, and therefore need to be part of the solution. Increasingly we think that solution is at least charging shoppers at the store for the plastic grocery bags. And, when done, it should be the law for all types and sizes of retail stores, not just supermarkets or grocery stores.

Of course, the main cause of the litter aspect of this issue are irresponsible individuals, who dispose of the single-use plastic carrier bags improperly. We think littering fines for this behavior should be tripled.

Lastly, but far from least, are the manufacturers of the plastic bags. The technology to make faster-decomposing (in landfills) and more-rapidly composting (compost pile) plastic carrier bags has been around for some years. However, the industry, with the exception of some entrepreneurial companies, has avoided it. Instead they've preferred to use the old technology because it's more profitable to do so rather than invest in the new technologies.

Further, rather than invest significantly in these new technologies and create a more rapidly-decomposing and faster-composting bag, the single-use plastic carrier bag industry's leading companies seem to have decided to spend that money fighting bag-bans and bag-fee legislation instead. The industry seems to have left grocers to fend for themselves on the issue.

We all know that in business, when your product no longer offers more benefits than it does negatives, it becomes obsolete. That's what has happened to the traditional single-use plastic carrier bag. As a result, the focus of the issue has become how to reduce the use--and the plastic bag industry isn't even a major player in the discussion.

Recent Related Pieces From Natural~Specialty Foods Memo:

>Green Memo: "Ireland Has Reduced the Use of Single-Use Plastic Carrier Bags By 94 Percent With Bag-Fee Law; Has Exceeded EU Recycling Targets." [Click here to read.]

>Green Retailing Memo: "California State Assembly Committee to Vote On Plastic Bag-Fee Measure Monday; Many Grocers support Bag-Fee Legislation." [Click here to read.]

>Food & Grocery Legislation Memo: "California Assembly Natural Resources Committee to Consider Second Plastic Bag Bill Along With Original Today." [Click here to read.]

>Green Memo Feature: "Scientific Evidence From the Lands and From the Oceans Suggests it's Time to Solve the Plastic Waste Issue." [Click here to read.]

Green Memo: Ireland Has Reduced the Use of Single-Use Plastic Carrier Bags By 94 Percent With Bag-Fee Law; Has Exceeded EU Recycling Targets

A spokesman for the government of Ireland tells Natural~Specialty Foods Memo (NSFM) its statistics show that since the Emerald Island put a per-bag fee on single-use plastic carrier bags in 2002, there has been a whopping 94% reduction in the use of the thin grocery and shopping bags in the country.

In 2002, Ireland passed a law which required supermarkets and other retail stores to charge shoppers a per-bag fee if they requested their purchases be packaged in a single-use plastic carrier bag rather than a paper or reusable carrier bag. Before the law was passed, single-use plastic carrier bags were given to shoppers for free in Ireland, as is still the case in many if not most country's of the world.

This data should be of particular interest to nation's like the UK, of which Ireland is a part, which are currently debating in Parliament as to if it should pass an outright ban on the single-use plastic carrier bags, and if so whether at all retail stores or just supermarkets, or if it should levy a per-bag fee scheme like the Irish have.

The data should also be of interest in California, where as we reported here on Friday April 11 and again on April 14, the California State Assembly Natural Resource Committee is considering two bills that would levy either a 25 cent or 15 cent fee per-single-use carrier bags in the state's larger supermarkets and drug stores.

And of course, the Irish example should be of interest everywhere in the world because nation's and local governments globally are in the process, and many already have done so, of voting on or proposing single-use plastic carrier bags laws of one sort or another.

The Irish example also should be noted by grocery retailers who either are completely against such bans or are debating whether to support state and local government bag fees over outright single-use plastic carrier bag bans.

National, state, provincial and municipal governments all over the world have proposed laws either banning the bags completely or adding a fee to them if requested by a shopper. Most experts believe it's just a matter of a couple years before most nation's have laws either charging for or banning the plastic bags.

Irish exceed EU packaged waste recycling targets by 14 percent

In addition to the dramatic reduction in the number of single-use plastic carrier bags, the Irish government and its citizens have also exceeded that European Union's (EU) target's for the recycling of packaged waste, such as food and grocery packaging and containers.

The government spokesperson told us the latest figures available show Ireland is recovering and recycling 64% of all its packaged waste, compared to a EU target of 50%.

This combination of the 94% reduction in the use of plastic carrier bags and the 64% packaged waste recovery and recycling rate makes Ireland arguably the biggest success story globally in both source-reduction and packaged waste recovery and recycling.

The government spokesperson told us Ireland doesn't plan on resting on it's laurels in either regard. It thinks it can decrease plastic carrier bag use to near 100% in the next couple years, as well as increasing the nation's packaged waste recycling rate even higher than the current 64%.

Other UK country's, along with states in the U.S. and elsewhere, should go to school on the Irish model as a way to increase both their recycling rates and use-reduction of the single-use carrier bags.

Grocery retailers should take note as well. Rather than fighting legislation to levy a per-bag fee on the single-use plastic grocery bags, they might want to take the advice of Ireland's grocers who agree in the main with the per-bag consumer surcharges, as well as with those grocers in Northern California's San Francisco Bay Area who we quoted in this piece last week.

We think the single-use plastic carrier bag industry might want to think about supporting some sort of per-bag fee scheme throughout the world as well, since more outright bans like those recently enacted in China, parts of Africa, in San Francisco and Oakland, California in the U.S. and other numerous other places throughout the globe, are coming fast and furiously.

Food & Politics Memo: U.S. Presidential Candidates and Grocery Stores, An NSFM Friday Fishwrap Redux

In our February 29 edition of our semi-regular Friday Fishwrap column we wrote a brief piece or item titled: "Election Year Memo: Presidential Candidates and Grocery Stores," in which we matched each candidate for U.S. President at the time up with which grocery stores they would shop at, and which supermarket chains potential voters for each candidate shop at. The piece is reprinted below in italics:

Election Year Memo: Presidential Candidates As Grocery Stores

Speaking of U.S. candidates for President (we like segways. Not the scooters, the word transitions.) Our evenings of late have been consumed primarily by two activities: writing this blog and watching the Presidential debates and related coverage. So, naturally, we got to thinking about what the Democratic and Republican candidates for President have in common with grocery stores or supermarkets.

As a result, we bring you our very own version of, "Presidential Candidates and Grocery Stores:"

Barack Obama: Obama is the Whole Foods Market, Inc. candidate. Like a Whole Foods' store Barack is eclectic, smooth, thoughtful and urbane. But, like Whole Foods, Obama also comes from humble origins. Whole Foods targets its stores primarily to the well-educated; college grads and post-grads. College educated Democrats are choosing Obama over Clinton big time.

But, also like Whole Foods Market, Obama does not want to be viewed as elitist, which he isn't. He wants organic foods for everyone, just like Whole Foods' does. And, he is appealing more and more these days to lower and middle income Democrats. Just like at Whole Foods,' the message is important.

Like Whole Foods Market, Obama has crossover appeal. He attracts independents and even some Republicans, along with Democrats. there's even a group of Independent and Republican voters termed "Crunchy Cons," who are supporting Barack for President. These folks are conservative, but don't embrace the traditional GOP line. They shop at places like Whole Foods Market, are generally young and well-educated, are environmentalists and health-oriented consumers, and are looking for political and social change. They aren't liberals though...we like to call them "Whole Foods Market Conservatives."

Hillary Clinton: Hillary Clinton on the other hand is trying to appeal to everyone, especially lower and middle income Democrats, who are proving to be her base of support. That's why Hillary is the Wal-Mart candidate. Her motto, "I'm ready to assume the duties of President on Day One," reminds us of Wal-Mart's can-do attitude. Her pep-rallies also remind us of how Wal-Mart store managers rally the troops every morning before the store opens by leading them in the "Wal-Mart Cheer."

Just like a Wal-Mart store, Hillary can be all things to everybody. She can out-Liberal the Liberals and out-Conservative the center-right. Similar to Wal-Mart, Ms. Clinton has had to be the "Low-Price Leader" in her race against Obama, as he has beat her in fundraising hands-down. Her cheerful optimism even reminds us of the Wal-Mart smiley face:)

And, of course, Hillary is no stranger to Wal-Mart, Inc. She spent a number of years on the mega-retailers board of directors when she was First Lady of Arkansas during her husband's two-terms as the state's Governor.

John McCain: Johnny Mac, as his friends call him, is without a doubt the Trader Joe's candidate. Like Trader Joe's, McCain is small, but stout. He packs a huge punch into a little frame, just like the small-format specialty grocer packs tons of goods into its 10,000 square foot stores.

McCain also is quirky, just like TJ's operations and product mix. Johnny Mac might one day present himself as a "Conservative's Conservative," then do something "liberal" like being the only Republican to vote against George W. Bush's famous tax cuts, saying, "They benefit only the rich."

Lastly, with tongue planted firmly in cheek of course, rumor has it that some of McCain's U.S. Senate colleagues used to call him "Two-Buck Mac" for the amount of money he likes to spend when he bought them lunch. As we all know, Trader Joe's is famous for its $1.99 bottle of wine nicknamed "Two-Buck Chuck."

Mike Huckabee: Huckabee is the Kroger Co. candidate. He's a little bit upscale--well educated, dresses well, loves good food, is articulate--but is mostly still just folks. Like a typical Kroger store, Huckabee isn't going to knock your socks off. He's likes to say, "What you see is what you get." That's sort of Kroger's motto in many of its store banners.

Huckabee, like Kroger, also is essentially middle-America. Although Kroger operates supermarket chains on the left and right coasts in the U.S., they are known as the grocer for middle-America primarily. Huckabee also has left and right coast tastes--he plays the base guitar with a rock band, loves appearing on talk shows in Hollywood and New York City, as well as loves hosting Saturday Night Live--but has firmly positioned himself as the favorite of middle America and Christian Evangelicals. Huck is just a small town preacher from Hope, Arkansas.

Kroger, though, has been moving into the natural, organic and healthy foods' categories in a big way the last couple years. So has Huckabee. He lost a couple hundred pounds over the last few years by giving up a high-salt, high-fat and high-carb diet for a healthy one. He also says he eats natural and organic foods as much as possible. Weight loss and diet is a major plank in his platform in fact.

So, there you go. As a voter you now have an additional variable--grocery stores--which you can use in choosing which Presidential candidate you will support and vote for in the 2008 election. Consider it a public service offering form us to you. You can read the full February 29 Friday Fishwrap column here.

Natural~Specialty Foods Memo: Today's New York Times' Dining and Wine section has a piece by writer Kim Severson titled, "What's for Dinner? The Pollster Wants to Know," in which the writer discusses with various marketing researchers, political experts and pundits what types of foods voters for Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain (Mike Huckabee dropped out of the race since we wrote our piece in Friday Fishwrap on February 29) would eat and which grocery stores they (might) shop at.

The latter aspect (grocery chains and stores) is very similar to our piece in the February 29 Friday Fishwrap column. The Times' story is fun and interesting---and we give them props for the excellent angle. We aren't suggesting the New York Times' writer read or got the idea for the piece in today's Dining and Wine section from reading Natural~Specialty Foods Memo, as we are merely a low-budget, little food and grocery industry blog.

We do know though that our February 29 Friday Fishwrap "Presidential Candidates and Grocery Stores" item got e-mailed around by lots of people because a few days after it was published we recieved a couple notes with forwards of the piece from one reader to another. Those who e-mailed us said the enjoyed the concept, analogy and item/piece and had passed it on.

The Times' piece takes a bit different take in the grocery store area than we did, saying for example Hillary Clinton voters would shop at Whole Foods Market while Barack Obama voters shop at farmer's markets.

We don't get that one. Hillary is positioning herself far too mainstream and centrist to cater to Whole Foods' shoppers. That's Obama's dead-on target market. He even had an "arugala moment" a few months back.

We agree Obama voters would shop farmers markets along with Whole Foods though. But Hillary is the Wal-Mart candidate. We stick with that. The Time's piece is fun and interesting--as we hoped our little item was--and has some good insight into political as well as consumer product marketing.

Instead of "you are what you eat." It looks like Natural~Specialty Foods Memo and the New York Times are suggesting "you vote what you eat" and "where you shop for groceries." Read today's New York Times' piece here.

Prepared Foods Memo: Planet Organic's Mrs. Green's Natural Market Planning Big Push in Fresh, Prepared Foods' Category

As we reported here, Canada's Planet Organic Health Corp. recently acquired two U.S. Natural foods' retail chains, 11 store Mrs. Green's Natural Market (acquired last year) based in Scarsdale, New York and 3-store (with a new store being built) New Leaf Community Markets (acquired this year), based in Santa Cruz in Northern California.

These two acquisitions marked Planet Organic's first move into the U.S.

We've said before the Canadian natural products' retailers move into the U.S. with these two acquisitions is further evidence of the argument we've been making since last year that contrary to the position of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and many U.S. natural foods' retailers, suppliers and observers that Whole Foods Market, Inc.'s acquisition of Wild Oats Markets, Inc. would stifle competition, we believe the opposite is true: that it's actually increasing competition and innovation by both natural foods' retailers and supermarket chains and independents in the USA.

As we reported in a previous piece, Planet Organic plans to add numerous new stores to its recently acquired Mrs. Green's (in the east) and New Leaf (in California) chains in the next couple years. Further, Canada's Planet Organic is on the lookout to acquire other small-to-medium-sized regional natural foods' retail chains in the U.S.

We've now learned Planet Organic is making a major investment at its Mrs. Greens operation in New York in the prepared foods' category.

Historically, when it was an independent operation, Mrs. Green's Natural Market supplied its 11 units with fresh, prepared foods out of a 3,000 square foot kitchen in the basement of one of its stores. This cramped commissary put a crimp on the volume of deli and other prepared foods' items the retailer could supply to it busy stores. It also meant the 40 chefs and others working in the 3,000 square foot basement kitchen were elbow-to-elbow for eight hours a day.

This situation no longer will be the case though. Planet Organic plans to build a new, state-of-the-art 30,000 square foot, above ground kitchen/commissary where not only will the retailer's chefs and others have plenty of space to create the fresh, prepared foods, but also will allow the natural foods' grocer to supply its stores better and with a larger variety of prepared foods items.

According to Harold Hochberger, Mrs. Green's founder and current Co-President under Planet Organic's ownership, the 3,000 square foot basement kitchen currently produces everything from fresh, organic pies and fruit smoothies, to complete vegetarian meals for distribution to and for sale in the stores.

The fresh, prepared foods produced in the basement kitchen account for about $3.5 million a year in sales for the 11-store natural foods chain, or about about 8% of total store sales, Hochberger says.

With the addition of the new, above-ground commissary which will be ten-times the size of the current basement kitchen, Mrs. Green's is looking forward to not only increasing the quantity and variety of prepared foods for its stores, but increasing that $3.5 million in annual prepared foods' category sales considerably.

Hochberger says prepared foods sales in the Mrs. Green's stores have been increasing by about 15% annually for the last few years. He and Planet Organic believe with the new commissary, which will cost at least $1 million to build and equip, sales growth will be even higher once the facility is operating. He says he expects the facility to open in about six months.

Planet Organic Health Corp. is currently launching an aggressive growth plan, on top of seven year's of already rapid growth, focusing on its home market of Canada and in the U.S.

Seven years ago, annual gross sales for the company were only $1.6 million. At present, the Canada-based natural products company has sales of about $100 million. That's a gain of $7 million a year in each of those seven years.

Planet Organic is a diversified, publicly-held natural products company. In addition to operating nine natural foods supermarkets in Canada under the Planet Organic Market banner (with more on the way) and the Mrs. Green's and New Leaf stores in the U.S., the company also operates 48 natural health stores in Canada under the Sanger's Health Centre banner and eight similar stores under the Healthy's and Planet Organic Living banners.

Planet Organic Health Corp. also owns Trophic Canada, which is that country's leading manufacturer and marketer of natural supplements.

Planet Organic's two acquisitions in the U.S.--one on the east coast and the other on the west coast, which are two of Whole Foods Market, Inc.'s strongest market regions--proves despite the arguments of the FTC and some suppliers, natural foods' retailers and industry observers, that retailers including Planet Organic and others like Sprouts Farmers Market and Sunflower Farmers Market, don't believe the combined Whole Foods/Wild Oats chain poses neither a barrier to entry in the natural foods' retailing category in the U.S. or offers too stiff of competition for them to grow and thrive.

After all, if they did believe such was the case, would all three of the natural foods' chains mentioned above be in such rapid expansion modes like they are?

Tesco PLC Reports Fiscal Year Sales and Profits

United Kingdom-based global retailer Tesco PLC, that nation's number one retailer and the third-largest in the world, released its annual sales and profit numbers today.

Tesco PLC, the international retailer that's also the parent company of Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market USA, the small-format, convenience-style grocery chain we've written much about here at Natural~Specialty Foods Memo, had a strong sales and profit report for the fiscal year. Tesco reported those number today.

We're currently working on an analysis piece on Tesco and Fresh & Easy for publication tomorrow.

We suggest you go to the blog Fresh & Easy Buzz, which is full of news, analysis and commentary, both internationally on Tesco PLC and on Fresh & Easy in the U.S., on today's Tesco sales and profits report.

Click here to go to Fresh & Easy Buzz.