We are promoting the latest issue of National Geographic magazine to leverage the cover story on the damage being done by plastic. This is timely with moves by state governments on plastic bags as well as moves by our two major supermarket chains. The topic is timely. Also, it fits with our own moves on plastic and the elimination of bags for newspapers, the most wasteful use of bags in the business.
We are featuring the title with a horizontal run close to its usual location in-store. Here is that placement. It is the only area in our magazine department where we currently run a single magazine issue in this way.
A very topical and good article.
As a point of interest the public (consumers of supermarket items) have strongly obljected (especially to Woolworths ) to paying for their “new” carry away bags, which by the way are plastic and were charging 15 cents per bag.
The impact was so overwhelming that Woolworths reacted by giving away the “new” bags free for the next week.
An underlying argument is that the consumer didn’t accept “plastic for plastic” and saw the move as false (environmentally that is) and the other is that Woolworths were doing it just to “Make money” by saving on the cost of the old plastic bags and making on selling the “new” ones.
Goes to show just how much careful planning is needed when big consumer affected changes are made to negate disruption and trust.
Disposable coffee cups, plastic bags… Next up…. 3.5litre V8 school chauffeurs and magazine distribution system
Are Woolworth customers Australia’s most feral? Other supermarkets and retail stores have been phasing out single use plastic bags without a murmur. As soon as Woolies does it we have 40% of staff coping abuse about it and near rioting in the streets.
My understanding is that a small number of customers complained and selected media outlets ran the story as it was good news.
Steve, Mark, What you say is what I expected Office orks Aldi have being doing it for years.
However the reaction at our local Woolies was full on. Hence my comment. I witnessed it Sat Morning. Saw it, Heard it.people weren’t happy. must be a lot of unit dwellers. As I said the message wasn’t transitioned very well for this store anyway.
It is plastic in general, take the picture in focus. Is it 3 or 4 magazines in plastic wrap under main display!
Huh?
Its all worthless virtue signalling as usual.
If you want to see plastic, have a wander down the bottled water and soft drinks aisle. Or the packaged meat, or the dairy aisle for that matter.
Its a veritable plastic-a-thon, all of which is single use and from what I gather, not actually being recycle by local councils, but rather shipped off to Asia for disposal.
Heres a fact.
River plastic emissions to the world’s oceans. Rivers are a major source of plastic waste into oceans. We estimate that between 1.15 and 2.41 million metric tons of plastic currently enters the ocean every year via rivers, with 86% of this global input coming from Asia.
Im all for reducing unnecessary waste and pollution where possible, but lets not kid ourselves that Supermarkets ridding themselves of “free” plastic bags is going to save the worlds oceans. After all they seem perfectly happy to charge you for plastic bags.
8. Exactly
The cross stitch magazines in the photo are plastic wrapped. Great to not put them in plastic bags but it makes no difference if they are already in plastic wrapping. The solution is more than just a bag ban
This post is about leveraging a topic in the pub lic interest to sell a magazine title.
Chris There is no refuting the evidence of the blatant missuse of plastic bags. The waste and neglegence, plastic bottles were banned in a small country town in NSW, Bundanoon. today it’s not a problem.
It’s starting somewhere and the biggest abuse is the place to start. The rest will follow..
I am not a greenie but do believe in sensible responsibility in looking after our environment.
As for Woolworths and others I have said my piece and so has James.