All Paths Lead to the Same Bag-Free San Diego

Lots of local happenings this week!

First of all, looks like our 25 Reasons to Go Reusable page got a link over at Leucadia Blog (your one-stop Leucadia information stop). This specific blog post addresses the effort to ban plastic bags in the Encinitas area, and asks a burning question: with petroleum prices rising and attitudes changing about the use of reusable bags, is a ban really necessary or is consumer culture eliminating them well enough on its own? (Also noted in burning question: why hasn’t Encinitas yet banned styrofoam cups and plates in restaurants? An equally pertinent question, to be sure.)

I would argue that a ban would certainly help move the issue along that much faster, but shifts in general attitudes and consumer culture have certainly helped. I was pleasantly reminded of this when I stopped by Buffalo Exchange (the Hillcrest location, natch) this past weekend. The shop has been in the environmentally-conscious game from the start, trading in recycled clothing and making it all look fashionable, and for a decade now they have been putting waste-reducing in the hands of their customers via a feel-good sort of incentive. While lots of stores have been cropping up with a 5-cent rebate for customers who BYOB, Buffalo Exchange instead implemented their arguably even more fantastic Tokens for Bags Charities Program:

Buffalo Exchange donates to local nonprofit agencies in the community through its Tokens for Bags program, which has generated over $265,000 in donations to hundreds of nonprofit groups since 1994, saving 5.3 million bags. Shoppers are encouraged to accept a token instead of a bag for purchases, and Buffalo Exchange donates five cents to a charity of the customer’s choice.

When I went, there were three bins for tokens: one for an environmental charity, one for an animal rescue, and a fund that provides education and aid for immigrant and refugee survivors of domestic abuse. I liked the choice, as it gives customers some control over their five cents — it seems like it would go a long way in morale to feel like you have some say in where your charity money is going, and provides a little more personal incentive toward repeat donations. I think it’s rather genius, and I was proud to receive my token and put five cents (which I probably would have wasted anyway, had it come back to me in nickel form) toward something really worthwhile.

So maybe there will still be debate over whether a ban is necessary, and maybe it will go on for some time yet. In the meantime, however, some people are being proactive and finding creative ways to save the world in more ways than one while they’re at it. Go, Buffalo!

In case anyone was wondering about those sweet finds, Your Humble Narrator bought a totally awesome black shirt-dress with an eagle head on the front and a 1989 Los Angeles Dodgers sweatshirt. Stylish!

Monday, June 16th, 2008 at 10:23 am and is filed under The Daily. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.