KOCHI: Necessity is the indeed the mother of invention, the shop owners in Kochi seem to know that quite well. With the Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (CDRC) imposing a ban against charging money for carry bags with merchant logo and brand name, the shop owners here have found an innovative way to overcome it.
Instead of printing it on the carry bags, shops and supermarkets in the city are printing their name with barcodes on the cover of the items kept for sale. And, plain carry bags continue to be sold for money.
This gimmick to brand their name and logo is turning very popular among shop owners. "As there is a restriction against using the name and logo, we have no other way but use the available options to market ourselves. Instead of pasting a small price tag, we have decided to paste a bigger label with the name of our shop," said the owner of a leading supermarket in Kaloor.
The ruling
It was the Ministry of Environment and Forests that issued a special notification on management and handling the plastic waste in 2011. Among them, a clause states 'No plastic carry bags shall be made available free of cost by retailers to consumers.' This was aimed at reducing the consumption of plastics. This ruling prompted many shopkeepers to start the trend of stocking expensive paper and cloth bags and selling them for a fee.
"We are now charging Rs 5 for a small bag, Rs 7 for a medium bag and Rs 10 for a large one. These bags are not just another product but to discourage the practice of using plastic bags," said a worker of a supermarket at Manappattiparambu in Kochi.
Bad news for consumers
But, consumers are not happy about the move. They accuse the shop owners of pressing the customers to buy the bags. "Every shop in Kochi follow the trend. The general public has no clue about this ban and the owners are exploiting the situation. Though we are against the use of plastic, how can we carry bags always as shopping most times occur on a whim," asks Ranjini, a homemaker.
Surprisingly, the Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Ernakulam, hasn't made an effort to publicise the order. "Other than issuing the order, we haven't done much to publicise the order. We have been receiving several complaints on the matter for the past few months," said an official.
Ruling on stay
On the other hand, the ruling made by CDRC which directed three leading retail stores in Kochi to stop using their brand name in carry bags on the petition filed by RTI activist D B Binu has been stayed by State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. "I have filed the petition to put an end to the unfair practice which transforms the customers as their brand ambassadors. I have filed an appeal and it will take up on May 26," he said.