Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Another Way To Get Found

Advertising : everywhere – all the time – non-stop – never ending – incessant – endless.

No one is free of it, at every turn, someone is trying to sell you something or position their product in your daily life.

From toothpicks to car servicing, from batteries to babies high-chairs… advertisers leave no stone unturned.

Have you considered a reusable shopping bag as a form of advertising?

If you put your brand on one of our custom-made bags & then give it to your customers; they promote your brand for you.

Contact Bag People to find out what its all about.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Staying Green in Tough Economic Times

There is no denying that everyone (governments, business, families and individuals) are facing very uncertain times economically.

One could argue that what has lead us to this point is pure greed, short-term thinking, and complete disregard for any damage caused on the way.

More than ever, now is the perfect time to stand back and reassess how we live our lives.

If you or your business have already committed to a "tread lightly on the earth" approach, then NOW is the time to reaffirm these commitments.

If you and your family have committed to buying organic produce, despite a slightly higher price, keep buying it. Naturally it is superior nutritionally, and it is only with increased demand that the price will balance out to be on par with conventionally grown produce.

If your family or business may have committed to green energy sources. Keep these programs going. Again, it is only with increased demand and momentum that energy companies can provide these services cost-effectively.

Business owners are now examining their business structures and all their operating costs very carefully. Unfortunately advertising and marketing budgets can suffer when the dollars are tight.

Now is a great time to examine some very cost-effective marketing items that you may not have considered before.

Of course eco-friendly, reusable bags provide all kinds of businesses with an opportunity to market their brand and make a statement about their commitment to greening their operations.

Reusable bags can easily replace plastic bags for food and non-food retailers, educational institutions, and businesses exhibiting at trade shows. The wonderful thing about these "green bags" is that your customers do your marketing for you.

They literally carry a walking billboard around for your business.

Your business can get these bags walking around for as little as $0.85 per bag. Now compare that with other marketing efforts!

So, amongst all the doomsday rhetoric going on right now, it's time for us to challenge our comfortable, familiar ways.

Go on, try something different. Going green will open up many opportunities for us all.

Make sure you Contact Bag People to find out more.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Reusable Does Not Equal Ugly

Just ask Bag People what can be done to make reusable beautiful & elegant, we have a great selection of bags made from non-woven fabric & natural fibers.

This months feature product
::
Boutique Shopper ::

What more could you want from a reusable bag?
- great design
- stylish look
- excellent branding platform
- very cost effective

This clever design creates 3 separate sections from 2 different cloth areas.

The Boutique Shopper design offer 2 great branding possibilities for your business.
- large print surfaces on both sides
- 2 fabric colors to match your brand

Here’s the vital spec’s :

- Bag Dimensions :
- 14" wide
- 12" high
- 4" deep

- Strap :
- 34" long
- 2.25" wide

- Print Area :
- 13" wide
- 8" high

We can also make the Boutique Shopper from cotton or parachute silk.

Contact Bag People for more details.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Plastic Bags – Who’s Doing What?

Here's a quick run-down which shows what measures some countries & businesses are taking to reduce the environmental impact of single-use plastic bags.

We all need to do more - contact Bag People to see what you can do.

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Australia


Across the country shoppers are encouraged to use reusable bags which cost around $1.00 & can be reused many times.

Some localities are leading the charge & banning plastic bags of their own accord & the Federal Government stated it would consider national action to phased out plastic bags by the end of 2008.

Australians used 4.84 billion plastic bags in 2007, at a wholesale cost of $0.0018 each.

In South Australia free single use plastic bags will banned as of the end of 2008.

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Bangladesh

Plastic shopping bags are banned in Bangladesh.

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Bhutan

Plastic shopping bags are banned in Bhutan, but the ban has not succeeded due to minimal monitoring & alternatives are not freely available.

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China

As of 1st June, 2008 China has banned all supermarkets, department stores & shops from offering free plastic bags. The businesses must mark prices on each plastic bag & NOT include the cost of bags in the product purchase.

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Hong Kong

Hong Kong has not banned businesses from offering free plastic bags. However, they are awareness is being raised by events such as "No Plastic Bag Day" started in 2006 & organised by the Environmental Protection Department

Statistics show that 7 million people disposes of 23 million bags per day.

In 2009 it is proposed that each bag is charged at 50 cents.

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France

A plastic bag ban in Paris started in late 2007 & the national ban will start on 1st January 2010.

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Spain

The Spanish Government is attempting to start a National Plan of Integrated Waste which has a goal to ban single-use non-biodegradable plastic bags in 2010.

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Germany

German supermarkets charge between 5 and 25 cents per bag.

Almost all outlets offer a reusable alternative for about €1 with some high-street retail shops giving away a reusable bag.

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Ireland

4th March, 2002 saw the Republic of Ireland start charging €0.15 for every plastic shopping bag which reduced consumption by 90%.

Most supermarkets passed the tax directly through & on 1st July, 2007 the charge was increased to €0.22

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Israel

Israel charges 1NIS for every plastic bag, except for bags that contain fish, meat, poultry or fresh produce.

The additional charge subsidises the sale of reusable bags to assist raise public profile.

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New Zealand

2007 saw the national campaign start with the objective to introduce a shopping bag levy similar to Ireland's, with some local govt's announcing they would be plastic bag free.

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South Africa

Environment and Tourism Minister of South Africa – Mohammed Valli Moosa – has called plastic bags the "national flower" in jest because of the proliferation of litter.

It is illegal to give away plastic bags, they must be sold with the govt. collecting 3 cents per bag as an environmental levy.

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Turkey

The Turkish community uses an average 1.2 bags per day per person.

In late 2008 the govt. is expected to announce the result of a feasibility study for eliminating plastic bags in favor of envirobags.

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United Kingdom

Tesco uses a "Green Clubcard Point" which has an incentive 1p to 4p, for each bag reused.

Sainsbury's has removed all free plastic bags from checkouts to increase reuse of bags by customers, they offer a range of reusable bags for customers to purchase.

In 2007 IKEA was the 1st to totally remove single use bags from every outlet & offer reusable bags in 2 sizes from 15p to 30p.

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United States

Plastic overtook Paper as the bag of choice in late 80’s - early 90’s.

But now the tide is turning...

San Francisco (City & County) became the first city to ban plastic shopping bags on 27th March, 2007, Oakland soon followed & on 1st January, 2009 Seattle will implement a 20c charge on plastic bags & LA will implement a similar charge in 2010.

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Saturday, October 4, 2008

Case Study :: Hair Salon

:: Scenario ::

Existing high profile salon, have won numerous awards, well known as a high intensity “happening” place have invested well in their brand, & use it strongly for maximum impact without unnecessary noise.

The business enjoys excellent customer loyalty & referral. The owners Geoff & Nicky (a really energetic husband & wife team) are committed to maintaining the strong position of their business & make considered & consistent investment in ongoing marketing activities.

Recently Geoff & Nicky decided to eliminate single-use plastic bags from their salon, & called Bag People to find a better solution.

The partners really liked the Lined Market Bag, but felt they wanted something really clean & contemporary, so we developed the Lined Shoulder Bag specifically for them (it is now one of our best selling styles) & they were delighted with the result.


:: Products - 100% ban on plastic ::

"Our customers buy many individual products - sometimes 3 or 4 items, so they need a bag for convenience" said Geoff , "in our salon we like to do the right thing for the customers as well as the environment & we've banned plastic bags & replaced them with reusable bags from Bag People - we've got a custom made Lined Shoulder Bag with our logo on it".


:: Marketing - "our $2.40 Billboard" ::

“When we give these bags to customers I don't see it as a give-away, I see it as really cheap advertising – the customer leaves our salon with great looking hair & carries our name around town on their shoulder as they complete their shopping – it is a total win-win”, comments Nicky

“And weeks later it’s so great to see people re-using them rather than a plastic bag" adds Geoff.


:: Working with Bag People - getting our bags ::

"Working with Bag People was great, they helped us choose the right bag for our needs & they assisted with the design”. “It's an easy process, we contacted them, they arranged a few design options, we chose our style & colors & sent them our logo. 8 weeks later, our bags were delivered”. “Bag People take care of everything. Just so easy"


:: Details ::

- Geoff & Nicky first contacted Bag People in early April & we had agreed their design by April 10. Prior to production the team were able to see exactly how heir bag would look & with their immediate sign-off we were able to complete, ship & deliver their first order by early June
- 1st trial order - 1,000 x Lined Shoulder Bag in Dark Chocolate Outer / Latte inner @ $2.40
- 1st bulk order - 5,000 x Lined Shoulder Bag in Dark Chocolate Outer / Latte Inner @ $1.55, delivered in October
- 2nd bulk order - 5,000 x Lined Shoulder Bag in Custom Pistachio Outer / Latte Inner planned for January delivery to launch new branding

Read more Case Studies from Bag People.

Contact Bag People for more information.