The Shopping bag Story + 6 Ways To Repurpose Nylon Bags

Hey fam, will you be okay to pay for your nylon bag after buying an item in-store? And this question is really for my Naija friends cos I know it’s a thing in some other countries.

In France and Czech, I always go shopping with my shopping bag. Though the bags cost less than 1 euro, I really am calculating what multiples of that cents could do for me on my next shopping trip.

I am sure you are wondering why Oma is on about nylon bags though. Well, let’s just say it’s Miniso inspired.

Walked into the store last week with my colleague to purchase a few items. We ended up buying about 4 nail polish because they were on sale. At least, that was my colleague’s excuse for splurging a little.

At the checkout counter, the sales lady asks if we want a carrier bag and goes on to inform us it will cost N50. For 4 nail polish that could fit well into our handbags, I already said no. But my curious colleague wasn’t letting it go.

She asked to see what the paper bag looked like and well, if you are a marvel fan, you most probably would pay for one but certainly not me.

I tossed the nail polish into her bag and asked the sales rep to keep her nylon bag. My colleague and her friend kept poking the lady though. And she basically said, “thank God you have your handbag. There are people who leave the items behind”. The way she said it, it’s like, get with the memo or fall out. We have made a lot of money that yours is just a clink of coins on top of that.

I know we are all about global warming and eco-friendly behaviours but, is this really a good business model for us? How can we ensure that as business owners we do not lose customers by implementing these rules?

Well, I guess all I am trying to do is help all you Miniso loyalists. If you don’t want to be paying for nylon bags, make sure to leave home with a shopping bag. Maybe it’s time to invest in some solid tote bags.

PS: At the time when I am publishing this, I went to another Miniso store and the store attendant explained that they had run out of nylon bags. Hence why they were now selling these Marvel bags. It still didn’t add up to me for a big store like that. Except they are trying to get customers to buy Marvel nylon bags.

Here are a few ways to repurpose your nylon bags

1. Take them with you when next you go shopping.
2. Use them to repackage gift items
3. Use them as mini trash bags before placing them in your bin
4. When deep conditioning at home, you could use them if you don’t have a shower cap.
5. Use them to seal the mouth of your containers like the fuel gallons or the oil gallons.
6. They can come in handy when trying to close a hole in the house. Say a hole where the gas pipe runs through, preventing rats from making their way.

What other ways do you repurpose your nylon bags?