Gap is committed to the environment. It says so right there on the “Social Responsibility” page of their website.
They even make gift cards with 88 percent recycled content!
So why is the iconic clothier the only retailer in Westport not complying with our 6-month-old ban on plastic shopping bags?
I posed that very question to Gap’s media relations staff.
Unfortunately, they don’t answer their phones. (They’ve even got a wrong number on their website “contact us” page.) Callers are forced to leave a message, with the assurance Gap will call back.
I left detailed information earlier this week: reason for the call, my phone number, my email.
I’m still waiting for a response.
Dear Dan – Please keep this up! Keep pursuing them! We have to each do our part to wake up those around us. Thanks for putting your time and energy into waking people to their need to be responsible for care taking for the general good in their businesses. It is not just about taking money and making profit – being La-La about the real consequences of business practices.
People need to vote with their dollars and not support businesses that refuse to be good global citizens AND people need to let the businesses know why they are not shopping and spending at their stores.
a few months ago I was making a purchase at Talbots and they were using plastic bags. When I questioned the clerk, she advised me that that plastic bag ban was optional, not mandatory. They still use plastic bags (as of a few weeks ago)
Dan: The other week, when I made a Gap purchase, I was surprised that Gap had returned to using plastic bags after going to paper shopping bags right after the ordinance passed (I have always prized Gap plastic bags as a great REUSABLE bag for wet swimsuits, laundry, shoes, etc…my Gap plastic bags have 1,000 lives. When I expressed my surprise at the Gap Plastic reappearance, I was reassured by the salesclerk that the bags are now made of a “special plastic that’s safe for the environment”.
I just pulled out my old-er Gap plastic bags (says “Made in Vietnam, Please Reuse this Bag”) vs. the bag I just got (says “This bag contains 15% recycled material, Made in Indonesia,” plus the front of the bag reads “Reuse & Recycle” underneath the Gap logo).
Not sure what the clerk meant, but it might be worth asking further before hanging Gap “out to dry”….??
PS. Perhaps the Westport Store Manager or a District Manager for Gap can give you more information ??
The store manager refused to comment on my original question — fairly brusquely, I should add. That’s why I went hunting for the media relations people — and, after calling the incorrect number listed on the website, I left the detailed message I mentioned in my blog, with my question and several ways of reaching me. I’m still waiting to hear back.
The EPA says paper is better for the environment than plastic.
http://web.archive.org/web/20060426235724/http://www.epa.gov/region1/communities/shopbags.html
It was suppose to say plastic bags are better than paper for the environment overall.
Note that the bag ban ordinance specifically exempts larger bags (more than 28″ X 36″) and bags made from thicker plastic (“made of durable plastic that is at least 2.25 mils thick” ) which could be re-used.
Perhaps the bags from the Gap fall into one or both of these categories.
Anyone who has reason to believe that a retail outlet is improperly using plastic bags can contact the Conservation Department at Town Hall which is the department tasked with investigating all potential non-compliance.
Here is a link to the ordinance http://www.westportct.gov/NR/rdonlyres/D8564D01-3E18-49CE-AF34-DB8656E58031/2004/08RetailCheckoutBagOrdinance.pdf