Spotlight of shame: M&S

These are not just bags for life, these are... you get the idea. It's interesting, though, that if I buy a pair of socks for £3 from highstreet stalwart M&S I will get a nice, plastic carrier bag to put them in. However, if I pop in to the food court and pick up a bit of lunch, or perhaps a nice ready meal for my dinner, I can't have a bag unless I pay 5p. And even them, it's a pretty poor excuse for a carrier bag. So why am I forced to pay a fee to carry away the items that I've paid for?

Here's what M&S are saying about their plans:

Through the charge, M&S is aiming to:

encourage customers to reduce the amount of bags they use by switching from taking single use carrier bags with every purchase to bringing a reusable bag for life with them each time they shop.

raise a significant amount of money for the environmental charity Groundwork to invest in creating or improving ‘greener living spaces’ such as parks, play areas and gardens in neighbourhoods around the UK.

They go on to talk about the profits they are making from these bags:

All of the 1.85p profit from the sale of single use food carrier bags will be donated to [environmental charity] Groundwork.

But what about the other 3.15p per bag that they are saving? Not so much about saving the planet now, is it M&S? That's a nice little addition to the bottom line, and all in the name of charity and green goodness.