It doesn’t seem likely that bringing reusable grocery bags to the the grocery store would result in people buying more junk food, but apparently that is the case. A recent study conducted by Harvard Business School and Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business shows that people are seven percent more likely to buy junk food than people who shop with the regular plastic bags. This seems to be the case because people feel that since they are doing something good for the environment, they can treat themselves with a sugary or salty snack such as ice cream, or potato chips. This is called the licensing effect. Although this study is not all that serious, the switch from plastic bags to reusable bags is. Plastic bags take from anywhere between 15 to 1000 years to decompose. If all the people in the world switched to reusable bags the benefits on the environment would be monumental. These plastic bags pollute and even kill animals if they happen to digest or get caught up in the bag. The bags travel and pollute rivers, lakes and oceans and are a terrible option for bringing home your daily groceries in. Everyone should make the switch to reusable bags, even if it does mean the extra purchase of some cookies or chips.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/reusable-bags-junk-food_55a7cf02e4b0896514d07681?utm_hp_ref=environment
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/reusable-bags-junk-food_55a7cf02e4b0896514d07681?utm_hp_ref=environment