Consumer Rights Organisation in Visakhapatnam demands stores stop charging for branded plastic bags

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Apr 23, 2019

The Consumer Rights Organisation in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, has issued a list of demands to stores in the city including Spencers and Max Retail asking them to stop selling branded plastic bags calling it an unfair trade practice.

The CRO sent out a memorandum to the district administration on April 22 asking it to take appropriate action against retail stores selling plastic bags for a commercial purposes and not with the aim of reducing plastic waste. This move follows the footwear Bata being fined Rs 9,000 ($129.01) in Chandigarh for charging a customer extra money for a paper bag to carry their shoebox. 

“Customers are being used as an advertising agent for brand building and business promotion at the cost of his/her own expenditure,” Vikas Pandey, state president of the CRO told TNN. “As per the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, selling one’s own branded carry bags comes under unfair trade practice and deficiency in service.”

The CRO argued that the stores are turning customers into walking advertisements. “Hence, CRO has demanded all the branded stores to stop this unfair trade practice with immediate effect and provide carry bags/ cloth bags at no extra cost without any business promotions,” said Pandey. 

A recent survey in Visakhapatnam found that retailers were charging between Rs 4 and Rs 10 for carry bags and stores such as Spencers and More were doing a brisk trade in bags. “Carry bags are supposed to be charged to reduce the amount of plastic that is generated and not for a commercial purpose,” said Pandey. “Plastic bags at all these stores should be highly priced so that people will automatically carry their own bags and will think twice before spending on plastic bags.”