Reliance Fresh in Pune

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The interiors were somewhat crowded, but the lighting and smiles made the products look fresher than they were. I picked up some stuff and headed to the cash counter. To my chagrin, everything came in plastic bags. Couldn't I carry my own cloth bags instead? Did I have to carry plastic? My family and I have refrained so far from using plastic. We carry our own bags, but this was Reliance!

Somewhere, the dam gave way, a little at a time. Personal cloth bags were allowed in. But the plastic continues. Consumers walk out of the store swinging or dangling plastic bags stamped with the Reliance Fresh logo. They look colorful and cheerful. But they fill our garbage bins and our sleeping conscience. Not many buy the idea of using personal bags. Reliance continues to swarm households with the ubiquitous green, red, and white, and housewives stack these gaily.

The other day, I saw a cow trying to nibble at one such bag. Will Reliance stoop to conquer with a conscientious change of material? Is it too difficult to avail of paper bags for the conglomerate that straddles the Indian economy?

Report from: Sucharita Dutta-Asane