Mountain Equipment Company Logo
Reusable shopping bag on green leafy backdrop

Bag share program

March 7, 2022

Found in Community news

When it comes to sustainability, we like to think everyone wants to do their part. So we’re excited to bring you a new bag share pilot program in Vancouver and North Vancouver to help reduce waste.

In 2008, MEC eliminated single-use shopping bags from our stores, which keeps a massive 3.4 million single-use bags out of the landfill each year. In all our stores, we offer reusable bags for purchase in case you have an armful of outdoor gear to wrangle. But the reality is, some of us don’t need another reusable bag (a lot of the time they end up being stuffed in a drawer or under the sink).

This is where our new bag-share program comes in.

We’re all human – sometimes we forget to bring our reusable bags. MEC’s new bag share program is here for those moments. Our plan is to have a collection of reusable bags that have been donated by customers and staff to be reused by other community members.

How it works

Be part of bag-share history. Bring us your extra reusable bags and we’ll put them to work:

Circular graphic showing the bag share program cycle: drop off bags, we'll sort, borrow a bag (and repeat)

It all starts with people dropping off bags. We’ll sort (and clean, if needed) and keep these bags near the checkout desk for anyone to use if they’ve forgotten their own bag and don’t need to purchase another reusable one. If you take a bag from the bag share, bring one back to MEC next time you’re in to help someone else out and to keep the bag share cycle going.

Think this is a cool idea? Here's how to help

Bring us your bags: If you have a closet brimming with excess reusable bags, we want them! Drop off your extra reusable bags to the MEC Vancouver or MEC North Vancouver stores. (We’d love it if the bags are clean before you drop them off.) Look for the reusable bag drop off bin or ask a staffer if you can’t find it.

Keep the bag share going: If you borrow a bag when you shop at MEC, please bring one back to the store next time for you or someone else to use.

Spread the word: Tell your family and friends about this new program to get the bag share off to a great start.

The MEC bag share is a pilot program, so we’re looking forward to seeing what we learn, how it goes, and whether it’s a solution that will work in all our stores.


Recent articles