I have had mixed feelings shopping at Tesco. Since they operate by far the biggest supermarket in my town, it is hard to avoid doing some of your shopping there as they have a large number of lines. However in the past they have done some pretty wacky things like advertise half their veg by the kilo and the other half by the pound - very (deliberately even?) confusing when trying to compare price.
 
Visitors to this country are often astounded to see supermarket shoppers with trolleys filled to the brim with disposable plastic bags - hardly good for the environment and a waste of fossil fuel! If you are shopping say in Germany, the plastic (or paper) shopping bags are always charged for and are intended to be used multiple times; cheap canvas bags are usually also for sale at the checkout. In the US there is usually a choice between strong paper bags (renewable resource) and disposable plastic (bad) ones. I am amazed that the Labour and Conservative parties who both purport to be environmentally responsible have not encouraged the public to avoid disposable bags.

So Tesco seems to have done a few good things of late. About a year ago they installed a clever recycling bin that could recognise what you put in and even give you a few ClubCard points. Now they are encouraging the use of re-usable bags. I saw their new ads for the first time last night and thought that it was very effective. Good for Tesco! Helping educate the public is worthwhile.

But how responsible are they really? There are an awful lot of out of season vegetables imported from third world countries. I find it odd to see turnips and parsnips on sale in August. Also I am not sure that biodegradable shopping bags are a good idea. If they degrade the wrong way and create methane that is making global warming worse. Time will tell if these green initiatives are a marketing gimmick or a welcome change for the better.