Zara Is Charging An ‘Automatic’ Fee For Paper Bags And Customers Aren’t Happy

Piper Ryan06 mins
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Bringing your own reusable bags is certainly an environmentally friendly option when shopping. However, sometimes you forget your bags or you’re buying a gift and want something branded from the store. Whatever the reason, if you’re dropping money at a store, a free bag is the least they can give you. Perhaps that’s why Zara customers are absolutely losing it over the new “automatic” fee for paper bags at the till.

The world is way too reliant on plastic, with about 100 million tons of the stuff being used every year. About 10% of that ends up in our waterways, with approximately 300 million plastic bags going into the Atlantic Ocean alone. Given that the world uses roughly 5 trillion plastic bags a year – that’s an average of 700 per person! – something has to be done.

Stores across the U.S. and countries across the world have implemented fees for plastic and paper bags in an effort to curb plastic pollution. For instance, both Walmart and Target have already been charging customers for bags, so Zara really is just the latest in a growing list of retailers trying to combat the problem.

Zara stores in the U.S. are using a paper bag tax moving forward

According to The Sun, Zara has implemented a bag tax of between 5 and 10 cents per paper bag in its stores. This applies in all states that have enacted plastic bag bans and limitations, including but not limited to Maine, New York, Oregon, Vermont, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, and Delaware. However, the legislation around the use of plastic and paper bags depends on the individual state.

It’s up to Zara as a company whether or not it wants to put the fee into action. However, at the moment, it seems like paper bags are still a go at the store, just with an added surcharge.

That being said, Zara stores throughout Europe have had a fee in place for ages. Zara stores in Spain have charged around 10 cents ($.12 U.S.) for paper bags in all of its stores in the country since 2021 to try to encourage shoppers to be more environmentally conscious. It only seems right that the change makes its way across the globe.

Zara customers aren’t happy with the move

One shopper in particular took umbrage at the idea that he should have to pay for a bag when he purchased an item at Zara. “I walked into Zara and saw a nice pair of shoes. And then at checkout, the salesperson asked me if I wanted to ‘buy a bag for .10c,” he wrote on Twitter. “And I’m like, (1) if I don’t, I’m just supposed to walk through the mall holding a pair of shoes in my hand? (2) Does Zara really expect me to pay a fee to walk around with their branded bag further advertising them [for free], and (3) do people really pay for their bags?!” He claims he “left the shoes AND the bag at Zara.”

Another shopper described Zara’s paper bag charge as “an absolute scam,” while a third remarked that given the store’s tendency to produce “cheap clothes you can’t wear more than once anyway,” and another said, “It’s giving me Aldi.”

Incidentally, there’s a very easy way around the issue: Just bring your own bag! Better for the planet and saves you money.