Culture
Reusable Shopping Bags May Make You Buy More Junk Food
A new study says people who use the bags believe they deserve more indulgences.
You try to be a good person by getting a reusable shopping bag, only to discover it’s making you eat like crap.
That’s the connection drawn by Uma Karmarkar and Bryan Bollinger at the business schools of Harvard and Duke, respectively, who claim using canvas tote bags and the like at grocery stores tricks your brain into wanting junk food. The thinking is that people who carry reusable bags feel more principled, and this makes them believe they deserve more BBQ Lays, Double Stuf Oreos, and other indulgences.