Planting the Seeds of Grassroots
10
By Curtis Picard and Shelley Doak
Recently, both the Maine Merchants Association and Maine Grocers Association were able to be key players in a new endeavor in Maine, called Got Your Bags, Maine? The campaign is looking to reduce the number of paper and plastic bags used in Maine by 33% in 2013.
Both of our organizations are traditional trade associations working primarily with retailers and grocers respectively. We spend much of our time growing membership, addressing legislation and representing our industry locally, regionally and nationally. Which is why Got Your Bags, Maine? has been such a refreshing change of pace.
One of key pieces of the new campaign is not just educating our membership and getting their participation, but changing consumer behavior. Although most people understand the need and desire to reduce the use of bags, effecting change of behavior is a greater challenge. The way we are trying to do that is through grassroots volunteerism.
A big part of the campaign is reaching out to people through social media and connecting one on one with business owners. Our campaign website points to our Facebook fan page. In less than a month, we have over 200 fans and our Twitter account (@GotYourBagsME) is generating a number of followers.
With this growing word of mouth, we hope to turn these fans and followers into advocates for the campaign. Reducing the number of bags by 33% translates to approximately 250 million less bags per year. It’s a big challenge to reach the necessary number of businesses and individuals to help make that change.
Already, we have connected with some amazing volunteers that care deeply about the issue. Chloe Maxmin of Lincoln Academy organized a school project to produce reusable bags for Damariscotta. Their first printing of bags has already sold out. A woman in York County wants to speak about the campaign to area groups and has already connected with some York business owners.
Our hope is that people who care about the issue will do more than just increase their personal use of reusable bags. We hope that they talk to their favorite businesses about how they can participate, as well as talking to friends and family about it. We also hope that people take the time to participate in community fundraisers that promote reusable bags, that businesses band together to better recycle existing bags and Maine sets the benchmark for other states to follow.
Although we are only one month into this project going public, we are encouraged and heartened by the willingness of people to speak positively about the campaign and to point out the businesses and individuals willing to volunteer for change.
To learn more about Got Your Bags, Maine?, please visit www.gotyourbagsmaine.org or follow on Twitter @GotYourBagsME.
Curtis Picard is the Executive Director of Maine Merchants Association (www.mainemerchants.org). Shelley Doak is Executive Director of Maine Grocers Association (www.mainegrocers.org).