of you damn greenies making c*** like this happen. Those bags got reused and reused all the time. The science is in, global warming was and is a damn hoax, and you science deniers had better get with it or there's going to be a backlash from the thinking (not believing) people real soon.

I loved those bags. i still have mine and reuse them. this will only annoy people. this is definitely symbolism over substance.

This will not work in the NYC stores, where most customers don't come to the store in a car. Many NYers don't even own a car. How are folks supposed to carry more than an item or two to the nearest subway if they didn't bring their own bag? Oh, and I'm sure the muggers will just love people walking around with Apple gear in their hands leaving the store. They won't have to guess who has the latest iPod or other hot gadget to jump.

Now, I'm glad Apple is going more green, but again, this wouldn't go over well in some locales, so I suspect this is for the more suburban stores.

I'm planning on stopping at the SoHo NYC store this week, so I'll have to see.

my thoughts exactly. though maybe they'll start doing like trader joes and providing either paper bags or reusable ones like http://www.flickr.com/photos/pondblue/475601019/

I actually love those Bags. I store the smaller boxes in them so. The rope piece made it easier to carry. Loved that too. DOn't know why they don't hand out a cloth bag with rope that could be used for all kinds of other stores (grocery, etc.) and advertising too.

I actually love those Bags. I store the smaller boxes in them so. The rope piece made it easier to carry. Loved that too. DOn't know why they don't hand out a cloth bag with rope that could be used for all kinds of other stores (grocery, etc.) and advertising too.

I actually love those Bags. I store the smaller boxes in them so. The rope piece made it easier to carry. Loved that too. DOn't know why they don't hand out a cloth bag with rope that could be used for all kinds of other stores (grocery, etc.) and advertising too.

Compare an Apple product to an ASUS product. The Apple product tends to have more plastic covers (really, did you NEED to cover the tips of the USB cable in a plastic cap?) than any other brand, even if they made the overall package size smaller.

I bought a USB ethernet adapter at an Apple Store and had to basically argue that I didn't NEED a bag to take my single item home.

Same thing happened prior at a Subway and I ended up taking the bag because the clerk was incapable of understanding that I don't need a bag to hold a wrapped up (and taped closed) sandwich and two napkins.

It's amazing what this world has become.

the part of this story about older hardware being offered for fire sale prices has got to be bogus. It's completely unsourced -- I purchased a mac last month and no one said doodley squat about "would you like to buy an obsolete mac". No surprise there. And Apple is famous for having a five-day inventory chain, less than anyone in the business. Frankly, this kind of boosh-wah in a story makes me wonder if the part about the bags is true either.

ttrostel: I really like your backpack idea. Or a really cool / sturdy version of canvas-polymer 'canvas' shopping bags. In fact, for my new iMac, why not give away a sweet, giant duffel bag!!!

ttrostel: I really like your backpack idea. Or a really cool / sturdy version of canvas-polymer 'canvas' shopping bags. In fact, for my new iMac, why not give away a sweet, giant duffel bag!!!

Apple has gayed out hard, man.

the part of this story about older hardware being offered for fire sale prices has got to be bogus. It's completely unsourced -- I purchased a mac last month and no one said doodley squat about "would you like to buy an obsolete mac". No surprise there.

First, did you buy a new Mac AFTER the new ones came on sale?

Second, why would Apple ask you this? So they can make less money?

Third, it has been reported in several places of people going in, asking if they had the previous models available, and getting several hundred off the price on those models. But you HAVE TO ASK.

So do you carry your bags every time you leave the house? What of the times you weren't planning on going to the Apple (or some other) store? Or just were going to some new iPod socks, but ended up getting a new ipod, speakers, etc?

how the local grocery chain here is pushing plastic more and more away from the paper bags. they are co0n-currently selling a branded cloth bag to transport your groceries in.

Not sure how much - but they do tend to use a load of plastic bags. I went in there for about 5 items one time - most not too heavy and they tried to load the 5 items into 4 seperate bags.

Good job Apple for not appearing green but actually doing something towards change - still dug the Apple Bags tho.

I recently got some of those cloth cotton bags with (grey) the apple logo on them. Apple should have some of those on-hand to sell. I'd buy one of those for .99 --- heck, they could even use a catch phrase, "Shop to a different tune at iTunes" on them.

ttrostel: I really like your backpack idea. Or a really cool / sturdy version of canvas-polymer 'canvas' shopping bags. In fact, for my new iMac, why not give away a sweet, giant duffel bag!!!

So ok, what about if you buy a 30" display, do you get a free SUV with that? Then again, for the price that they charge for those things, they might just be able to afford it...

The story is absolutely not completely true! Apple has not eliminated bags! It is focusing on asking customers if they want a bag with their purchase, in the hope of reducing bag usage. The stores have always offered to carry out large purchases to customers' cars, so that's nothing new either. I'd guess their eventual goal is to eliminate bags, but one can still get a bag if they want one.

Plastic is a much better choice environmentally than paper. Here’s why.

- 15 million trees are cut down each year to supply paper bags to American customers.

- It takes 4x as much energy to make a paper bag than a plastic one.

- Paper bag manufacture produces greenhouse gasses, acid rain, and water pollutants on a much greater scale than making plastic bags.

- Recycling paper bags takes 10x the energy of recycling plastic bags.

- In a landfill, paper bags take up much more space than plastic ones, and without light, heat and oxygen take decades to decompose.

Plastic bags have downsides, for sure:

- Ugly. Especially if not disposed of / recycled properly.

- Can clog drains and sewers. Especially if…

- Anecdotally, can end up in the throats of birds, raccoons, and seals (note however that anecdotal evidence is worth about nothing).

[Facts for this story taken from “Amazing, but False!" by David Diefendorf, 2007 Sterling Publishing, ISBN-13: 978-1-4027-3791-6, ISBN-10: 1-4027-3791-2.$12.95 US. A very fun, interesting, and informative dip-into book.]