Kaunas Spring Fair – a record number of people holding reusable bags

The name of the Kaunas Spring Fair did not quite reflect the current time of year. Heaven is stingy, not sunlight, but with fine snowflakes and rain. The thermometer column was also sluggish upwards.

« The participants of the Kaziukas Fair were more fortunate. What was the weather! I walked up my sleeves and now? » – Rima, a coat collar raised, began to look for gloves in her pocket. Knowing that she would have to carry shopping bags, the woman took care of leather hand protection measures in advance.

Photo by Edgar Cickiewicz

Cool weather also adjusted Rima’s shopping list by traveling to the cart by fermented, not fresh vegetables, smoked bacon and sea buckthorn syrup for tea.

« When you get home, you will definitely need a hot drink, » Rima tried to see the benefits in the unfavorable weather forecast. « 

Almost 700 merchants from all over Lithuania will be waiting with their products by Sunday afternoon by Sunday afternoon of the traditional Kaunas Spring Fair. What with handicrafts and folk art works, with traditional delicacies and gourmet news.

Most importantly, it does not die! And that cold … I will go faster, maybe I will spend less money, because I already buy everything.

« Get, taste it. Our tea is exclusive. It is possible to drink both cold and hot, » the tea -selling woman tried to overshadow the adjacent standing, the goat’s milk cheese dealer from Kėdainiai district. A little further, the middle -aged man told what outdoor decorations are currently in fashion and urged something to choose from his range. The jewelry designer from Vilnius invited Kaunas to see necklaces. When they liked but did not, they shorten the printed paper bags in place.

« Why not plastic? No prestige. Do you imagine a handmade necklace in such a bag?, » A young woman assured her not just about the image. « More than 100,000 animals die in plastic bags in the seas a year, and this is just the number of people found.

Just a few meters away, a woman selling plastic bags from under the counter. They are cheaper than paper.

« I can’t afford paper, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think about sustainability, » the woman did not say much, continued to trade and did not understand why so many people are gathering near her. The theme of this year’s fair is « through tradition in the sustainable world », so all participants were invited to join the longest line of people holding reusable bags. After bringing thin, disposable, the townspeople changed them to materials, reusable bags and kept their handles, they joined each other, forming a uninterrupted circuit. Major supermarkets note that more than a year after the prohibition to share thin plastic bags for free, the habits of the Lithuanian population have changed significantly. The use of disposable bags has fallen from 30 to 70 percent, and buyers are increasingly opting for environmental alternatives.

The creators of a sustainable idea decided to contribute to an even greater change in numbers.

« The goal is to encourage people to use reusable bags. We are convinced that big things start with small things, » said Evelina Kobrina, Marketing and Communication Specialist.

The citizens changing bamboo materials, the bamboo bags, greeted such an initiative, and promised to use the gifts for their intended purpose.

« In the store, I always think well whether a disposable bag or not. If I take it, I put different vegetables in it, not as before – for each species, it would be good to get rid of the habit of buying large plastic bags that I put all my shopping. the knob.

1 thousand. bags, people lined up from the garden of Kaunas State Musical Theater all the way to Sobor. According to the organizers, the queue should be about 2 km long. The event is recorded, but it must be approved by the Lithuanian Extraordinary Achievement Service.