The Shopping bag -game

The Shopping bag -game

There are 13 products in the shopping bag:

	a plastic bag
	a re-usable bag (e.g. cotton)
	a box of Kellogg’s cereals
	a box of Kellogg’s cereals
	a bag of sweets
	a carton of juice
	a toy car
	a plastic toy
	a glass bottle of ketchup
	a plastic bottle of ketchup
	a disposable plate
	a tooth brush with a disposable brush
	a bag of chewing gum.

Tips for the leader

The aim of the game is to consider sustainable consumption choices that are eco-efficient and do not create much waste. Try to think of small actions that everyone can do for the environment. The actions should be easy to perform in every day life. For one person it can mean choosing cookies that are not wrapped in layers of plastic, for someone else it can mean using a re-usable shopping bag. In the game children go to a fictional store and all the products are sorted in two piles. Products that the children consider to be environmentally friendly go to one pile and the ones that damage the environment go to the other pile.

First, take out the two shopping bags. You can either ask the children which one of the bags is more environmentally friendly or just ask them to place the products that you will soon give them on the bag.

Place the bags on the table, one on each end of the table. The children should now put the products on the right bag. If they think the product does not belong to either one of the bags, they can put it on the table between the bags.

You can either give the products to pairs or to a voluntary shopper. The shoppers then have a few minutes to think where to put the product and to do it. It might be a good idea to only give one product to the shopper or to a pair and to wait until they have made their decision. In that way the products stay in good condition for the next players.

 If there is not much time or the children are restless, the leader can take out the products one by one and ask the children where the product belongs and why.

When all the products have been put on the bags or between them, go through them as a group. You can think why they have been put on this certain bag and if everyone agrees. Try to find alternative products for the environmentally damaging products (see tips below). There are no right or wrong answers in this game – one might need something someone else never uses. However, there are some tips for placing and assessing the products listed below.

You can of course change the “rules” of the game. The children can for example bring something from home or take home a product that they thought was easy/difficult to assess. You can also take the children to a real store for virtual shopping, to see different kinds of products and to talk about their environmental impact. The children can even talk to the storekeeper.

Hopefully this game inspires you to find more ways to help the environment – one small thing for the nature is a step to a better tomorrow.

Happy learning!
The Metropolitan Area Recycling Centre Ltd.