Aldi Shoppers Are Relating To This Hilarious Grocery Meme

Aldi shoppers who follow the r/me_irl on Reddit felt seen yesterday. What caused this was a picture of "Jack-ass" star Steve O in his car absolutely covered in vegetables with a caption that read, "When you go to Aldi's and forget to bring the bags."

The point of the meme is to reference the fact that Aldi does not offer free bags. Instead, as CNN reported in 2019, Aldi charges customers for bags. The point is to keep down costs on their end so that they can offer bargain prices in return. However, this can easily mean that a shopper ends up overburdened as they attempt to avoid paying for a plastic bag.

"Lmao !!! God I feel this so hard," one person responded. Another looked ahead, "Then you get home and grab a washing basket and start unloading the car while attempting not to be spotted by your [neighbors]." A third suggested simply taking the cart with you because you have already deposited a quarter for it. 

The reasoning behind Aldi's decision to charge customers for bags, sometimes leaving them with the meme-inspired dilemma mentioned above, is rooted in trimmed-down economics. However, as the economic reason becomes ecological, supermarkets may start charging for bags as well. 

In 2017, a piece in The Conversation commented on how the trend for supermarkets to charge for their plastic bags created a windfall for the companies. After all, they have to spend less on procuring plastic bags and they make money off the plastic bags they sell. It's a double win. That double win outcome, though, does not necessarily translate to being environmentally helpful if the companies do not put that money to some kind of conservatorship and shoppers begin to accept that they have to pay a bit extra for the bag.

The outlet that in the U.S., 40% of shoppers have continued to use disposable bags and many actually threw their reusable bags. Real change would have to come from removing the plastic bags altogether.