It pays to be ‘green’ at Pacific Region Exchanges Published June 22, 2011 Army and Air Force Exchange Service Pacific Region ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam -- The Army and Air Force Exchange Service is rewarding military shoppers who are doing their part for the environment through its new "Use a Bag, Save the Planet" initiative. Instead of using traditional plastic bags, Exchange retail facilities throughout the Pacific, to include those in Guam, Alaska, Hawaii, Japan, Korea and the Marshall Islands, are encouraging shoppers to bring their own reusable bags. Beyond helping the environment, shoppers that "Use a Bag, Save the Planet" will get five cents back for every reusable bag used. "AAFES desires to be an environmentally responsible retailer and a 'green' place to shop," said Col. Mark K. White, commander for the Exchange's Pacific Region. "By rewarding the use of environmentally-friendly bags we hope to begin changing behaviors today to put us on a path for a cleaner tomorrow." The five cent credit applies only to shoppers who bring in and use reusable shopping bags (plastic bags do not apply) at Exchange main stores and all other Exchange retail facilities. As such, Exchange customers who simply decline a plastic bag, but do not utilize a reusable bag, will not qualify for the five cent credit. For more information, visit www.shopmyexchange.com. AAFES is a joint command and is directed by a Board of Directors which is responsible to the Secretaries of the Army and the Air Force through the Service Chiefs of Staff. The Exchange has the dual mission of providing authorized patrons with articles of merchandise and services and generating non-appropriated fund earnings as a supplemental source of funding for military Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation (FMWR) programs.