Three weeks after Coca-Cola introduced new bottles here in the Netherlands, the soft drink giant raised prices of bottles this week with 40%, while many consumers have complained about the flimsiness of the new one-time-use bottles. More »

Shopkeepers outside the center of Leiden protested against a city plan to allow shops in all of Leiden to open their stores to customers on Sundays. Until now this was only allowed in the city center. More »

One of my favorite things to do when in the United States is to look around at grocery stores. There is so much to see that we don’t have here in the Netherlands, and the selection is so much bigger; hundreds of different types of shredded cheese, potatoes and other produce much bigger in size than anything sold in Holland, and aisles of strange sodas that Europeans have never even dreamed of. The average supermarket in the U.S. has 45,000 different products, compared to ‘only’ 15,000 in the Netherlands. More »

Yesterday when leaving the Praxis DIY store, their security alarm went off, so they asked me to empty my pockets, and take off my jacket, shoes and belt. But the thing kept beeping. After ten minutes of walking back and forth through the damn security gate and showing them over and over again that my pockets were all empty, they decided to let me go, probably thinking I swallowed a tool from their store or something. Back home I discovered a hidden sewn-in (!) security tag in my new Old Navy jeans. More »

Speaking of soda bottles, I have never understood why there are some plastic soda bottles (especially here in Europe; I have never seen them in the U.S.) that have caps with rings that do not come off. The half-stuck rings are sharp, always in the way and they are just plain annoying. Check out these comparison pictures. More »

At the end of this month, Coca-Cola in the Netherlands will offer their products in a new type of bottle. Currently PET bottles are used, and then recycled to be used again by various bottling plants. The new bottle is meant for one-time use only. The bottles will have a deposit on them; after being returned to grocery stores the bottles will be recycled. Material from the recycled bottles will be used to make new PET bottles or other plastic products. More »

My dad always teases me when I buy a new pair of shoes. He calls me “Imelda”, after Imelda Marcos, former first lady and political figure of the Philippines. She is probably best remembered for her vast collection of shoes. Did you know that in 2003 director Ramona S. Diaz made the documentary Imelda, about the footwear fancier? More »