The Real Reason This Costco Shopping Cart Has Its Own Facebook Page
In 2019, a Facebook group was created for an unusual cult icon of the Seattle satellite city Woodinville: a white Costco cart called Blanco. According to the lore circulated about the cart (via the Woodinville Weekly), the Woodinville Costco #747 was once a site of white carts, "but then a new breed of grey carts – arrogant, good for nothing – invaded the land." This one white cart disappeared into the thicket and was found in 2017. The store brought it out, cleaned it up, and now the one white cart has become an object of devotion for the local shoppers.
Since the page was created, people have regularly given the cart five-star reviews and uploaded pictures featuring customers with the cart. "Just look at all the fun and the lighthearted joy Blanco brings to folks!" one shopper wrote in their review. "Kids yell "there's Blanco" and the Costco staff recognizes the fun and totally joins in....just Wow!" The employees have even given the cart a name tag, declaring to all fans that it's "Blanco."
The devotion is such that Echo Lake Community invited Blanco to the Echo Lake Artisan Fair where people could have photographs taken with it. The story is reiterated but with the new detail that the carts were changed over in 2016.
Shopping cart controversy!
Anyone who has checked in on the famed shopping cart will notice that the cart is no longer called Blanco, but Dash. This is the result of a controversy that almost got the cart permanently decommissioned.
As Andrea Brown writes for HeraldNet, the rumor, which one employee reportedly confirmed, was that there were worries about calling the shopping cart the Spanish word for white would ignite some grievances. So, they removed the cart from circulation in April of this year. However, the decision was apparently met with customers threatening to picket the store until their shopping cart was returned.
But on Saturday, October 2, a new post was uploaded to the Facebook group. A new cart was brought forwards with an equally ornate backstory as Blanco's. This time, the cart was named Dash. Fans were appeased. "Thank you for not letting the thieves spoil our fun and bringing us Dash," one person wrote.
Still, there have been detractors to the change. "Not fun anymore," one commented, "is forced and too commercial, bye, good luck." Another agreed that the customer-created Blanco felt more subversive than this explicitly brand-friendly replacement. They seem to be in the minority, though, as the community can still have fun with their odd shopping cart.