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Dooood, I have been answering "neither" for years

Rarely do I get high on my green horse... but I seriously thought myself so clever when as a teenager shopping with my mom I would answer "neither" to the baggers and then whip out my duffle bag.

 

However, I am FAR from eco perfect.  To prove that, I took this quiz, called My FootPrint, which tells you just how many planets we would need if everyone on the planet lived like you do.  As I walked down this path to eco-enlightment via a computer tool, I became excited to see my results -- I guess getting a little high on my green horse.  I don’t eat meat; I recycle; I drive a 25 mpg Jetta  only when horseback won’t get me there; and of course - I don’t choose between paper or plastic because I bring my own bag to the supermarket.  I welcomed the opportunity to assess my ecological footprint.   

 

The results are displayed like this:  "if everyone lived like you, we would need __ planets." My score, in large thanks to air travel, is 3.9 planets!  I found a shallow ‘victory’ for at least coming in below the average ecological footprint in the US:  6 planets. 

 

Beyond this pointing to the fact that we can't smooth out the world's inequalities by making the poor much richer (because if everybody lived like the average American it really would take 6 planets to meet all our needs), it told me that we all have to find a big bang for the buck way to travel in class… green class.  So, now I am committed to offsetting my air travel emissions.  Emission offsetting means that you purchase a corresponding number of trees or clean energy credits to neutralize your carbon contribution from your flight.  But that is a different tip.

 

Off to order reusable, sassy shopping bags for Ideal Bite... let me know if you want to preorder one... they are going to rock. - Jen

Posted by: jboulden on 09/07/2006
related tip
Answer: Neither. Shopping bags create an insane amount of waste for something that's often in our lives for fewer than 5 minutes (store to car, car to house). Next time you grocery shop, BYOB (bring your own bag).
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Kate  on September 08, 2006 at 09:06 AM 11
For a sturdy and chic cotton canvas bag, check wolavers.com . They're on sale during September- $12.95 includes shipping, and proceeds benefit Organic Farmers Research Foundation (ofrf.org) They are pretty big- they hold a bushel of apples! They are made in the USA, out of organic Foxfibre fabric, the naturally colored cotton. And they have a colorful Wolaver's organic ales logo printed on them.
Gina  on September 08, 2006 at 10:13 AM 12
Thrift stores and yard sales are also great sources for reusable shopping bags. And don't forget the free totes that sometimes come from work, school, conferences, pledge drives, etc. An addition to the great sew-your-own comment above: How about knitting a shopping bag? If you know how to knit, or you know someone who's willing to knit for you, all it takes is a little time and some cotton, linen or hemp yarn. Here's a pattern (there are many more on the Web): http://tiajudy.com/stringbag.htm
Sara  on September 08, 2006 at 02:34 PM 13
Any Albertson's I've been to (in MT and WA) does NOT offer the discount on bringing your own bag, so maybe it's just in certain states. However (and I don't know if this is a load of crap or not, but...), they do have benches outside of the stores that say they were made from the recycled plastic bags people bring back to the store. Roseauer's natural food store, Huckleberry's, offers a 5 cent discount if you use your own bag or reuse one of their paper bags, so that's something.
jessica  on September 08, 2006 at 11:50 PM 14
And, well, here's another idea if you have a large stash of plastic bags. Reuse them ... donate to a charity thrift store, or even make your own rugs. http://www.homesteadweaver.com/plasticbagrugs.htm or
Greenbean  on September 09, 2006 at 05:17 AM 15
Whole Foods in Columbus, Ohio sells reusable grocery bags. The design changes every few months or by the season. They are durable and cost $1 each. I have been using the same four bags for over a year now. They also give you $.05 off per bag when you bring them in to use. It took me a few months to establish the habit of remembering to bring my bags every time but now I feel like a true Biter. I also use the 7th Gen. recycled plastic trash bags. Although it is next to impossible with 2 maybe 3 kids, we are trying for zero watse. We compost what we can and recycle most of our would be trash by paying attention to the materials / packaging that we buy with our food, etc. We still generate about a small kitchen-size bag of trash a week dispite all our efforts. Best of luck to you all!
Ann Snepp  on September 10, 2006 at 09:35 PM 16
I have used canvas bags since 1988 for all my shopping, and when people look at me funny I tell them that in Europe, if you do not bring your own bag you carry your stuff in your hands. I notice that when I shop I am usually the only one with her own bags. I keep trying to spread the word.
Graham  on September 11, 2006 at 05:26 AM 17
I love the Bite! Here's someone who reuses plastic bags by knitting them into shopping bags to replace plastic bags... at least I think that makes sense. The resulting bag is lightweight and strong. Check it out to see. She offers a pattern and a how-to. http://knitting.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://oma57.tripod.com/cleobag.html
Cheryl Brinkley  on September 11, 2006 at 11:48 AM 18
For those who just can't commit to cloth -- too Hippie or too baglady -- or who just like the way paper stands up squarely for easier packing,try my tip: I double bag paper (gasp! - stay with me here) at my favorite grocery store. After unloading groceries at home, I fold the bags, put them in my trunk and reuse and reuse and reuse. for MONTHS! I use 8-10 bags for at least 4 months. Doubling makes the bags last longer and hold more becaseu they're stronger. Having my own bags ready also makes self-packing much faster in the grocery line, which I hapily affirm then other shoppers notice me using my "stash." When bags finally wear out, they go into our curbside recycling. (As a courtesy, I don't use bags with logos from one store wehn shopping at a competitor store.) >
Helen  on September 11, 2006 at 08:14 PM 19
> I have been using cloth bags for 15+ years. I keep them in my backpack > when I am not using them. That way they are always with me unless they > are in the wash. Unfortunately my children, who are in their 20's have > not followed my example. For some reason they think it isn't cool to use > cloth bags. So we still have lots of plastic bags around the house. > Occasionally I will gather them all up and take them to the store and put > them in the recycling bin. A lot of them still end up in the trash.
Anne  on September 12, 2006 at 09:44 AM 20
Why don't we put a levy on plastic bags like the Irish did (.15/per bag)?? I have used my own cloth bags for YEARS, ignoring whatever looks I get, but that levy sounds good to me!! I also use the plastic bags for my garbage, maybe once every two weeks; I get the bags at work or along the side of the road when I walk.
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