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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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Willow  on September 12, 2006 at 12:13 PM 21
Re the websites you mentioned in the "paper or plastic?" Ideal Bite--> I noticed two websites/bags that were missing. One that was missing was the ACME Earth Tote™ Reusable Shopping Bag Set. I looked at the other websites you recommended and this is definitely the most economical. Buying one or two bags isn't enough and at 50 bucks a pop, how can you buy more?! If you are shopping for a family you need more -- I keep at least 4 bags in each car so I am always prepared. They also sell produce bags (as does Blue Lotus who did list). One HUGE selling point for me was that I really wanted a bag that stood up on it's own, like a paper bag. There are tons of canvas, cotton, or hemp reusuable shopping bags on the market but these ACME Earth Totes are the only ones I've found that stand up on their own. True, they are made of petroleum-based nylon but they are are so durable they are guaranteed by the manufacturer for life! I noticed you did mention other things on this website (reusablebags.com) but not the Acme Earth Totes and produce bags. Another great bag is made by the Cloth Bag Co. They sell a bag made of EcoSpun. The bag does not stand up by itself but it is made from 100% post-consumer recycled soda bottles!!! How cool is that?!?! The soda bottles are shredded, then they melt the chips and spin the result into a fiber which is then woven into cloth. These naturally white bags are machine washable with no shrinkage. They are extremely reasonably priced as well. I bought a few and am trying to figure out a way to make them stand up on their own. Willow Christensen
Willow  on September 12, 2006 at 12:29 PM 22
For years I also did what Graham wrote above - reuse doubled paper bags over and over again. They do last a long time! I kept about 8 in each car folded up so I was always ready to go to the store! I was not as considerate and just used whatever abgs I grabbed - competitor's or not. Someone told me that in Europe it is illegal to give away free bags - you have to buy them at the store or bring your own. Don't know if that's true but how great would that be if we did that here?!
Willow  on September 12, 2006 at 12:35 PM 23
Obviously if you're reading this you are into cloth over plastic sooo...you should check out the bumGenius diaper at cottonbabies.com. Cloth diapers are just not like they used to be! You can get them contoured so they don't have to be folded and with snaps or velcro so no pins! Seriously, check out all the different kinds! I have several more sites I shop at for cloth diapers. E:mail me (bxc@aol.com) if you're interested and I will give you the web addresses.
Carol Gazzetta  on September 12, 2006 at 02:02 PM 24
On the subject of not using plastic bags I would like to add that when going to someone's home to bring a covered dish I never use a bag...I use a basket with a handle. This works really well when it's a hot dish or heavy. I wrap it in a kitchen towel and wala. I feel like little red riding hood but it really is nice and a good way to use those baskets that sit around. When I take the dish out I put my car keys in the basket so I dont forget to take my "cute" basket home. I dont only use them for transporting food, it can be for anything. A few weeks ago I was going to my daughter's house to paint a mural on the wall, I carried my bottles of paint, my brushes and the rest of my supplies in my nice little handled basket!
Jill  on September 17, 2006 at 01:38 PM 25
A standard plastic grocery bag can be stuffed into an old film canister. I have bag-filled film containers stashed in my purse, coat pockets, glovebox, etc. for those times when I forget my cloth bags or don't feel like lugging them around with me.
Rbbin Gallacher  on October 02, 2006 at 04:29 PM 26
I watched Martha Stewart today October 2, 2006 and was very happy to see her segment on living green. Good for Martha! By the way that is where I learned about your website. If more people who are in the limelight per se would speak out about this issue I believe more "regualar" people would "catch on" to the whole living green idea and start trying to make practical changes in their lives to improve the environment. I have just recently stopped using plastic bags and I am looking to purchase reusable totes. The information you have given is very helpful. Lots of ideas on where to get them and also how much they cost. Thanks. I also agree that we should take a hint from The Europeans! I was at Henry's the other day and I watched a bagger put 2-3 items (only) in each plastic bag he packed, as I stood there and watched I wanted to scream! I did call the store the next day, which was kind of scary I thought that they would think I was some kind of crazy person, and spoke with the manager. He was very nice and felt the same way I did. He assured me that he would speak to the baggers on shift during the time I was there and remind them that they should be filling the bags to capacity. I hope by calling I made a small difference.
Dina  on October 10, 2006 at 10:13 AM 27
I live in Germany, where plastic bags at the grocery store cost anywhere from 10-25 cents whenever you forget to bring your own. They are made from recycled plastic and can be reused many times. But what most people do here is bring a shopping basket along -- they are sturdier and hold more than canvas bags. We use them to bring our returnable bottles and jars back to the store before we shop!
JoAnne  on January 05, 2007 at 08:53 AM 28
I take the re-usable double bagging method a little further. I read this tip somewhere. Take your re-usedpaper grocery bag and fold it and flatten it back up. A few inches from the top, cut the bag crosswise and rounding off the edges. Now fit this bag into a re-used plastic shopping bag. These are great for grocery shopping!!!! Even the baggers like them when I bring them in. They are very sturdy and re-usable MANY times. They fold up neatly in your car This way you don't have the expense of buying a new bag. Because if you are like me and late getting on the green band wagon, you have bags already in your basement! Hope this helps.
becky  on January 05, 2007 at 09:50 AM 29
i love the acme workhorse 1500 bags. they carry a lot of weight and are machine washable. http://www.reusablebags.com/store/acme-bags-workhorse-style-1500-p-1.html
angela  on February 04, 2007 at 12:02 PM 30
A tip for anyone who feels that the cloth/ hemp shopping bags are too small: I used to walk to the grocery store with a backpack on. For big shopping trips, I'd take a big pack. Easy to put a lot of stuff in there (put the eggs and bread on top, of course) and easy to carry it home.
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