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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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Kelley  on April 15, 2007 at 09:13 PM 41
I sort my recycling with the plastic recycling bins that they provide, or with cardboard boxes that they recycle.
Stacy Pfannenstiel  on April 18, 2007 at 05:54 AM 42
There is a grocery store by the name of Aldi. They are international. they sell their own reusable(unfortunatly plastic but nice and large) bags but most people reuse the boxes they have within the store. They are big boxes usually so you can find 100s of uses after that for the boxes.
melinda  on April 23, 2007 at 09:36 AM 43
I went to Whole Foods grocery store and I bought three canvas grocery bags for 99Cents apiece. They are so nicely made and are big. I am just sorry I only bought three as I needed six. There is no Whole foods grocery store nearby as I was on vacation but if there is one in your neighborhood look into them.
Moira  on April 24, 2007 at 04:09 PM 44
Please check out www.themissionwear.org and buy a reusuable grocery bag! The woman that makes these employs women in Denver, CO trying to get off the streets. The bags are wonderful--sturdy, reliable, and big. They are also made out of recycled denim and cotton.
Wayne  on June 23, 2007 at 09:51 PM 45
quote: My only problem with using cloth bags is the price. In a normal shopping trip (which is 2 to 3 times a month) I can have 50 shopping bags or more. I can't afford to buy that many cloth bags nor will I waste gas by making more trips a month. Anyone have a better idea? -------- Buy a couple of bags per month that fit into your budget. Look around for the 99 cent bags or check local thrift and dollar stores for tote bags. Use them as you get them and eventually you'll have enought.
Ben  on July 19, 2007 at 12:54 PM 46
You can get some great reusable bags at www.Rejavanate.com. Not only do they eliminate the waste caused by plastic and paper bags but they are made from recycled burlap coffee bags, keeping tons of burlap waste out of our landfills AND the manufacturing process provides employment for individuals with developmental disabilities !!!! It’s a Win, Win, Win !!!
judy b.  on September 13, 2007 at 09:40 AM 47
Here's a great bag for the style-conscious, made here in San Francisco, where plastic bags (and Styrofoam to-go containers) are on their way out: My Own Bag
Judy  on October 03, 2007 at 03:13 PM 48
I am a teacher at a local school in San Diego. Our kids have responded really well to the use of reusable bags as a 'green fundraiser'. I admin, there a few different sites online and not one is really better than the other, at least for the bag I wanted. I ordered my first set from this site a few weeks back. I was impressed with how they looked. We had our school logo imprinted on two sides. http://www.reusethisbag.com/fundraising.asp - Talking to the people at this company, green fundraising using this type of bag is gaining popularity. It's nice to see how fast the movement toward going 'green' is progressing. I feel happy to be doing my part. I'm sure your readers are also doing theres.
Steven  on October 19, 2007 at 09:32 AM 49
I work at a natural foods store in Jackson, WY. We are looking to start a bag rental program for a customers to push the use of reusuable bags. I'm currently looking for an appropriate bag for the program that is cheap, but also eco-friendly. Does anybody have any suggestions?
Ania  on October 28, 2007 at 08:21 PM 50
If you have seen "Our synthetic sea", you would realize that plastic is much worse because of the long term effects it causes. Did you know that every piece of plastic ever made is still around? I put a photo of a bird on my blog. This bird fished out so many pieces of plastic from the ocean that it died. http://www.myownbag.com/blog/ I make reusable bags in San Francisco (micro business). I make them very strong and beautiful, so that people will want to use them for years. Each bag that you use saves thousands of plastic bags from entering the waste stream and eventually our water supplies. San Francisco has put a ban on plastic bags starting this November. All the large stores will need to carry compostible bags, but these bags are also made of petroleum. I'm concerned that if people begin using them and putting them in our composting system, it will eventually enter our food supply. The compost from San Francisco is sent to the farms near by. I don't want my food to be grown with all these chemicals. Please, please, do not use disposable bags. There are so many alternative. I make some (www.myownbag.com) and there are many other beautiful options from other designers.
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