Re-Useable Shopping Bags

[Ana]

I do not own a car and thus, usually make many trips to the co-op per week on my bike and then use my panniers

I do have many grocery bags to use for garbage bags and paper recycling. I use them when I catch a ride to the store with someone or go to the store when my parents are in town

[7rider]

I think it's silly to buy bags that are made in and shipped from China and call it "green." That's like buying a brand new hybrid car with a battery with a finite lifecycle and no recycleability, when you have a perfectly functonal car in the driveway, and calling that "green." The only "green" is the money given to retailers.
However, I do have a stash of bags that I have been given at various events and seminars that I will re-use for shopping. I also have a large stash of plastic grocery bags (my DH is horrible about bringing them to the store whenever he goes) in the broom closet. Those also get used and re-used.

[OakLeaf]

Yeah I suppose I could make or get some reusable cloth produce bags from natural fibers. But it's not just that beans and grains and nuts and cereal need to be contained. Greens and herbs would get completely torn up, never mind getting all my other purchases (and the bags themselves) soaking wet. Small soft fruits like tomatoes, pears, or plums would migrate to the nooks and crannies and get completely crushed between heavier items. And if I have multiple of the same item (four small zucchini, let's say), then putting them in a bag for weighing means I don't have to fish them individually out of the bottom of my cart somewhere, which takes a whole lot more time in line than saying good morning to the cashier.

As far as the self-checkout, of the four grocery stores I use, only one has self-checkout, and sure I do prefer it, but so does everyone else, so the lines are really long. Two of the stores are small and locally owned (and there's rarely any line for me to hold up), so it's a simple matter of courtesy and human interaction to chat with the owners and employees while they're ringing me out.

Y'know, as far as the overall environmental choices, obviously we shouldn't be shopping in grocery stores at all. This is more like the kind of thing that everyone was coming down on IvonaDestroi so hard about. We all have to make the choices we're able to make, and ignore the rest for our mental survival. Shopping in grocery stores before the farmer's market season begins and, when it's fourteen hilly miles, driving there in my hybrid car, are two of my choices. Owning a carbon fiber road bike made in Asia is another one of them. And if I buy yet another bike that's capable of carrying more groceries rather than an expensive and jerry-rigged conversion of my race bike into a commuter, well, that's another less than ideal choice. So sue me.

[Crankin]

I started keeping mine in my car, too. I have 5, that cost .99, too. Bought them at the local natural foods store. My DH keeps 4-5 in his car, too, because we never know who/when, etc. will be shopping. He got his at K Mart and they cost 1.00.
Usually I go to Trader Joe's once a week to buy a few things I can't get elsewhere. I get one paper bag, which I use for my newspaper recycling.
I still use the plastic vegetable bags, though. Maybe I'll stop.

[Becky]

I alternate between plastic and reusable bags. I use totes from various conferences as shopping bags most of the time, but I will ask for plastic when our stash of kitty litter bags is running low. It seems silly to me to buy bags to scoop the cat boxes when I can reuse something that the grocery store will give me for free.

[bmccasland]

I have various canvas bags I've acquired over the years that I use for groceries - including 10 yr old Safeway bags. But the bag I use the most is a little bag, "lunch" sized, that I got at a quilt seminar - not made in a Chinese sweatshop, but a quilt guild "sweat shop" in preparation for the seminar. The ladies made about 150 of the completely lined little bags to hold our Welcome goodies. I use it to bring my lunch to work, mail, and all those odd small bits that don't fit in my purse that I only need to take somewhere occasionally.

As for plastic store bags - I do still use them - for used kitty litter. Maybe if I had a larger yard, and could build a bigger compost pile, AND get the kitties used to a compostable variety of kitty litter, we could eliminate the need to dispose of their waste. But there you have it, I admit I send poo to the dump on a regular basis. But my weekly garbage pile is still much smaller than my neighbors.

On a side note - while I was choosing something in WF, and commenting that the variety I used to buy was no longer available to an empolyeee nearby - he said that they had similar sauce available, right here in a glass jar. Told him, maybe so, but I can't recycle the glass jar, and I can recycle cans. Glass recycling isn't available in my area. If the sauces taste about the same, then I'll choose once that comes in a container that I can recycle.
I don't know if my comment made a difference, but canned variety is back on the shelves.

[NoNo]

I have several (maybe 4) from the supermarket, another one from there that's supposedly insulated, one I got at a bike ride, and my newest one my aunt made for me for Easter. It's reversible and is orange on one side and has pictures of sushi on the other

I leave at least 2 in the car at all times and have gotten much better about remembering them when I go into the store, and more importantly, remembering to put them back in the car once I get home. I also use them as my carry bag on the rare day I drive to work to throw my lunch and stuff in. When I take the train, I use a sil-sac to carry my lunch in, in case something leaks. It's saved me on several occassions

Edit: Forget about bringing the bags in. How many of you have brought the bags, told the cashier or bagger that you have your own bags, and then they continue to bag them in plastic bags? Drives me nuts!

[OakLeaf]

How many of you have brought the bags, told the cashier or bagger that you have your own bags, and then they continue to bag them in plastic bags? Drives me nuts!

And if you refuse their bag, they'll THROW IT AWAY.

I try to bag my own stuff. If you let the store baggers do it, they'll put your greens at the bottom and canned goods on top, every single time. If I beat them to the end of the conveyor belt, then I don't have to worry about it.

I'm just happy they updated the firmware in the self-check aisles so I can bag as I check out, rather than having to do it all after I've paid (or alert the attendant to key a weight override before starting) like you used to have to.

[shootingstar]

As far as the self-checkout, of the four grocery stores I use, only one has self-checkout, and sure I do prefer it, but so does everyone else, so the lines are really long. Two of the stores are small and locally owned (and there's rarely any line for me to hold up), so it's a simple matter of courtesy and human interaction to chat with the owners and employees while they're ringing me out.

..................................And if I buy yet another bike that's capable of carrying more groceries rather than an expensive and jerry-rigged conversion of my race bike into a commuter, well, that's another less than ideal choice. So sue me.

I know it doesn't require super amount of effort to carry cloth bags inside my panniers...but since we don't have a car and never will, and the bike is for going around everywhere, doing everything (well, non-super rainy/snowy weather), then I'm not going to beat myself up for non-environmental infraction.

There are times the constant opening up of panniers to place more bought items, ritual of parking a bike at every single errand stop several times, in 1 day is a drag...but no more than hunting around for 5-10 min. for a car parking spot.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Where do you get them for 99c? Every time I see them for sale, they're $7 or $8

At the supermarket- they are "Price Chopper" brand, 99 cents each. They've been selling them for a couple years now.
I also see them at another supermarket chain, Hannaford's, for 99 cents as well.

I think it's silly to buy bags that are made in and shipped from China and call it "green." That's like buying a brand new hybrid car with a battery with a finite lifecycle and no recycleability, when you have a perfectly functonal car in the driveway, and calling that "green." The only "green" is the money given to retailers.

I think the key aspect here is that you can use each of these bags hundreds of times. Mine have held up very impressively. If I use 10 bags a week while shopping or hauling stuff, then over each year my 17 or so bags prevent more than 500 plastic bags from being manufactured. For me, that trumps the fact that they are made in China. Unfortunately, the usual plastic supermarket bags don't hold up well after a few uses carrying any significant load.

You can buy bags that are made in the USA from recycled cotton, etc, but they are just too expensive still...when they first came out, such bags cost like $12 each and seemed more like 'designer' totes, but I do notice the prices on US made re-usable shopping bags are now steadily dropping as the retailers and manufacturers get a bit more 'real' and I am confident that they will eventually be priced reasonably and made here from all recycled stuff. Once they hit somewhere around $5 each I'll be buying those instead.
Meanwhile, I feel I'm still helping to prevent excessive plastic production. All of mine are two years old so far, have been used probably 100 times each over the past two years, and they are still going strong. Personally, I like that!

[badgercat]

I think it's silly to buy bags that are made in and shipped from China and call it "green." That's like buying a brand new hybrid car with a battery with a finite lifecycle and no recycleability, when you have a perfectly functonal car in the driveway, and calling that "green." The only "green" is the money given to retailers.
However, I do have a stash of bags that I have been given at various events and seminars that I will re-use for shopping. I also have a large stash of plastic grocery bags (my DH is horrible about bringing them to the store whenever he goes) in the broom closet. Those also get used and re-used.

So if someone doesn't have a handy stash of sturdy bags for reuse, as you are lucky to have.... I used to reuse paper grocery bags, but they would inevitably wear out. Similar to BleeckerSt_Girl, I've gotten dozens of uses out of each of the grocery totes that I've purchased (2) or been given as a gift (2), which have been invaluable when going to/from stores on the bus, and they also fit nicely in the rear baskets on my bike. Sure, I probably could have taken the effort to shop around and find bags at a thrift store instead, but the ones I bought were $0.99 and purchased when I was already at the store. I'm of the opinion that a small step in the right direction is better than not considering it at all.

[ny biker]

I have 4 cotton canvas bags that I got from the store that I shop at most often. They're nice and big, and two of them are insulated for dairy and frozen stuff. Like OakLeaf, I put them by the door as soon as I unpack them so I remember to take them back out to the car.

I just got a reusable bag from REI the other day when I used my dividend.

I also have a Chico bag that I love because it scrunches into a little pouch and fits in your purse, so it's always there if you need it.

http://www.chicobag.com/

[PamNY]

I also have a Chico bag that I love because it scrunches into a little pouch and fits in your purse, so it's always there if you need it.

That bag looks great -- exactly what I need.

Pam

[ZenSojourner]

Ah, well, no Price Chopper's anywhere near here. I've not seen anything like that in any of the store I do shop at. I'll settle for recycling the plastic bags fore reuse at Aldi's and using them for trash bags.

[ZenSojourner]

BTW, just as personal preference, I won't use the self-checkout lanes.

In the first place it takes jobs away from people, and in the second place I hate being yelled at by machines.

Just my preference.