Reusable Grocery Bags (that aren’t ugly)
August 13th 2007 by Dr.MOZ in Arts and Crafts, Green Companies, Green Products
Today’s healthy dose of fun tackles the reusable grocery bag phenomenon. No one likes plastic bags, and we’ve all seen the canvas grocery bags hanging by the checkout stands…so what is keeping us from making the switch? Our resistance could due to the fact that most bags marketed as “grocery bags” tend to be small and slightly expensive for what they are. Now that I think about it, most reusable grocery bags really couldn’t be any uglier so perhaps it isn’t a huge surprise we’re slow to make the transition. These are all good reasons, but today’s prescription should help put most of our excuses to rest. The featured bags may not be called “grocery bags”, but they’ll certainly do the trick and you just might find them to be a little easier on the eyes. They are a nice way to cut out a common petroleum-based product (plastic bags) from our daily lives, and a purchase will help support a few amazing companies in the process!
The Bag: The Elephant Tote bag (16 x 8 x 20) is a made of well-stitched jute and canvas with an embroidered blue elephant.
The Company: Ten Thousand Villages is a founding member of the International Fair Trade Association which includes over 200 members in 55 countries. Started from the trunk of Edna Ruth Byler’s car, the retail stores now span 160 outlets!
The Link: www.tenthousandvillages.com
The Bag: This recycled tote (11 x 14.5 x 7.25) is made from recycled and sterilized juice boxes by the Philippino artisans of Preda.
The Company: Your purchase from world of good supports fair trade and helps keep women and children off the streets. World of good also reinvests 10% of their profits into their non-profit partner World of Good: Development Organization, the focused on strengthening standards for handcrafts in the international fair trade industry.
The Link: www.worldofgood.com
The Bag: The Sophea Tote (14 x 2 x 12.5) is made in Cambodia with a flat hand-embroidered sarong tote, appliquéd flower detailing, and magnetic clasp closures.
The Company: Global Sistergoods partners with an NGO in Cambodia that helps widowed and abandoned children rebuild their lives. This self-sustaining company provides health education, food, shelter, and jobs to 40 women and over 200 family members.
The Link: www.globalsistergoods.com
Thanks again for visiting, and a special thanks to our blogging friends at How About Orange for their recent spree of posts including the great companies and products we’ve seen here today!
Have fun and stay healthy,
Dr.MOZ
August 13th, 2007 at 4:41 pm
I think the embroidered Sophea Tote at Global Sistergoods would be a huge improvement over my pile of plastic bags!
August 14th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
Hey folks, here’s another tip that I forgot to mention in the last post.
- Take a few paper or plastic bags back to the store, toss them in your cart while you shop, and reuse them when you pay for your food. You might be surprised at how many times you’ll be able to use each bag if they remain dry!
Let us know if you have any other ideas, or links to bags like those shown in the post.
Take care,
Dr.MOZ
August 15th, 2007 at 7:44 am
Envirosax are really great too, they’re big and super-durable and roll down to a tiny size, easy to keep a few in the car or purse or wherever.
August 19th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
I can’t say they are super good looking (more of a plastic mesh blue bag) but ACME apron company makes a super multipurpose bag I have used for several years now. I have also used it for carrying odds and ends when traveling. I’m sure it could be used for baby gear bag as well. I “borrowed” it from my mom’s house a few years ago and am not quite ready to return it yet.
If you go to professional conferences, cloth bags are often give out. Take a look at what the vendors are handing out. You might just find yourself a free, nifty reuseable grocery sack.
Don’t forget to throw an ice pack or two in the bags (on the way home) if transporting perishable food long distances. Food poisioning is a serious bummer.
Dee
August 24th, 2007 at 9:33 am
Check out the cute bags available at http://www.minusbags.com. 100% cotton, super lightweight & easy to fold up into your handbag. They are 100% made in the US, too.
November 9th, 2007 at 3:16 pm
I love the bags at http://www.thegreatbag.com ! The fact that they are made of 100% cotton is a big plus in my book. I just can’t get into the Polypropylene bags I see everywhere. I know its better than nothing but cotton is much better. They have
lots of styles too!
January 18th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
Has anyone seen the bags by SKN? They’re hot! 100% made in the usa, 100% cotton, and for those who desire it they have a 100% Certified Organic version that is even grown in the USA, woven into fabric in the USA and Made into bags in the USA.
http://www.getskn.com ! Check them out.
January 30th, 2008 at 8:07 am
Reusable Grocery Bags (that aren’t ugly); you aren’t kidding.
Quite a resource built up here. My favourites are Global Sistergoods they look really nice. I am in the UK and have been looking for funkier than normal re-useable bags. I found these jute bags from a company based in the midlands. They have a wide range of patterned and coloured bags all bio-degradable and re-usable. They’re not quite as cool as the Sistergoods IMO but they are still good.
June 9th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
I’m glad someone thought this story was worthy of a post. In my opinion the best thing we should do is to ban the plastic shopping bags at all. There is alternatives and I’m pretty sure once the plastic bags is banned manufacturers will come with brilliant ideas. For example, plastic shopping bags are illegal in South Africa anyway because of environmental reasons and nothing happens so why we can’t banned it.
June 15th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
I’m all for good looking bags of any kind. Grocery bags or fashion handbags, it doesn’t matter. But what does matter is the elimination of petroleum based plastics. It would do a world of good for the environment and in some small way help reduce the demand for petroleum.
June 28th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
I am all for this, although I reuse the plastic bags for all sorts of things I do not just through them away after taking the grocery’s out. I really love the World of Good Tote, I am going to get one
This is a great post really got me to thinking GREEN !
July 8th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Thanks for today’s prescription. I want to get one of these bags but I’m not sure which one I want yet. Thanks for the different options you showed me.
July 21st, 2008 at 8:51 am
Here in the UK all of the big grocery stores have ‘clicked’ and are now offering eco friendly store bags. even though this took a year for some of the big stores to implement – this is definitely a step in the right direction! Global sister goods canvas tree printed bags are awesome by the way!
July 28th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
I am a big fan of Envirosax Mikado Bags and all kinds of reusable grocery bags. It does not matter what the fabric is like, I just like the designs.
September 18th, 2008 at 11:51 am
Oh that Elephant tote is just so nice and cute to boot! I agree on the fact that most reusable grocery bags are just so ugly you can barely stand being seen using them. But this one has the look of environmental safeness and a nice style with it. Thanks!
September 22nd, 2008 at 11:59 pm
LOL..
easy way , no needing to buy ugly grocery bags.
Do online supermarketing like ours in singapore – http://www.yumtrade.com
cheers.
October 30th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
I think the problem is people do weekly shopping (not daily) at the huge supermarkets to make the biggest savings – so they fill up many bags of shopping, not just one as they are buying for the whole week. It’s too much hassle for a lot of people to shop everyday (i.e. one bag would probably be enough).
December 11th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
I think that ugliness or the lack of it should not really matter when we are talking about the environment here. After all petrol once used cannot be brought back, and the recent high world oil prices prove to us that oil is not as abundant as we take it to be. Moreover plastic packaging at times is recyclable though not always. Be that as it may I personally believe that plastic form of packaging should be reduced to as minimum an amount as possible, though this may not always be possible due to a multitude of reasons, both practical and financial.
January 1st, 2009 at 4:15 pm
You should always reuse or recycle if possible.
February 11th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
Fashion in the grocery store. How necessary…
March 13th, 2009 at 4:14 am
Hey this is a very good list for the conscious customers. Actually not everyone is interested in reusable stuff – either out of ignorance or out of laziness. I hope to see more such lists and articles frequently.
March 17th, 2009 at 1:58 am
Although that is a good collection of grocery bags but it is still difficult to have them. I think they should be available everywhere in grocery stores for motivation and to remove all the reluctance we have.