Green-est Way to Bring Groceries Home

Neither paper nor plastic offer a green solution for getting the groceries home. Reusable bags are really the way to go.

Jennifer, a reader, emailed in to tell us about these Reisenthal bags for Reusablebags.com. "They are small enough to keep in my purse at all times, so I always have two reusable shopping bags with me," she said. For those of not up to the floral print, there's also a collection of solid colors.

What's cool is that these bags stay in their own small zippered pouch, waiting to be unfurled next time you happen to hit a Greenmarket. Remembering to bring reusable bags along is, of course, the hardest part, but if we always have the bag with us, we can't forget.

This quirky comment from Treehugger might be enough to jog our memory into bringing bags along with us: "The Russians call them 'perhaps bags' because they'd carry around little mesh bags that take no room in their pocket, in the event they perhaps encounter some fresh produce or other scarce commodity, that they could snatch up and carry home."

Are plastic bags on the way out? San Francisco has outlawed the use of non-biodegradable plastic bags by large retailers and Ikea is now charging five cents for their plastic bags, reports The New York Times.

(Thanks for the tip, Jennifer)

Comments (8)

I have a couple of these bags (in a solid army green) color that I picked up at The Container Store near the register area. I use them every day and they do indeed fit into a pocket or in the bottom of a pocketbook. I get compliments all the time by impressed cashiers.

posted by kkf on April 3rd 2007 at 8:34am
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We have them in stock at the Brooklyn Kitchen!

posted by thebkk on April 3rd 2007 at 9:33am
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and then there's always this (from today's Chicago site)
http://chicago.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/how-to/how-to-fold-your-plastic-bags-for-reuse-020440

posted by eat more lemons on April 3rd 2007 at 10:26am
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I love Reusablebags! I keep Acme Workhorse bags in my purse. Like the Reisenthal bags, they fold up easily into tiny packages, and they're also inexpensive and come in basic black.

posted by satsumabug on April 3rd 2007 at 1:58pm
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But what do you do when you run out of plastic bags at home?

What do you line your garbage can with? What do you use to clean up after your dog?

I'm at that point...the other day I chose NOT to take my canvas bag to the store because I had no plastic bags in the house!

posted by JenPDX on April 3rd 2007 at 5:45pm
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i keep a mesh bag in my regular bag, but often times the cashier/bagger bags my stuff so quickly that i end up forgetting i have my own, or don't want to make her change it over. I do my best, though. At whole foods you get 15 cents back if you bring your own, wihch is significant.

Also, JenPDX, they now sell garbage bags in stores.. you can line your cans with them! And little baggies for poop, too. In the old days, they used to use newspaper for poop.. a nice way to recycle. ;)

posted by cheflaura on April 3rd 2007 at 8:01pm
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So...I stop using FREE plastic grocery bags and BUY plastic garbage bags?

I guess, the irony is that the need for a plastic bag hasn't been eliminated in anyway... We're just targeting the most common source of plastic bags (grocery sacks).

And, now that I've gone digital, I don't subscribe to a newspaper...no newsprint pooper scooper or readily available flyswatter...

posted by JenPDX on April 4th 2007 at 10:48am
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"The Russians call them 'perhaps bags'..."
That's so funny, because my grandfather, from rural Eastern NC, says that you should always have a *might* sack, because "you might get something, you might not."

posted by Pfirsch on April 4th 2007 at 2:10pm
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