The Prius of Grocery Bags

I already have a reusable bag. It says "Reduce Methane Emissions: Help Al Gore Lose Weight."

I use plastic grocery bags for daily kitty litter cleanup (newspaper bags usually have holes after being thrown in the air and landing on the cement/asphalt) so I guess you could say I am "doing my part" to reduce our consumption of plastics.

Or, instead of buying something 'trendy,' you can buy a reusable bag at WF for ONE DOLLAR this week. Got a few last night at the WO location...

There is so much hype around this bag. First, if it is not a plastic bag, then what IS it made of? Looks like plastic...

Second, it is created by a big handbag designer, so I doubt anyone buying it is doing so to make a statement. It's really a good PR opportunity for Anya though.

Does Whole Foods give you a discount for bringing your own bag? Perhaps this is the Freakanomic incentive that could spur activity.

I used to go to a dry cleaner in upstate NY that gave a 10% discount on my total purchase when I gave back the wire hangars.

Yes, WF, Trader Joe's, and even the local Shop-Rite give you something like 10 cents off for every bag you bring in (reuseable or not)!
It's definitely not about the $$, but if it's an incentive for people to reuse bags, it's worth it.

In Italian and French supermarkets they charge for plastic bags. You pick them up at the cash till and they will cost you a couple of euro's each - enough to really make you buy only what you need or better still to remember your own bags from home. You see local shoppers with cotton bags, cardboard boxes, even plastic crates at the supermarket.

I was at WF in West Orange last night and picked up one of the $1.00 bags ($0.90 since I used it right away and got the $0.10 bag incentive).

$15 for a bag / $0.10 bag incentive = 150 trips to the supermarket (almost 3 years at one trip per week) before the bag pays for itself?

I think I'll stick with the $1.00 canvas bags.

I think I'll stick with the $1.00 canvas bags.

Aren't you supposed to use the $15 bag in order to announce to everyone that you care more than they do? You must only care one-fifteenth as much!

I need plastic bags for dog poop disposal, so I am a bad person.

I think it's GREAT for the designer, but $15 just to announce you're a snob? I usually shop at ShopRite, and they have canvas bags for $1. I don't really care if other people know I'm being earth-friendly. As for the doggie poop, I purchased earth-friendly plastic dog bags...dogipot.

LoL. You mean like the bigger your yellow ribbon the more you support the troops?

I don't think using plastic bags for doggie duty makes you a bad person.

I still get 1 or 2 plastic bags a week to put my raw meats in. I then rinse out the bags and use them for the bathroom trash can.

Real men don't need no stinkin' plastic bags to pick up stinkin' dog poop.

i also need the plastic bags for dog walks. i have yet to find a more practical option.

im open to suggestions...

"im open to suggestions..."

How about teaching your dog to use the toilet? :-)

No seriously, I can't think of a better use for plastic bags. Some parks even provide them for dog owners.

Dogs alreadyuse the toilet!

of course, why didn't i think of that!!

i just did some research and found something called 'bio-bags' that the company gaiam sells, without tax and shipping the average cost per bag is 12 cents....not terrible

wow, there really is an environmentalist born every minute.

Wrong -- 3.8/sec.

""I'm Not A Plastic Bag."

"I am made of alligator skin veneer with Canadian seal and spotted owl trim. Such a deal for only $15."

What about recycling those plastic bags? That's what I do. all stores have a bin for recycling.

I got a couple of free canvas totes from Xilinx.
www.xilinx.com
Now that's a REAL designer label.

PAWS also accepts those plastic bags. They get all of my extras, along with my newspapers, as they use those for lining litter boxes.

Down here, we need someone to invent bio-degradable shopping carts.

Nana, I love your posts.

It's unfortunate that when you refer to "down here", people know exactly where that is.

BTW, while driving down Elm Street this weekend to South End Hardware, I noticed that the crosswalks at Hawthorne Place and then at High Street are painted with some sort of orange design rather than bricked like those in Upper Montclair. Did the town run out of bricks?

The cross walks are painted that way on Grove Street near Grove Pharmacy. Not Attractive to my eye...but certainly noticeable.

HA!
I have decided to shop with this $30 bag so that I can be exactly twice as good a person as all of you non-environmentally-caring $15 bag users! In fact, my new sneering insult if I go to a Blue Wave meeting will be to dismiss somebody as a "15 dollar bagger."

If only the $30 bag was made from hemp...

I am not spending $15 for a bag. I will use my less than trendy LL Bean tote or my CAM Expo bag (Complemenatary and Alternative Medicine. My equally fashionable keep it cool grey bag (available at Whole Foods) will also work.

Don't we have enough totes etc? That saying is obnoxiously pathetic.

This bag IS made of plastic! Turn those plastic bags into "yarn."

Forget the plastic and tote. Whole foods has nice colorful straw baskets that will do the same. Only the baskets will help a third world nation. I saw beautiful and larger baskets for less $$ at the home store on Watchung Avenue. Really multi-functional.

Forget the plastic and tote. Whole foods has nice colorful straw baskets that will do the same. Only the baskets will help a third world nation. My friends & I purchased really beautiful and larger baskets for less $$ at the home store on Watchung Avenue. Really multi-functional.

Ya had to know that they were made in China. (No thanks)!

In the supermarkets I always double bag in good old paper, never plastic. The cashiers seem to have a severe problem with that, especially at Pathmark. Too bad, I do it anyway. I HATE the plastic bags! HATE HATE HATE them !