6 Ways to Make Reusable Bags Even Greener

By Blythe Copeland, Planet Green

With shoppers coming home with more than 1 million plastic bags per minute, we all know that cutting back by using fabric bags is an easy way to stop litter. But how much good are those bags actually doing you? If you’re not keeping them clean, choosing sustainable materials, or finding smaller sizes for produce, then you might not be making as much of an impact as you think.

1. Choose Your Materials Carefully

If you’re on a mission to give up plastic bags, then shouldn’t you make sure that your replacement totes are made from sustainable materials? Reusing the plastic bags you already have at home is one solution; also, look for bags made from recycled plastic, organic cotton, hemp, or even polyester or polypropylene (as Pablo pointed out on TreeHugger, the difference in the impacts of canvas, polyester, and polyproylene are minimal compared to the positive difference they make compared to plastic). And make sure you find a grocery tote that’s durable enough to haul home all your food on trip after trip—so you don’t wind up needing to replace them after just a few uses.

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Nino U.

1:41AM PST on Dec 18, 2011

Great article! Especially the idea of using the old sports jereys as the fruit containers.

send a green star

Tim C.

10:58AM PDT on Aug 8, 2011

thanks.

Carol C.

1:17PM PDT on Jun 20, 2011

Great article. Thank you.

2:34AM PDT on Jun 20, 2011

I totally agree we should avoid plastic, but our supermarkets recently stopped providing plastic bags - there were letters to the local newspaper from people who re-used the bags as kitchen bin liners and now had to buy the bin liners and they were complaining that the supermarkets had increased the price of these, making it a win win situation for the supermarkets. I don't think that is a good excuse, but I wonder if buying plastic bin liners is defeating the purpose of removing the biodegradable plastic shopping bags! The bin liners are made of a tougher and thicker plastic!

Jacqueline F.

6:35AM PDT on Jun 19, 2011

get reminders and tips, thank you....

Yvonne S.

1:56PM PDT on May 12, 2011

I am pleased to say that the local supermarkets here (in Shropshire, England) are definitely cutting back on the use of plastic bags.

Llana Y.

12:54PM PDT on Apr 27, 2011

I love this article!!! I made several bags from old tshirts and all I did was cut the sleeves off to make handles and sewed the bottom shut.

Liny T.

2:07AM PDT on Apr 27, 2011

thank you

Joanna P.

2:00PM PDT on Apr 4, 2011

Oh darn, I forgot to add that just last Sunday, when I was in the express counter, waiting in line to pay for my juice box, this lady in front of me had a reusable bag on her shoulder... but insisted on plastic bags for her packets of spinach and carrots that she paid! The cashier tried insisting that since she had a reusable bag with her, why did she need plastic, she simply said that she needed it to put her shopping in! DUH! So groceries weren't part of her shopping?? I was amazed!

1:55PM PDT on Apr 4, 2011

The state I live in, Selangor in Msia, started the initiative of a plastic bag-less Saturday about two years ago and this year, the effort spread nationwide! Ikea is one of a few stores that charge for plastic bags on saturdays, which I think is great because it repels shoppers from taking a plastic bag home.
There have actually been complaints from certain people who claimed to be caught off-guard when the no plastic bag saturdays was enforced, despite the awareness campaigns held here, which is an excuse for not bothering to bring their own bags to the mall when they shop.
Today, I'm proud to say that my family and I have reusable bags with us on any given day, when we need to go to the store for whatever reason. And if I do forget to bring a bag, then I just dump whatever I've purchased into my "bottomless" handbag! :D Unfortunately, we can't go completely bagless, or styrofoam-less, especially when supermarkets don't seem to have any other means of packing their cuts of meat but put them on styrofoam trays and clingwrap them. If only there was a solution to that problem...