Taking a little creative license and and really ruining a song, we thought we'd talk about the reusable shopping bag. They're hip, they're trendy, they're everywhere and they're in the news. Recently Long Beach, California joined a growing list of US cities to ban plastic shopping bags.
Nearly every store now seems to have their own reusable shopping bags for sale for a dollar or two. Of the local chain stores (we're in Southern California) The Trader Joe's reusable bags are a Cricket & Scooter Mom Panel (CSMP) favorite because they are durable, come in a variety of patterns and sizes and are inexpensive.
"I have several different kinds and I have found that my blue trader joes bags hold up the best. They are the strongest and were only $2 each!!!" - EFH, mom of three, Simi Valley, CA
Unfortunately the recent news has been that many of the reusable bags found at retailers throughout the country are actually made of unsafe materials and/or can't be properly washed to avoid food poisoning. This is something to take into account when selecting your shopping bags.
Since we started going to the local farmers market on a regular basis we have amassed quite the collection of reusable bags, two of our readers' favorites were actually handmade by their relatives. If you aren't so lucky as to have these sort of craftsmen in your family but would like handmade bags there are a plethora of them to be found on Etsy.
Our editor lived in Europe and South Africa a decade ago and came back inspired to have a dedicated set of shopping bags. Her "investment" bag was a Longchamp Le Pliage, purchased in Switzerland almost ten years ago and still looks as good as the day she bought it. Now, it's $145 price tag might seem a bit steep but given it's nine years of service that is about $16 a year or $.31 a week so hardly a hardship and as we said, the bag is as good as new still.
We polled the CSMP for other bag suggestions and two others came up repeatedly, the Chicobag and Envirosax. These companies have both regular multipurpose shopping totes and dedicated item specific bags, such as Chico Bag's Produce Stand collection, made of differing materials for the various fruits and vegetables you might be buying. We also found washable reusable produce bags on Etsy at Miss Motley's.
"I use Chico Bags and love them. They fold up small enough that I can keep 2 or 3 in my purse, which is great because otherwise I often forget to bring my reusable bags in with me!" - EWD, mom of three, Springfield, IL.
And, while we are at it...since we are all parents here, consider this offering from Envirosax for reusable favor bags for your next party. If that's out of your budget, you might simply try their licensed line of kid shopping bags and teach your children early to BYOBag on their shopping trips (we are pretty sure that having an Elmo shopping bag combined with tagging along to the market will result in more veggies in the preschoolers tummies).
What do you take shopping?
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