The folks at Wrapsacks have a Valentine’s package featured on their site that includes 2 reusable shopping totes that zip up into a heart-shaped pouch as well as 1 medium fabric gift bag. I have been using their shopping totes for the last 3 months and they are awesome. They have handles that are long enough to put over your shoulder but they are sized so that they aren’t too close to the ground if you choose to hold them in your hand. The handle material goes all the way down the sides of the bag so they aren’t the weakest part of the bag. I’ve had cheaper bags lose their handles after a few months of carrying stuff.

*Wrapsacks provided me with free bags for the purposes of review. I don’t typically ask for or receive review products because of my remote location.

Catherine loves the ‘Marrakesh’ design (shown above). When I added this brand of bags to my reusable bag roundup earlier this month, I mentioned the wide variety of designs. Most of the designs are what I would describe as pretty. They were smart to include a design that’s not pretty and, strangely enough, it’s my favorite. The ‘Pedal Power’ pattern has black block printed bicycles and bicycle chains over a background of earthy oranges and browns. It would be perfect for anybody who drives their bike to the farmer’s market.

Michael Miner, the co-creator of Wrapsacks, regularly visits the production facility in Indonesia where the bags are ethically produced. While he was there recently, he took some stunning photographs of the batik dyeing process. I love the fact that they are still using the power of the sun as a dye fixative.

It’s a nice coincidence that I received these free review samples right before leaving for Gozo, where the plastic shopping bag has just recently become the target of some regulation. They had tried a small bag tax years ago, but retailers were willing to absorb the cost rather than inconvenience customers who were set in their ways. Now they charge 0.18 Euros.

The concept was still rattling around in my head when I went to the kitchen this morning to make the kids some French toast with cooked fruit topping. The apples that I bought on Friday are not perfect. They look like the apples that I used to scrounge from abandoned homesteads in Canada. They taste delicious.

Consumers in the developed world supposedly want perfect apples. The customer is always right, and those customers get pesticides, genetic engineering and lots of protective packaging.

Photo credit: Brett L

The author admitted to finding 23 reusable bags in his own home. They take 100s of times more energy to produce than the same number of ‘single use’ plastic bags. Logic dictates that you have to use a bag hundreds of times before it’s supposed environmental benefit is realized. Do you have dozens of reusable bags in your closet?

Here is my advice for people who already have too many reusable shopping bags -

• Start saying thanks, but no thanks to free reusable shopping bags.
• Don’t feel too bad about your accumulated bags. Tell yourself that you were planning ahead for the next few decades.
• Come out of the closet with the bags that you have accumulated. If they are hanging on a hall tree or sitting in a basket by the door, you are more likely to use them.
• Pack food bank donations in a reusable grocery bag and donate the bag along with the food.
• If you have some particularly cute bags that are in like new condition, use them in place of gift wrap when you have occasion to. The popular tradition of regifting might help move surplus reusable shopping bags into the hands of people who actually need them.
• If you drive, pack several bags up as small as you can and put them in your glove compartment. These are your emergency stash for when you forget to bring your everyday bags.
• Consider using your cloth shopping bags to carry items during activities instead of buying purpose specific tote bags.

Here is my advice to people who don’t have too many reusable shopping bags. -

• Check to see if you have any single use plastic bags packed away. They are actually reusable to some degree. I save the ones that appear in my house for dirty jobs like potatoes. I will use the plastic bag to buy bulk potatoes a few times and them use it as a garbage bag.
• If you need to get a few more bags, try to find bags that are made from repurposed material. Buy locally made when possible. Free is also good, but know when to say when.
• Consider making your own bags from available materials.
• Reusable shopping bags are typically larger and stronger than plastic shopping bags. Don’t think that you need 10 cloth shopping bags because you used to buy 10 plastic bags full of groceries on your big grocery run. I walk, so I know that 4 cloth bags is plenty for my market trips. I can’t carry more than that. 6 bags should be adequate for drivers who shop for a family.

I have seen cloth shopping bags in piles of used clothing here in Tunisia. That is definitely a good indicator that they are in surplus in the developed world. I bought new cloth bags from a guy in front of the vegetable market. They are very cheap woven synthetic material. I presently have five of them. I think I have had a handle failure with one bag and I used it to contain a pile of outgrown clothing that I put out on the street for people to take. I don’t know how many times I will have to use these bags in order to realize an environmental benefit.

The Earth Day edition of the Oprah Winfrey Show put a spotlight on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and gave some valuable advice to her viewers on how to reduce plastic waste.

I hope that Oprah will remember the issue of plastic waste for more than just one episode. Hopefully future installments of her Favorite things won’t include stuff like melamine bowls.

I have blogged about a few reusable bag retailers in the past. There are lots of bags out there that have interesting design, cool source materials and/or an entertaining logo. These are unnecessary attributes but I appreciate them anyway. All the entrepreneurs and organizations that are working to gain attention for their own bags are also bringing attention to the good idea of using reusable bags instead of disposable plastic.

If you sell or give away cloth shopping bags please leave a comment on this post and I will do what I can with this blog to promote your product in future posts and through social media. If you are looking to buy some shopping bags, try to pick a local retailer to minimize the carbon footprint of your purchase. Products that are produced locally are even better.

Snobby:

Plain:

Jute:

Make your own bag.

Bags made from Recycled Plastic:

Fat Bottom Bags:

Rip-Stop Nylon:

Super Cute Shopping Bags:

Simple, Smart Design:

Water Repellent Polypropylene Bags:

Black Recycled Cotton Shopping Bag:

Snarky Anti-Plastic Bag:

Artsy Design:

This list will grow as I discover more sources of reusable bags. I have not personally used any of the above products, so I can’t personally vouch for their quality or customer service. Several of the retailers were recommended to me by people that I follow on Twitter.

The Good Human recommended Flea Markets as a good source for reusable bags. I recently bought a used equipment bag at a market table to with our snorkel stuff.

Update: Just found out via email that Calypso Studios is giving away a bunch of their bags to celebrate Earth Day.

Calypso Studios launched the S.H.O.P. Totes ™ January 1, 2009. The company collaborated with American artists, such as Lori Siebert, Emma Hand, Robin Roderick, Tina Higgins, and Andrea Tachiera to provide beautiful art on the totes. The totes are a fashionable way to Start Helping Our Planet by using reusable bags. The spacious bags are 17” x 19” when opened and easily roll up into a 2” x 3” size. Three bags are conveniently stored in an 8” x 6” wristlet carrying case. Calypso Studios S.H.O.P. Totes were also chosen as one of the celebrity giveaway swag bags at the Academy Awards in February. Celebrate Earth Day carrying the bag the celebrities use!

UPDATE:

A promotional firm called TBWA Vancouver decided to bait the sensitive ecopeeps with some ironic bag designs. Click the image to see more designs and find out how you can get one of your very own.

UPDATE:

These shopping totes are sold by Wrapsacks.com. As far as cloth shopping bags go, these might hold the record for the biggest selection of colors and patterns. The company specialized in reusable gift sacks and they chose 22 of their patterns to use with these shopping totes.

The shoulder straps and foldaway design are nice touches. If you already have enough bags of your own, you could get a tote and a gift bag from Wrapsacks to use as a gift to someone that is presently still toting plastic grocery bags.

UPDATE:

Corporate Sloganny Bags -

If you are short on reusable bags AND cash some of your best options may be the bags on offer at various retail outlets. The catch with these bags is that they boldly advertise the store. Some stores sweeten the deal by donating proceeds from bag sales to a charity. The Body Shop does this in most markets. I was browsing there today (okay I was scoring some Try Me hand lotion) and I noticed that they were supporting a local reforestation project with their bag sales.

You might also concern yourself with the working conditions of the people who make the textiles and the garments. There is also the option of organic materials. Wool or cotton that is not organic can have pesticide residues.

One popular choice among outdoorsy people is Polar Fleece, which is made from plastic. Everything that is wrong with plastic in general is also wrong with Polar Fleece. That being said, it’s pretty cozy feeling and quite durable. There is some concern being raised about the chemical antimony leaching out of Polar Fleece.

Polar Fleece is a bit of a recycling success story. The company started using PET from recycled water bottles in 1993 and they have continued improving the process and growing the market for outerwear made from recycled plastic.

This repurposing of polyethylene tephthalate puts it on our backs and out of the environment for a few years, but clothing will generally be thrown away at the end of its lifespan. Some garment companies are now recycling old fleece, be sure to check that out before you send any of yours to the landfill. Remember that recycle is the last of the three Rs. Giving your used coat to charity (assuming it is still in reasonably good condition) is better than taking it to Patagonia to be recycled.

When it comes to clothing, I am a big proponent of the first R, reduce. I do have the luxury of working at home rather than in any kind of work environment with a dress code.

I still prefer wool and cotton. I wore those red plaid lumberjack shirts before anyone had ever heard of grunge and I recently bought a nearly new one on the street for about 0.50 USD.

I spent a couple decades of my life working in some physically demanding trades and I was hard on clothes. Reading the labels on my work clothing is probably what first brought home the concept of globalization. Even in the 80s, my Canadian style jack shirts were made in China. I think my new one is made in China, but it is not labeled as such. The label is kind of interesting.

The materials label says cotton in three different languages, none of which are English (katoen/baumwolle/coton).

The textile and garment industries are very globalized and complicated. A lot of ethical and environmental aspects have to be considered if you want to be a conscious consumer. I am still trying to get my head around the ethics of buying used clothing here.

There are clothing companies that specifically set out to provide guilt free clothing. Holy Cow in Minnesota is one such company and they have an interesting relationship with Wholefoods.

I remember these from when I was a kid. I’m not an octogenarian, I grew in a very backwoods part of rural Canada. Heck, we still had a party line when I bought my first house in the 90s.

Today there are 1.27 billion fixed line subscribers and 2.68 billion mobile subscribers around the world. My family of five accounts for four of those subscriptions. All of our phones are plastic

There is one thing that I do to minimize the environmental impact of my mobile phone. I keep using the same phone until it doesn’t work anymore. That is not the case with most users. In Europe, people typically upgrade within 25 months. In the US it is even worse. The cycle is said to be 18 months. Many of the cell phones that get replaced end up in the environment and plastic isn’t the only material that we have to worry about.

I am currently on my second cell phone, EVER. Since Catherine’s Nokia outlasted my first phone, I got a cheap Nokia this time around. I made a point of getting the same model for both myself and the kids. This means that our chargers and batteries are interchangeable. We are sharing a charger and we will take the other one out of storage if and when the first one wears out.

The companies that sell phones are very good at appealing to some pretty silly human motivations not the least of which is ego. I guess the fact that I can’t remember what brand of phone I was carrying around for almost 3 years proves that I did not attribute any of my identity to the object. If any manufacturer is interested in making a simple, inexpensive phone that has the least possible impact on the environment, you stand to make at least one sale once my second phone wears out

Oh, and it’d be great if it was built to last for the rest of my life. That’s about 40 years.

More recently, green has come to mean environmentally responsible.

Once enough consumers started shopping with the environment in mind, there is an ever increasing overlap. Companies are falling all over themselves appealing to concerned consumers.

The term Greenwashing is about 20 years old and these days it appears that the majority of marketing is guilty of this practice. Some of it is easy to recognize, like British Petroleum’s transformation to Beyond Petroleum.

Other misleading or irrelevant marketing may fool even the smart people. I am still undecided about the hosting company that professes to use solar and wind power. I am not naming it because of my indecision. I bought their marketing hook line and sinker and I even joined an affiliate program because I planned to talk it up on my blog. When I sat down to do the serious research on the company, I found a lot of negative word of mouth. They are either a very mediocre web hosting company that decided to greenwash as a way to attract a niche market OR a legitimately green web hosting company that is tragically lacking in customer service and reliability. Either way, I am not recommending them.

I think that one of the catch 22s of green marketing is the fact that many environmentally conscious individuals are skeptical of ALL marketing. If you create a product that sells itself by virtue of its greenness, you have it made. Otherwise, you have to market to people very carefully.

The FTC has some pretty clear policies when it comes Environmental Marketing Claims. Other agencies and organizations have some very strict rules and auditing procedures for companies that want to call their products organic.

Organic is practically a brand. It is instantly recognized as a good thing and it has a lot of brand loyalty. This is a good thing for people with something truly organic to sell. Unfortunately, there is a lot of counterfeit Organic on the market. That’s where third party auditing and certifying comes in. It is an added cost and inconvenience for business, but it is necessary.

Scot Case, president of Terra Choice Environmental Marketing Inc., recently told a journalist that buyers need to do their homework and check out a company’s environmental track record when it comes to green products.

Sources for this post:Palm Beach Post, FTC Website

If you received new clothing for Christmas, you probably had to snip/chew your way through a few of these. Many used clothing stores don’t use them. New clothing stores buy Tagger Tail Fasteners in packs of 5000 for about ten bucks. A piece of string could conceivably serve the same purpose, but tagger guns with plastic fasteners reduce labor. My mom used to buy me plaid shirts wrapped in plastic at Woolworths. My kids prefer to buy their own clothes and buy used more often than new.

I am not convinced that buying used clothing is the best choice with regard to the environment and social justice. The global clothing industry is a very complicated monster with a lot of sad stories. Buying durable clothing and caring for it well seems like the best way to go. Increasing the demand for organic, fair trade and/or sweatshop free clothing can only help matters.