Several weeks ago, after getting tired of coming home loaded with those thin, transparent plastic bags or small paper sacks that we were getting from the store to transport and store our bulk foods, I ordered some burlap sacks from the internet, hoping that we could replace the plastic and paper. Well, the burlap came and to our dismay, we found the the sacks too messy to use realistically. Fibers came off everywhere, and rather than spend the rest of my life picking out burlap from my dried beans, or risk another type of burlap sack from the internet, I decided to look into cotton bags instead. Greg found a coffee retailer that sells inexpensive cotton bags, and they just arrived yesterday.
Stores that sell in bulk allow you to bring your own containers to the store to stock up on bulk goods. They simply need to know how much your container weighs prior to you filling it, so take your jars and reusable bags to the register first and they will weigh it for you.
Greg and I went to the store last night with our new cotton bags and tested them out. They fit perfectly around the nozzle of the upright bulk bins, and are a good size to bring home reasonable batches of food without overstocking the shelves. Greg recycled the receipt at the store, so I can’t check, but I’m fairly certain that there’s at least 2 lbs of rice in this bag.
Couple these bags with larger reusable bags for the rest of your groceries and you walk away feeling really good. I don’t think we are alone in feeling like we are living well when we come home from the store with little to no garbage or even recyclables — so many years of bringing home unnecessary packaging and garbage! We recycle and reuse our glass and plastic containers and bags, but saying no to them altogether is a more attractive alternative.
the facts about the trash
- According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually.
- An estimated 12 million barrels of oil is required to make that many plastic bags. Boycott BP by leaving the plastic bags at the store.
- An estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide. That comes out to over one million per minute. Billions end up as litter each year.
- According to the American Forest and Paper Association, in 1999 the U.S. alone used 10 billion paper grocery bags, requiring 14 million trees to be cut down.
There is definitely a small trend going on right now to conserve on plastic and paper at the end of the grocery check-out line, but what about the plastic and paper that goes inside your reusable bags? It all adds up!
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Comments About Reusable Cotton Bags
// 2 comments so far.
Peace // July 04th 2010
That’s a great idea! I’ve been re-using plastic bags, but I like this alternative better.
kristen // July 05th 2010
Hiya Peace!
Yeah, the bags works really well. My mom has sewn us some larger ones too, which will be nice. The smaller bags are very convenient too, but she made us some 11×13 bags, so that should be good for flour, bigger quantities of bulk, and temporarily protecting produce.
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