I'm sorry, what's furoshiki?  I'm new around here and need some explanation.  :)

That comment was actually in reference to this wiki about reducing your plastic bag use.  A furoshiki is a Japanese cloth - they have all sorts of cool ways to fold the cloth around different shaped packages.

Oh wow!  That seems really interesting!  But in the picture of the bottom row of items it doesn't look like there are handles after the items have been wrapped.  I see the top row looks more like a bag, but the bottom row doesn't.  Is that just for example?

 I get groceries delivered every two months or so when I have heavy, bulky, or non-perishable items to stock up on. Otherwise, I walk to the market every couple of days for fresh produce, dairy, bakery items, and groceries.

The store offers the choice of a 2 or 4 hour delivery window, which allows the customer to pay extra for convenience, or by being more flexible, encourage a more efficient and ecological delivery route to be scheduled.

Some delivery services offer a discount if you select a time slot where a delivery is already scheduled in your neighborhood.

I used to order groceries online for my elderly mother who lives 400 miles away and doesn't drive anymore, which saved a lot driving for friends and relatives.

I think you can make a case either way, but delivery services can be green if used thoughtfully when necessary.

This site has great deals on Reusable Bags.

Hi everyone, I am new to huddle and seen this post on plastic bags. Here in Fl. we have a local store called save-a-lot's they do not bag your gro's, but offer you reuseable cloth bags with there store logo on them for only 99 cents each. I love this idea! I think if all stores would just do away with plastic bags all together it would help customers learn to bring there own reuseable bags each time they shop and it would cut back on plastic waste in our environment. I wish there was a way to get through to each store to start doing this, it woud also save on the store from having to buy plastic bags so much saving them a great deal of money.

 totally!  whole foods does this, too.  i see people using their cloth bags to shop a lot -- both at whole foods and elsewhere in the community (eg at farmers' markets).  i think other stores have also gotten in on this (doesn't trader joes?).  i guess you can buy a store's cloth bags, or just bring your own... (which is what i'd like to try to remember to do more frequently)

Safeway has reusable bags for 99 cents now, but the default is still plastic bags.  I like the idea of getting rid of plastic bags altogether, or at the very least charging for them.

Trader Joe's still offers paper bags, I believe, but they do have cloth bags for sale too.  Not to mention, they have raffles to encourage you to bring your own reusable bag - I think for every bag you bring/use, you get one raffle ticket.

Okay, I must admit...I went to Target yesterday and I had to use a plastic bag.  But Target is now printing "10 Ways to Reuse Your Target Bag" on the side of each bag.  Here are the 10 ways:

1. Tiny trash can liner
2. Doggy duty
3. Water balloon
4. Road trip rubbish
5. Soggy laundry
6. Ice pack
7. Toiletry tote
8. Kitty litter liner
9. Tomorrow's lunch bag
10. Care package padding

Then below that it says: "California only: please return to a participating store for recycling."

Stins I really love all the uses for the plastic bags list I think that them are great ideas for people if they must still get plastic or paper bags then reuse them. I would recommend everyone to leave cloth reuseable bags in their car at all times, you never know when you may need to go by the store to pick something up or just need a bag to carry something from one place to another, that is what I started doing and I never have to use plastic/paperbags again.

I usually do that too but I forgot to carry mine back out to my car after I brought in my last batch of groceries.  I won't forget again.  :-)

On the subject of plastic bags, I've seen some interesting incentives from different companies to reduce their usage.  Aveda offers you $0.10 off of your purchase if you forgo a bag, Safeway offered their cloth bags for a discounted rate (under the $0.99 norm) on Earth Day.  Are there other companies that offer cool incentives?

Safeway also gives you 3 cents of per bag you use (when the cashiers remember).  They also had an environmentally friendly product coupon book which included a coupon for a free reusable bag.  Some of the coupons were pretty bogus though, like for a case of diet pepsi.  I don't remember the justification for calling it green - maybe the cans being recyclable or something.  It was a stretch, to say the least, but the free bag was cool.

Getting food delivered does mean the food has to be shipped by vehicle again which must make a difference. On the other hand,  if you get LOTS of food and it's packed in heavy cardboard or reusable plastic totes that would be better. If it's delivered by a local farmer (like a CSA) than of course it's better in every way!

I don't know why all bags can't be made with biodegrable materials so I could throw them in the compost! We just don't need that many plastic bags, ya know. The only thing I use them for is dirty diapers when I am out of the house but I can reuse one over and over.

Here in Ontario,Canada, every grocery store is now offering it's own reusable grocery bags (though not all cloth) and the low-end grocery stores make you pay for every bag you want (or you can pack your food in boxes they pile up). I only go into grocery stores so I don't know what anyone else is doing. I only use cloth bags, backpacks, large purses when I go shopping.

There are places that have banned plastic bags and the Ontario Government is talking about doing it, too. There is hope ...

Pretty much everywhere I go now I see the option to buy re-usable bags.  I use the Safeway one's as they are made out of recycled material (however they are a poly blend which is not great)  I just wonder with all these re-usable bags, if you are purchasing the canvas or cotton bags are you contributing to a another problem with conventional cotton growing methods?

I guess I try to look for sustainable fabrics however they are not as cost efficient.  Jute is a great option and cheap but I haven't seen them around.  I was thinking of carrying them...anyone come across Jute bags?

Also, in Manitoba it is on the table to outlaw the plastic bags as well, good first step but who knows how long it will take before it actually happens.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

That's great!  Check out this thread on other cities that have gotten plastic bag bans.  Let's hope that Manitoba will get added in there soon!

Hi Everyone, I just went to walmart last night and they have reuseable bags near the check out counter for 1.00 each I grabed some and asked the cashier to ring them up 1st so that I could start bagging my stuff the cashier still insisted on putting things in plastic bags I had to tell her not to do that some things do not need bags and that the others are going in these bags I just got, I had to be a little pushy with the concept that I do not use paper or plastic, just reuseable bags only, you may have to do the same in places you have to go, I thought I would share that story with everyone let the cashier know that you use reuseable bags only and make it stick, even if you have to unpack a few other bags 1st like I did.

That's so funny...I wonder if it has to do something with the store culture.  I once got reprimanded for forgetting my reusable bags at Whole Foods.  Good thing I was only getting a few things and could carry them without any bag at all.

Around here I don't see anyone using reusable bags.  I have started seeing them in one of the grocery stores, Harris Teeter, but I haven't seen anyone use them yet.  I just got me some so I have yet to use them.  I am sure next time I go shopping I will be getting some strange looks.

I bought some off of amazon, and since we don't have many organic items around here I have started buying in bulk from them.  I know they pay to ship the items to me, however, I figure if I go ahead and order in bulk I am putting less of a mark on the environment.

Where are you located?  That's too bad not very many people have gotten into the habit with taking reusable bags.  It's great that you're breaking with convention.  You'll have to keep us posted on how that goes.

I live in a smaller area of South Carolina.  It isn't completely rural, but it isn't as large as a lot of other places.  I was actually surprised to see the reusable bags in the local Harris Teeter.  I didn't see any people buying any, but it is a start I guess.  What is so sad is that even at the Farmer's Market I didn't see anyone using reusable bags, mainly plastic grocery bags instead.  I guess I will just have to start the trend here!