Save Money and Landfills with Canvas Grocery Bags
‘œYou see, in life, lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know. Knowing is not enough! You must take action.’ ‘“ Anthony Robbins
On Blog Action day, I wrote that I was tired of the plastic bags piling up after our grocery visits and finally was going to convert to canvas bags. Even though Jeanine has always been good about finding alternative uses for the plastic ones, they still seemed to be everywhere as John Roach at National Geographic News writes:
They sit balled up and stuffed into the one that hangs from the pantry door. They line bathroom trash bins. They carry clothes to the gym. They clutter landfills. They flap from trees. They float in the breeze. They clog roadside drains. They drift on the high seas. They fill sea turtle bellies.’
They ARE everywhere. So I indicated my hunt for a canvas bag the look and size of a paper grocery sack.
Result: I found and ordered six of the EarthTote Reusable Shopping Bag shown above.
Cost: About $85 with tax and shipping. They’re not cheap and Jeanine even said, ‘œYou spent $85 on bags?!’ Well, yes, I did and I figured it was like making a donation to the environment: a small step so I could start walking with a lighterfootstep on this planet.
Savings: At Ralph’s I get $.05 off for each canvas bag use. That’s $.30 (six sacks per weekly visit) and over the course of a year, I’ll save about $16. It’s not much, but consider it in terms of the price were paying by filling our landfills and impacting the environment. Reusable canvas can go a long ways and I’ll still be using mine five years from now.
Update: I’ve been to the grocery store and produce market several times and love using these bags. The bagger always is curious about where I bought them. Shoppers see them folded up in my cart while I’m making my way through the aisles and some have asked me about them. I feel a bit like a born-again spreading the good news about Jesus’¦ but this savior happens to be the EarthTote!
I live in Seattle, WA and our local Safeway stores have started selling reusable bags for $0.99 each! I couldn’t believe it when I saw it, but I was able to purchase enough for any of my grocery shopping needs for under $10… there really is no excuse anymore!
We’re such savers & skinflints, we tend to use some canvas bags Ames gave out over 10 years ago when they opened a new store locally! Ames when bankrupt like 5 years ago!
Yeah, there is really no need to spend $85 on reusable grocery bags unless you want to. Thrift stores sell canvas bags cheap; making your own out of old clothes is cheap and easy; you can get totally plain ones at craft stores quite inexpensively.
I know for myself, the problem tends to be not so much lack of tote bags, but remembering to take them with you. Having one that’s sturdy, lightweight and compact that you can keep in a purse or glove compartment has always been the key to my success in using reusable bags. It probably wouldn’t suffice for grocery shopping but I find I tend to accumulate bags from small purchases rather than marathon grocery shopping trips.
I bought 8 of the Acme bags from the same source, have been using them for about 6 months. They are wonderful; strong, large and roomy. I keep them in the trunk of my car and use them every time I go shopping. I get odd looks from a lot of the baggers and cashiers. Reusable bags have not caught on in Chicago yet.
Whole Foods stores have them for 99 cents also, available in lots of cities. HEB’s have them for a couple of bucks if you live in Texas. Any cloth bag is far, far superior to plastic for carrying liquids just as far as comfort and bag breakage go.
Hi there!
Thanks for the suggestion about canvas bags. Yes, I am a firm believer that every little bit of effort – whatever you can do in your own way – helps! Do you turn off lights at home, too? Or do you believe the old fallacy that switching the light off and on takes up more energy, so – should be left on? Curious about what you think…
Kind regards!
Julian
http://www.ijulian.blogspot.com
All: Thanks for all the suggestions. I know some of you think the EarthTote is over priced and yes, there are many low cost alternatives.
That said, one of the reasons I hadn’t become a canvas convert is because all the bags I had seen looked like an over-the-shoulder tote… something you would get for donating money to Public Television or snag at an industry trade show. For me, these are fine for tooling around the farmer’s market, but for weekly visits to the grocer… I wanted a bag with the look and size of a paper grocery sack. The price of the EarthTote was worth it for that reason.
I just found these bags and I”m thinking of buying them too – sure i could buy some for $1 each at the store, but I agree with you – these look like I could actually get all the food for my family of 5 + 3 pets in these bags without doubling the number of bags I have to use. I wont look like a ‘bag lady’, they wont stain, they seem sturdy enough to last forever – maybe this is what i should ask for holiday present lol
Hi all. I make and sell cotton canvas grocery bags for $6 each. They are durable 100% cotton 10 oz canvas duck cloth with 100% cotton green webbing handles that are either short or long. the regular size bag is the same size as a brown paper bag. They’ll last for 20 years or more. You’ll easily get you money’s worth especially if you ask for the store $.05 per bag discount. Made in USA of USA materials. Thanks. http://www.tarpoff.com/turtlecreek.htm