ChrisB asks : 'what type of shopping bag do you favour'-plastic or material? How many do you use. You could even show us what's in your bag!
We haven't been asked if we didn't want plastic bags anymore, we had been forced to use shopping bags. We went back not to the future but to the past.
My female ancestors have always used fabric or even leather shopping bags or baskets, so did my mother. Then she got free plastic bags as much as she wanted and put her shopping bags away, they had become useless. This went on for 40 years at least for me. I "recycled" the plastic bags and used them for my garbadge. Nobody owned shopping bags anymore and the once born in 1970 didn't even know how they looked like.
From one year to the other plastic bags were banned and if you got one you had to pay for and use it until it broke into pieces. People remembered Grandma's shopping bags and bought some to carry their groceries into the car or home, because it was much cheaper then buying new plastic bags all the time.
We are back to the beginning of grocery shopping ! Just like with the food, today food without chemicals are called "bio" to grandma's times everything was bio.
These are the shopping bags I use for frozen stuff (upper left) for cat food in plastified carton and a plastic bag for the rest. The logo depends where you shop, but usually these bags are all out of the same material, strong plastic.
When I don't have a lot to buy I have these once in my car which I bought at Ikea. They are in plastified carton
and when I am just out for a very few little things I use this cotton bag with cats on, but I also have others and the jute bag which I like because of the lined up lady bugs.
Result of all this, now I have to buy plastic bags for the garbage, but I can show shopping bags on Internet which is a big difference with my grandma who only could show it around to her neighbors and the people in the shop !
in "title" put your name
You've got some nice bags, I really like the cat one.
ReplyDeleteOur shops are starting to charge for bags so I guess we'll soon be without bags too. I guess it is good for the environment but as you say we can't recycle them for rubbish. I guess we could go back to wrapping rubbish in newspaper like my mum did.
ReplyDeleteNice bags.
ReplyDeleteI am interested in environmental issues and approve of the reduction in the use of plastic bags but I have one problem. Nearly all of the shopping bags that I see are of a very feminine design. It is about time that someone realized that men go shopping too and designed some appropriate bags for the other half of the human race.
BBE
Gattina you are right about going back in time. I remember the time before supermarkets gave away plastic bags. Here they were introduced to try and eliminate shop lifting. You weren't allowed to take your own bags around the stores. Your cat bag is so cute. I haven't been to Ikea for a long time but next time I do visit I must look out for their bags.
ReplyDeleteI completely forgot about Fun Monday. I love the category....
ReplyDeleteAnd your photos you shared are great. The fact you mentioned that we're going back in time is so true. I like the idea of cloth bags...it just makes MORE sense.
Great post Ms.G
I converted to cloth bags about 8 months ago, mostly because I got very tired of the plastic ones breaking!
ReplyDeleteI have probably a dozen now, as we shop once every 10 days or so.
LOL! You make even shopping bags fun Gattina! I have some strong bags like yours from IKEA for grocery shopping -- but I NEVER remember to take them with me! And so I end up continuing to use the free plastic bags provided at the store - which continues to pollute the universe! I am such a creature of BAD habits! I like your cloth bags - I would show them off too! The problem here with THOSE type of bags is that unless your items are also inside a "store" plastic bag, then they think you are shoplifting! You could not go to the mall with a bag like that, and stop here and get something and just have them put it in the bag... and then go to the next store, buy a little something, and just add it to the bag... No no no! EVERY store has their own bag and they want you to carry it! FREE ADVERTISING!
ReplyDeleteI agree about the grandma's bags thing. Like towels. I like to embroider towels by hand and give them as gifts, hoping people will use them instead of paper towels. Unless we are moving we rarely use paper towels anymore. And you know, in all this time I haven't made myself any towels. Hmm. We also use cloth diapers (which are made of cloth and plastic these days, but still). I need a really good place to buy cloth napkins. We rarely use napkins either, but I think that would be an easy switch for us as well. Now if we could go back to hankies that would keep a lot of waste out of the landfills, wouldn't it?
ReplyDeleteYou are so right Gattina, what goes around comes around. The U.S. does not require cloth bags yet, but I know its coming. I think the hardest part about that is to remember to take them with me when I shop. It would be an adjustment. Thanks for sharing and Happy FM
ReplyDeleteLove your bags! I forgot to include in my bags a nice big one that is made of recycled plastic bottles. It's big and strong and I don't use it for shopping - I use it to hold my newspaper recycling because it's strong enough to hold two weeks' worth!
ReplyDeleteI am waiting for the day to come here in the US where we will be forced to use the fabric reusable bags. Until then, I choose plastic to recycle and reuse. It is more of a convenience factor for me.
ReplyDeleteThose sure nice bags. I wonder when we are going to be forced to use them over here instead of paper and plastic. When we do I want you to make me one :)
ReplyDeleteAhhh there's your cat bag, I like that one! Great bag collection though, and I like your ladybird one from Tesco too!
ReplyDeleteI like your shopping bags.
ReplyDeleteThe more things change the more they stay the same.
Thanks for the quick history lesson! Your cat bag is so YOU!
ReplyDeleteall of our "plastic" from the check out at the stores now have holes in the bottom. So, they aren't even very good for garbage.
ReplyDeleteAs I forget my reusable bags half of the time, I do keep a big storage bag stuffed with the free ones.
That was a surprise to be charged for plastic bags--in Italy, I remember. and you're right--what's old is now new!
ReplyDeleteWe get charged for plastic as well, I however prefer to use the cloth ones. Your collection is very nice.
ReplyDeleteAs for the garbage if you recycle and compost you should not have too much to throw away.