For a while now, B and I have been trying our best to do our part for the environment because we're what I like to call "wanna-be treehuggers", haha. We recycle and we've invested in a handful of inexpensive reusable grocery bags to cut down on the amount of plastic bags we collect. Unfortunately, we don't always use them. Most of the time we forget to put them in the car, or we'll decide to shop on a whim and forget that we have the bags in the car.

Lately however I've been trying to make a conscious effort to use them, and I just found out some interesting information that will give me (and hopefully YOU) more incentive to using them. At a recent trip to Albertson's, the customer behind us questioned our bags. The cashier went into it a little and had stated that for each of the bags you bring in and they use you get 5 cents off of your final total! That's about the same price you get back for a bottle just for using a bag! He also mentioned that Trader Joe's does the same thing. We checked the receipt to see if he was pulling our chain, and sure enough there was 5 cents discounted for each of our own bags.

So, where can you get these bags? Personally, I've collected my bags from Mitsuwa, Marukai, and Target all for about a buck a piece. Let me tell you, I LOVE the ones I got from Target. I'm not sure if it's still available, but they had some in their dollar bins the last few times I went. They don't have the plastic bottom support like my other ones do, but they fold up and zip up. It becomes about the size of a checkbook and you can carry it around in your bag! I carry a few of these around so that I have no excuses :) A lot of other stores have been getting into the spirit and have started providing their own reusable bags for about a dollar. I have one from Ikea, and I've seen some from Ralphs, Seafood City, etc.

If you don't like the looks of these and want something cuter but don't mind paying more money for it, check out fred flare's kawaii cute grocery totes. At $30 a bag I think it's a bit steep and not kawaii enough for me to spend that money. Or, if you want to really be eco-conscious and save money at the same time, make your own reusable grocery bags using all your old grocery bags! I have yet to find the time to do this, but it's definitely a project I want to try out (amongst other plastic bag crafts) :)

posted by che @ 10:34 AM