Tree Hugging Family » plastic bags

This Year Give Reusable Bags for the Holidays!

Jennifer — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 02:00:17 +0000

Reusable bags make awesome holiday gifts. You can stuff them with candy treats or cookies, and this is a gift that can be, and actually will be used for years and years. You can help your friends and family stay green or go green with a great bag.

I found some really nice reusable bag options – pretty ones that would make great gifts this year…

Wild Flowers Organic Cotton Eco Lunch Bag from Art And Philanthropy

Eco-friendly Hemp Bag with Queen Anne’s Lace (Pistachio) from Uzura.

Set of 3 Waterproof Eco-Friendly Snack and Sandwich bags from LMarcacci.

Peace Paisley Tote from Blue Monday.

Super cute Eco-Friendly Tote Bags from Mountains of the Moon which I first saw at The Greenset.

If none of these is quite your bag (pardon the pun) check out the Tree Hugging Family Green Holiday Gift Guide or read the following posts for more options.

Why yes, Tree Hugging Family DOES have a thing for reusable bags. Did you notice?

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What to do with old plastic baggies

Jennifer — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 07:11:09 +0000

I don’t buy plastic bags. To me they’re a total waste of energy and plastic, when frankly, containers work just as well, but can be reused for years.

You do hear stories of thrifty folks using their baggies for years and years, but seriously, some get tossed, and they do develop holes. A better plan is to own a decent amount of containers with lids. That said, if you currently haven’t made that leap, and you do own some plastic bags, do try to wash and reuse them. If you feel odd about washing and reusing them for food items, there’s still much you can do with them, like…

Keep wet paint brushes in a baggie to keep them moist (use this during long painting projects).
Use to store loose change – the benefit here is that a baggie will lay flat in a drawer – a jar won’t.
Store small silver items in baggies to avoid tarnish.
Use to hold household receipts.
Use for paint drop pictures with the kids – fill with paint, close, and snip the smallest end off a corner. Your kids can dot paint cool pictures. A variation on this is a frosting squeeze (but of course that does involve food).
Put instructions for appliances in baggies and tape them to the appliance – out of sight.
If you fill the small ones with soil, and place them altogether in a box lid, they’ll stand up, and you can actually start seeds in them. Pop small holes in the bottom for watering.
Use to gather up all your daughter’s hair accessories.
Use to sort Lego colors for a special Lego project – my son is organized enough to do something nuts like this – but maybe your kid isn’t.

You can do a lot with plastic baggies, and if you’re gonna buy them, you should use them to death; at least until you phase them out.

What else do you do with old plastic baggies?

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in September 2008

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Reusable Bag Feature Round Up

Jennifer — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:39:26 +0000

Our month-long June theme was the hefty topic of reusable shopping bags. We blogged and blogged bags, and yet there’s so much more we could have blogged. Bags are a big deal. We’ll likely revisit this feature at some point. If you missed any bag goodness, here’s a round-up of all things reusable bags…

The BYOB challenge:

Reusable bag basics and overcoming issues:

Get your own bag:

The why of reusable bags vs. disposable:

Bags for kids!:

Other reusable bag ideas:

Holy smokes – now that’s a lot of bags. Can you imagine if I went through and found all the bag posts we’ve ever done since this blog started? Wow. I’ll most likely be adding this round-up to the sidebar pages, so later you can find these posts again if you like.

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Reusable Bag Challenge Update – How Did Your Entire Month Go?

Jennifer — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:38:23 +0000

This month we’ve all been working hard on the reusable bag challenge. Now is your chance to tell us how you did.

Myself: I did pretty good. I only ended up with the one lame video store bag. Thankfully, I averted some clerks during the month, who were trying little sneaks, like re bagging my fruit into plastic. One bag is not so bad. I worked really hard to take my bags with me everywhere. I basically always kept them in the car, which worked well for pet store trips, and other quick stops.

Now, how did you do? Also, look for a bag round-up post. I’m going to try and gather all the bag posts together in one place – yikes.

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in June 2008

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Olive Smart Reusable Grocery Bags

Jennifer — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 19:06:25 +0000

Bag month has been a little hectic. Too bad, because there’s just oh so many bags to see. In any case, I’m going to try and fit in a few more bags before we kick off out cool July theme.

I saw these bags originally at Eco Friendly Driver, and fell in love, because Hil had posted the light olive green darling carry bag – I’m a sucker for light olive green bags. I wanted to post it here, forgot, and then one of the store owners emailed me with some info.

Stephanie, co-business owner of Olive Smart notes the following about her partner and her: “We are both former professionals turned full-time Moms turned entrepreneurs. Our Sacks are unique because all six bags fit into the little Sack which in turn fits into the cup-holder of your car, your handbag etc. making it easy to remember. We are really trying to bring green to the mainstream by making it fun and stylish. With 5 kids between us, Kerri and I see way too many plastic bags leaving the grocery store, Target, etc. It needs to stop!”

Yay for mama businesses! And yay for adorable bags. These bags are good looking, machine washable, hold 20 lbs, and a set of six fit into a cup holder in your car, all of which make these bags ultra easy to carry and use. Following is my favorite set, although, there’s a smaller set and a more bold color set available as well. This set goes for $39.00 and includes 6 bags and the carrying sack – a great deal.

Love the colors – so pretty. The website is very user friendly – which you all know I’m a fan of. They offer bag Q&A, plastic bag facts, and even have a handy demo slide show. This is the first slide below, which is cool, because it shows just how tiny the set is, and how nicely it fits into your car. Can you find the bags?

In any case, I’m very happy that Stephanie emailed me, because this is a great bag set to see. It’s also one of those bag sets that would make a perfect gift, being so colorful and well-priced. Visit Olive Smart to learn more.

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in June 2008

[Images via Olive Smart]

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Inexpensive Reusable Grocery Bags

Jennifer — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:25:18 +0000

Inexpensive is relative; one person’s inexpensive is another person’s not so much. However, for the sake of this post, I’m naming right around $10 and under as a decent inexpensive bag. Yeah you can get store brand non-washable bags for 99 cents, but I’m more on the fence of folks buying a decent washable set. One, you can wash them. Two, they hold up better (in my experience). Three; and I’ve noted this before, but research shows that not everyone recycles those store brand bags.

So some inexpensive choices:

[Biome Lifestyle's reusable bag - £6.00 - only downside is that this one may not be washable.]

Dharma Trading Co. has some of the most inexpensive bags around. These plain cotton totes look great, plus have both a gusset and two side pockets. You could dye a bunch or add patches. Cost – just $3.95 per bag, but the price goes down if you order more. Find a pal or two and order tons.

Also see these Plain Reusable Cotton Tote Bags – 6 pk £8.99

Of course Reusable Bags has many good deals. I’d suggest checking their specials link first. Following are some choices.

[Reisenthel - Mini Maxi Shopper, Long Handle - $6.96 to $8.95 - many color options.]

Additionally, Peggy and I have both shopped Reusable Bags. Peggy got some Organic Cotton Eco-Bags for around $8 each, and I got some recycled cotton bags for under $6 each.

Now, if you’re really going to recycle the bag when it wears out, these look pretty good (for non cloth):

[Green World Bags - $7.50 each - different styles available.]

You also might want to check out the post I wrote; I Need New Reusable Bags & Hate Shopping (sos… help!) – there are some decent deals in there. Remember,when you look at a set of bags cost, it might seem like a lot, but really, for example, if you pay $40 for a set of six bags that will last years, that’s a stellar deal at less than $7 per bag. So pay attention to bulk rates.

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in June 2008

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Plastic Bags Around Delivered Newspapers

Peggy — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 11:00:45 +0000

I haven’t received a home newspaper delivery in a long time, but I do remember that newspapers started the nasty habit of always putting the goods in a plastic bag, rainy day or nay.

If you find yourself with a load of plastic bags from newspaper delivery, you can try a few things:

• Reuse them for tasks like picking up doggie doo.

• Take them to the plastic bag recycling drop-offs at most grocery stores.

• Ask your newspaper to stop using plastic bags on clear days.

All of those suggestions have their issues. Plastic bags used for doggie doo still won’t break down in the landfill, and plastic bag recycling isn’t efficient. And what if you live somewhere that gets rain nearly every day?

Some potential alternatives to the plastic newspaper bag:

• Ask newspaper to employ a reusable cylinder similar to the type used at drive-through windows at banks. The cylinders would be collected each week and reused. I’m not sure if this has ever been tried as it just popped into my head. Do you see any problems with it?

• Encourage your newspaper to install holders with a lid to keep the rain out. These work like mailboxes, but have actual lids. I know that newspaper boxes exist, but I’ve never seen one with a lid to protect the paper from rain.

• See if your newspaper will implement a “I’ll risk it” policy. That means your account is flagged, and you’ll never receive a plastic bag around your paper. Another bright idea of mine. Do you think it would work?

• If all else fails, just read your paper online or at the library. Or buy it from a stand or machine.

Whatever you do, let your newspaper know that the daily plastic bag bugs you. Ask them to consider alternatives. This topic would also make an interesting letter to the editor of your paper!

Image via MorgueFile.

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in June 2008

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And the big fat anti tree hugging award of the week goes to…

Jennifer — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 05:00:37 +0000

This bag!

In wildly expensive bag news (Julie will love this one) I present you with this adorable, but WAY too expensive bag option…

The “Think Green” Organic Cotton Kermit Tote:

Pros:

Totally adorable
Organic
Comes with buttons – if you’re into that sort of thing.
It saves plastic bags

Con:

Um, almost $40 PLUS $8 shipping, for anything, even a hand spun by the queen, organic bag, is frankly, INSANE. I’m sorry, but here’s the deal; if people really want to make a difference and create change, they’re going to need to make nice organic items accessible to all of us, not just rock stars and others with fatty bank accounts.

I talk a lot here about the choices we make. Like I choose not to own much stuff, I save my $ for organics that provide better health for Cedar. But this bag is not about making a choice; like I’ll cut back on something else to pay for it, because overall, it’s just too expensive. Many places sell longer term bags for a better deal overall. Other places sell organic bags for less. What’s up with this bag?

I don’t know who made it, but it’s a very lame move to charge so much for an item like this. Great job winning the anti-green award of the week bag creator!

[image via Delight.com]

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in June 2008

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BYOB Challenge Update!!!

Jennifer — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 08:00:38 +0000

Go me… Go me!

So far, I’m only in for one bag – my previously mentioned lame movie store situation bag. I haven’t used that one bag for anything yet though. I decided to place it by the door to the garage. This way, when we’re on the way out, I see it and think “LAME” – which has been great for reminding me to always grab a bag, if I know there’s not one in the car.

Other than that, I’ve got nothing to report because I rock. I did look up some basic stats on bag use – none are very complete, because that’s an impossible task, but here are some links if you’re interested:

I also read that the average use per U.S. individuals is 300 plastic bags a year. So, if you consider that I got one bag this month, that’s an average of 12 bags a year vs. the possible norm of 300. I know that many of you have been doing great with this challenge, which means as a groups we’ve saved seriously countless bags. AMAZING. Great job everyone! I think we all deserve a shiny star – here they come…

Your turn:

If you’re participating in the Bring Your Own Bag (BYOB challenge) make sure to leave a comment about how you’ve been doing since the last check-in. We’d love to hear how you’re doing and may use your comment for something special. So be sure to fill us in.

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in June 2008

[image via stock.xchng]

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Need to catch up on our reusable bag series?

Jennifer — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:00:49 +0000

This month we’ve been looking at all things reusable bags. Now is your chance to catch up, because I gathered everything up and made a little list. If we’ve missed a key point that you’d love covered, please let us know. The month isn’t over, and we have plenty of reusable bag goodness plans left; but we don’t think of everything, so it’s smart to tell us if we’re missing an important bag topic.

Our bag challenge!:

First of all we’re having the Bring Your Own Bag (BYOB challenge) – a challenge, I might add, that lots of you have entered, and we’re thrilled with how well we’re all doing as a group. Go us. Catch up on this challenge by joining in or by reading our first update. Another check in is coming soon.

Everything about bags – what you may have missed so far this month:

Reusable bag basics and overcoming issues:

Get your own bag:

The why of reusable bags vs. disposable:

Bags for kids!:

Other reusable bag ideas:

Now that’s a lot of bags – and the month’s only half over.

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in June 2008

[image via reusable bags]

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