[justontime]

Originally Posted by Greentechdog

Have you given any thought to making your own bags instead of purchasing them? You could use pieces of fabric you might already have and you could personalize it any way you like.
I'm not really the artsy type and bought my own at my local store. they even give me a 2% discount every time I use them, or perhaps you have an old backpack or duffel not in use. if you don't mind looking a bit out of the norm you could use one of those..I used a duffel for years as I live close to my local store and always walk to get my groceries. Now I use the cloth store bought ones and exercise with the weight on the way home by doing shoulder shrugs and curls. I get some looks walking down the street shrugging. or when I used my duffel. but, as I'm kind of a big ol' intimidating looking guy no one has ever said anything. And if they did I wouldn't pay them much attention.

They are nice ideas but they will not catch on with ordinary people. Most people are busy and they are willing to make greener choices if it is made easy for them (eg store bought reusable bags). If it is made too time consuming or 'quirky' they will not do it. It is unrealistic to expect people to walk home from the supermarket with heavy shopping, it is better to encourage them to do a big shop to make the journey worthwhile or to order it online and have it delivered.

[deltic]

Sadly I think justontime is right, we need to find ways to make green choices 'normal' and uncomplicated. People will be put off if it too time consuming or requires too much of an adjustment.

[justontime]

Deltic, that is a very nice way of putting it, one way or other we have to get people to make changes, not just in what they do but in how they think. That way the changes that they make will last.

[GreenDude]

Originally Posted by Roguegal

Here in Phoenix, one store has completely gotten rid of plastic bags. The grocery store offers cloth bags for a reduced price now. When they advertised the no plastic bags, for a week you could get cloth bags free.

Great idea on their behalf! I have a small collection of of cloth bags for grocery shopping and I'm sure most of you will agree when I say they're more durable and comfortable to carry!