It’s Okay. Sometimes all you need is a little tote to reassure you. The bags from Homegrown & the bug caught my eye today… I love how this mother and talented crafter artfully uses vintage sheets to create letters, super clever and eco-responsible. Then I found her blog and read one of the most genuine bios ever. Bios are so awkward to write, at least for me, I like how Sam pulled hers together from the heart. Be sure to visit her store for a Homegrown bag of your very own.
My husband and I use bags all the time now for groceries, I keep a spare tote folded in my handbag at all times. I recently read that NYC has placed a ban on plastic shopping bags and so has San Francisco. I don’t live in these places, but is this true? I hope it spreads to suburbia and the countryside where I live because I really want to see this become a global trend. Americans are such consumers, all the shopping we do… We need to become more responsible shoppers and one way is to carry totes to replace the need for plastic bags. I’d love to see Target replace their bags with a greener option.
I remember when I first met my husband in ’99, he was always using his linen tote whenever we went grocery shopping — this was when he still lived in Germany and I would visit. I came home so inspired by it that I brought a tote back with me and used it here. People looked at me funny. The cashier treated me as though perhaps I was homeless, I mean who wouldn’t want a beautiful CVS bag in glowing white plastic? Time and time again, my little tote was frowned upon as I shopped. One day the handle broke and instead of repairing it I gave up my fight. I got sick of explaining my tote to everyone. I grew tired of shoppers in line asking me why I brought my own bag. One lady thought it was a ‘germ phobia’ I had. Whatever.
Thankfully times have changed here in America over the past 9 years. At least in my region, New England. Maybe in California they’ve been using totes for much longer. But not here. People are still a little confused when you pull one out, but at least they just think I’m a treehugger now versus some nutcase. Now cashier’s ask me if I prefer the item in a bag or do I plan to just carry it bag-free out of the store. I pull out my tote now and no one objects or questions me. Times are a changin’. I’m so happy they are.
Do you get stink eye when you try to use a tote at your local store? Where do you live?
Discount: Enter ?SPRING? under ‘Notes to Seller’ at checkout and receive 15% off your order over at Homegrown & the bug.
(image from homegrown and the bug)
May 9th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Oh I love Sam! She’s such an inspiration, and her blog is such candid fun.
Recently at Target I bought a small number of items and had a battle of the wits with the cashier who literally would not let me leave the store without a bag. It was enough to carry in my hand, no reusable tote necessary. She gave me a bag anyway, after a slightly extended scene. Probably overreacting, I took the bag to the Security guard, took my stuff out and handed the bag to him to give back to the cashier.
I’m pretty sure he threw it away, though.
May 9th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
I still get a lot of confused looks from cashiers. Every once in a while it seems like they get irritated because I’m throwing them off their routine. But usually I’ll get a positive comment about my reusable bag use!
May 9th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
sk8- It must be a Target thing! I had the exact same experience only I was buying a flower pot and wanted her to put everything in the pot and she insisted on putting the pot in a bag. Crazy! I could go on about the insane comments I’ve heard but I’m sure everyone else could, too. Thank goodness the times are changing! Plastic is sooo last decade.
May 9th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
I’ve had battles at Target as well. The first thing I say is that I have my own bag to use….and usually the cashier starts bagging in the plastic Target bags anyway. I’ve been stopped by the cashier supervisor and Security on several occasions. Finally after about 6 months of my weekly visits, I’m not being harrassed! Funny that it s such a foreign concept for them!
May 9th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
We get the stinkeye here (Bay Area — where else?) if we *don’t* bring our own bag, especially at places like Whole Foods. And of course, IKEA is now charging for plastic bags, and selling really cute new totes right near the checkout lines to encourage folks to use non-disposable bags. I think it’s a good thing.
May 9th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
I am in the Deep South. I don’t get the stink eye, but a lot of places the cashier seems very confused. At a fabric store the other day I was buying only a spool of thread and when I told the woman at the register I would put it in my purse, she said, “Oh, you can have a bag. Don’t worry about it!” Perhaps it’s Southern hospitality?
I’ve taken to saying, “Oh, my apartment is full of plastic bags. It’s no problem.”
However, recently one of the grocery stores in town (as well as Target) have started selling reusable totes for $0.99, so I am hoping cashiers will become more accustomed to it.
May 9th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
in my old neighborhood I would fill my bag with what I wanted then send the whole bag down the checkout conveyor. At other stores they’ve made me leave my bag at the checkout counter while I shop because they think I’m a shoplifting teenaged hooligan.
May 9th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
I think it’s fairly common here in Ireland, I know a few people who do it anyway!
May 9th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
“germ phobia” – i was laughing! I’m in Germany now and get the stink eye if I DON’T bring my own bag – but that’s usually b/c I’m out and realize I have to get something. (but I have to get a bag b/c I’m only ever riding my bike and don’t keep my basket permanently attached)
I have Trader Joes bags that I used all the time back in Boston, but without fail it would always irritate the baggers at Market Basket! My German husband hated going there b/c of how the high school kids would put 1-2 things in each bag – HORRIBLE!
I, too, am glad to see things changing in the US in this department; it’s so simple and can be so chic! You’ve probably seen all the fun bags here in Germany. I’m planning on gifting some to my mom and sister this year!
May 9th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
We do have a plastic bag ban in San Francisco, but unfortunately it doesn’t mean that grocery store baggers are completely receptive to reusable bags or knowledgeable about how to deal with them. I don’t get the same funny looks when I hand over my bags, but baggers who were used to throwing everything on top of each other in a plastic bag still need to learn how to adjust to bagging with totes. Some still want to put only five items in a bag or place a pizza box on top of a lemon on top of some parsley. It can be frustrating.
May 9th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
I don’t get any weird looks about my great, reusable bags, but I live in eco-conscious Boulder. I do get some weird looks when I forget my bags and I have to stuff items in my pockets, under my arm, and in the hands of my baby and 5 year old!
May 9th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
I live in NYC and no… there is no ban that I know of.
May 9th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
I live in Vancouver BC, so there are the chain supermarkets where I get less looks for telling the cashiers I don’t need a plastic bag. And there are the Chinese/Korean/etc local markets, where the cashier and people waiting in line look at me like I’m crazy or something when I pull out my own tote.
But in fashion retail stores, I keep getting compliments and friendly smiles when I tell the cashiers I don’t need their fancy paper/plastic bag. =)
May 9th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
They are a real proble for farmers as the clog the machines and can contaminate some crops (cotton). We are here in rural Southeastern
Virginia and they do have strange looks when you say not bag or use your own.
May 9th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
OMG! I STILL get weird looks if I’m anywhere but in WholeFoods. Stop and Shop cashiers are like huh? How do I pack this? It’s SO annoying. You get even weirder looks if you pull out your bag to take clothes home. I don’t care though…the bags I use are WAY cuter than those nasty plastic ones. If I do get the plastic bags I eventually use them as packing material and then ask the recipient to please recycle them. Great post!.
May 9th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
In Vermont, you get a weird look if you DON’T bring your own bag.
May 9th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
“the stink eye”… Haha! Holly I needed a good laugh! Thanks for that!
Fortunately it is becoming more culturally acceptable to bring your own bags. Places like Trader Joe’s give you a raffle ticket and enter you a weekly drawing for free groceries just for bringing your own. I still feel that it’s hard to not come across as “odd” when whipping out the totes in clothing or home stores. Hopefully in time attitudes will change in those places as well.
Thanks for the lovely post (as always).
xox
Ez
May 9th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Oh! What a sweet bag! I love this…
xo
Melissa
May 9th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
i live in utah…i use ikea bags for groceries, and a canvas tote for other/smaller shopping trips…yeah i get the stink eye from most places
May 9th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
germ-phobia. that’s funny.
Now, cooties would be a different story . . ..
May 9th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Holly, there was recently a promotion in Newsweek where you could rip off your cover, tape it up, and mail your Target plastic bags to be recycled. Apparently, they recycle them into re-usable totes and try to do it in an eco-friendly matter. I found a post about it on someone’s blog if you’re interested. http://www.notcot.com/archives/2008/05/target_newsweek.php
May 9th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
It is so funny that you posted this today… I just bought some reusable bags at Trader Joes, which I have been meaning to do for awhile. Yesterday, I handed them to the cashier at Safeway and she just rolled her eyes at me! She used them, but she definitely had a funny attitude about it.
I told my husband later and he thought I was imagining it… why would anyone give me a dirty look for using reusable bags? Now I can tell him I’m not crazy. :o)
May 9th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
My cousin recently went to a certain large discount chain store and bought quite a few of their eco-friendly totes. When she checked out the cashier starting putting the totes in a plastic bag! She explained that she could just bag the bags using one of the totes she just purchased. The cashier couldn’t grasp the idea and bagged them in plastic anyway.
The funniest part is on the tote bags it says “Paper or Plastic? Neither!” …but only after purchase ;)
May 9th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
The State of Pennsylvania has some crazy rules about purchasing alcohol, including that you have to leave the store with the goods in an opaque bag. This is basically interpreted by state-store employees that you have to leave with the goods in their paper-in-plastic method. I’ve watched some mind-blowing debates between customers with their own bags and cashiers. A canvas tote is plenty opaque, people!
May 9th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Haha – even in ecofriendly Austin, TX (where, like the Bay Area-ers and the Vermonters, we get the stink eye for not bringing a bag) I have the same experience at Target! Everywhere else I go seems to understand except for them. In general, I almost never get a bag and when I do I use it to clean up after my dog… but the Target bags aren’t even very good for that (because of their size/shape), and they generally give me a bag too big for my purchases as well. I think they’ll catch on soon. Or at least I hope so.
May 9th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
the cashiers at CVS are continually confused by me bringing my own bags. They look at me like I’m telling them I’m just going to cram everything in my mouth to carry it out of the store. :)
May 9th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
A couple of years ago Ireland banned plastic bags, overnight the entire country switched to reusable bags, I have had canvas grocery bags since I lived in New Orleans in the ’90′s. It is now totally acceptable to refuse bags in all stores from upmarket boutiques, large department stores to the independently owned corner shop. It was an easy transition – hopefully the rest of the world will follow. In this day and age of desperate wastage this is a small but important contribution to a sustainable world. Apart from anything else there are some really beautiful bags out there!
May 9th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
I agree that the big box stores, not just Target in our area, need to jump on the eco friendly tote idea! My pet peeve is when they put only one item per bag( I use the bags for my dog when I take them, also), and then you politely ask to combine things and they think you are from Mars. Come on- my white t-shirt will not get damaged by that pack of gum and magazine- they do not need separate bags!
On a side note- my Little One likes to shop and buy on her own now, and the clerks always ask her if she wants a bag or not. She looks at them like they are from Mars!! The next generation really understands the recycling thing…
May 9th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
What a fantastic opportunity we have here, why don’t all decor8 readers take a stand against the wastage of plastic bags. From here on out, shouldn’t we ALL refuse store bags and instead use re-useable canvas/linen/cotton bags. Why should the check-out person make us feel bad when we should be feeling sooo good about ourselves. Just imagine what a difference we could make. Let’s do it – “I have my own bag, thank you”.
May 9th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
usually people ask me if i want a bag. if they start bagging and i dont want one, they don’t blink an eye and just give me the items i am buying.
most of the groceries here will give you back 5 – 10 cents if you bring your own bags.
if i carry my own tote bag, they usually understand why. it’s not a big deal here.
-drew
http://www.drew-o-rama.com/designcincinnati/
May 9th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
I was shopping at a thrift store with a friend where she purchased some cute vintage mugs. She told the cashier that there was no need to wrap them in tons of newspaper and put them in a plastic bag since she had brought her own tote. The next thing we knew the cashier somehow thought it would be best to wrap each individual mug in its own plastic bag before putting them into the reusable tote. Um, not exactly what we were going for…
May 9th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Hi! Stink eye’s?! Confused cashiers? Insisting on giving you a plastic bag? That sounds unbelievable to me! I live in Holland and for years always carry a tote with me. People appreciate it. I’ve been in the USA several times and was shocked by the huge amount of plastic bags people use. Some supermarkets here provide plastic bags for free, but they are not strong enough to carry a lot of stuff. You have to pay for a sturdy bag. It’s good to here things are changing in the USA!
Evelyn
May 10th, 2008 at 12:14 am
Even though my local grocery store in PA started selling their own branded reusable tote, when I bring in my own bags made from upcycled vintage bed linens they always try to ring them up! I mean, seriously! And at the same store they also threw my reusable bags into a plastic bag to take home. Do the cashiers and baggers of the world new reusable tote training?!
May 10th, 2008 at 12:47 am
Very intersting article, and the comments are just as interesting! Here in So. California it’s starting to change and our Target does sell the reusable bags and I love them, but if only I can remember to bring it in the store! They’re red and they don’t have Target written all over it, just a tree with the bulls-eye logos and a cute bird. Ralph’s supermarket gives you a 5 cent credit for every reusable bag you use. Not much, but an incentive anyways.
May 10th, 2008 at 12:52 am
I live in Memphis, Tn, have brought my own bag for more than a year. Get confused looks, a cashier in target said that she “HAD” to put it in the plastic bag (before they had their own), I told her to put my bag inside her plastic bag, because I wasn’t carrying plastic out of the store. No other problems. Sometimes I even get a discount.
May 10th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Here in the Midwest (Wisconsin) some stores, like our local food co-op, give you 10 cents off your bill for bringing your own bag.
The big box stores and local clothing places also don’t bat an eye when I say I have my own bag. I just make that clear while they are ringing me up. By being up front and taking control of the situation they don’t have much chance to put the item I bought into one of their bags!
small victories add up — this tote trend is going to grow.
May 10th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
I generally just pull out my bags and start bagging myself. I haven’t had much problem in places where there’s a second employee doing the bagging. I make sure to give them the bag before the items get scanned. So far no crankiness.
Then again, I haven’t been in Target, Trader Joe’s, or a regular chain grocery store in ages.
This applies to Philly where I lived for the past several years and NY where I live now.
May 10th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
I live in the Twin Cities and have started using my tote/reusable bags on a regular basis in the past year. I don’t get the stink eye at all when I use those bags. If anything, there is usually an enthusiastic response, or on the other end of the spectrum, just acceptance.
I’m starting to see more and more chain stores offer and promote their own affordable resuable bags. Target even has a couple different sizes to choose from.
I love seeing that they’re available but adoption of bags is still slow around these parts (unless you’re shopping at the farmers market, co-op or Trader Joes).
May 10th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
in SF its the big chain stores that have to use paper bags instead of plastic now. the mom and pop stores dont seem to do this. i usually try and put things in my totebag when i am buying stuff, because its not that much to really need a bag.
May 10th, 2008 at 11:21 pm
Oh that’s just too cute. Love the font she used too:)
May 10th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
I’m in Boston/Metrowest and I find no trouble at my local grocery store or Trader Joe’s. Like a lot of other commenters I have the hardest time at Target.
I always tell the cashier I have brought my own bags before they start ringing up my purcahses. This seems to completely confuse them so they just start piling it up on the other side of the register. They then stand and stare at me as I bag all my purchases myself. I guess they have germ phobia when it comes to my reusable bags!
May 11th, 2008 at 9:05 am
I always bring one or two tote bags with me for shopping, and I haven’t noticed any strange looks from anyone. :-)
In the grocery stores here in Sweden you take the bags (paper or plastic, your choice) by yourself from underneath the cashiers counter, and you always pack the bags yourself too, so noone really cares how you get your food out of the store…
It used to be that only old ladies took fabric bags to the store, to save money (yes, bags cost a few dimes here) but in the last few years that has changed. Yay for that!
May 11th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
I’ve been using reuseable bags for the past two years or so.
Only recently have I noticed something that I didn’t expect: I’m running out of plastic bags to use for garbage cans in the kitchen, in the bathroom, and etc.
I’m not yet sure what to do about this, other than not bringing my reuseable bags to the grocery stores every once in a while.
May 12th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
I wish the plastic bag ban in NYC were true but I live here and sadly they are still willing to give you a plastic bag when you buy something as small as a pack of gum. Whole Foods is no longer using plastic bags so when you shop there you either have to bring your own or they will give you brown paper bags. Ikea has also stopped using plastic bags. I always shop with my totes…I’m kind of anal about it!!
January 8th, 2009 at 11:17 am
I see why you liked this post Holly. We have been expected to use the green eco bags which have been in our supermarkets for years. They are kind of ugly and bulky and only cost around a dollar although they do not last more tahn a few months i have found.
The newest thing here in Sydney now is to charge for any plastic bags….Borders here started it and rightly so as they have some really inexpensive fabric totes which are suitable for both sexes. I make my own totes and find that two normal plastic shopping bags of goods will go comfortably into one of my totes and there is still room. I have made lots of different kinds and have worked out the unstructured soft ones which as you say you can fold up are the best.
The thing that I have found however is that people do not see the value in buying hand made totes here when so may shops provide the plain ugly cotton ones. It is difficult to sell them but they make great gifts and I just finished a really pretty one in a designer floral chintz furnishing fabric which I found in a charity shop..so double the eco impact.
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