Everywhere you look these days, some grocer or pharmacy or other retail-ish business is hawking its version of a "Go Green!" bag. When they ask you "paper or plastic," you trot out one of these durable, fold up reusable shopping bags instead.
We've collected several. Our socially conscious place of spiritual worship, Unitarian Universalist Society, handed them out to us after services a few months ago. My mom made us one for Christmas -- that was her family gift to everyone, what a trendsetter, Mom! And I bought two at New Pi, the home of tree-hugging foodies in my town. One was the traditional durable fabric bag with the co-op's logo on it.
But the other...the other is what I would like to give my unsolicited endorsement this morning.
It is the "ChicoBag." This bag is made of strong, durable woven nylon and has a tiny pouch sewn on to its side, allowing the whole bag to be easily stuffed into the pouch and cinched up, then attached to your belt loop, key chain, backpack, or handbag using the small, attached carabineer. They are designed so that you're sure to have one with you wherever you go.
That was my biggest downfall when it came to the original bags. With those, I either forgot them at home or left them in a different car than the one I was driving. But with the ChicoBag, I always keep it clipped in my backpack or purse, it takes up virtually no space, and when it's filled, it can hold about three times what a regular plastic bag can.
For those of you who care about such things, the bag comes in 10 bright colors, cost $5 apiece online, and can be ordered by clicking here. Apparently, every fifth bag you buy is free. Or find a ChicoBag retailer near you.
And here's some shocking research from ChicoBag to help convince you to kick the single-use habit:
We've collected several. Our socially conscious place of spiritual worship, Unitarian Universalist Society, handed them out to us after services a few months ago. My mom made us one for Christmas -- that was her family gift to everyone, what a trendsetter, Mom! And I bought two at New Pi, the home of tree-hugging foodies in my town. One was the traditional durable fabric bag with the co-op's logo on it.
But the other...the other is what I would like to give my unsolicited endorsement this morning.
It is the "ChicoBag." This bag is made of strong, durable woven nylon and has a tiny pouch sewn on to its side, allowing the whole bag to be easily stuffed into the pouch and cinched up, then attached to your belt loop, key chain, backpack, or handbag using the small, attached carabineer. They are designed so that you're sure to have one with you wherever you go. That was my biggest downfall when it came to the original bags. With those, I either forgot them at home or left them in a different car than the one I was driving. But with the ChicoBag, I always keep it clipped in my backpack or purse, it takes up virtually no space, and when it's filled, it can hold about three times what a regular plastic bag can.
For those of you who care about such things, the bag comes in 10 bright colors, cost $5 apiece online, and can be ordered by clicking here. Apparently, every fifth bag you buy is free. Or find a ChicoBag retailer near you.
And here's some shocking research from ChicoBag to help convince you to kick the single-use habit:
Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion single-use plastic bags are consumed worldwide. In the United States alone, the average citizen uses between 300 and 700 plastic bags per year. Currently, 97% of these bags end up in either a landfill or littering our planet's fragile eco-systems.
And to ease your mind, ChicoBag has an active repurposing and recycling program for all brands and types of reusable bags. ChicoBag doesn't want ANY reusable bag to be left in a dark closet or sent to a landfill. Send ChicoBag all of your tired masses of reusable bags, functional or not. They will be distributed to fixed- and low-income families ready to start a reusable bag habit or recycle them into new useful products.
Send your reusable bags to--
ChicoBag Company
C/O Zero Waste Program
173 East 3rd Avenue
Chico, CA 95926
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