Skip to main content

The Best Reusable Grocery Bag

After much experimentation, research, and trying out various bags when grocery shopping over the past 3 years, here is the best reusable grocery bag I've found yet:

SteppingStones natural unbleached EcoSac GlobalGrocer cotton canvas bag (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E8X3J8/).

SteppingStones (http://www.bags4you.com/index.html) is based in Cambria California and this particular bag is currently made in India. SteppingStones seems to be as green a company as you can find in their operations, materials, supply chain, and product design. See http://www.bags4you.com/company/company.html

What I like best about the GlobalGrocer:
- very sturdy (can hold very heavy groceries or serve as a book bag even -- they are very versatile)
- great handles -- not too short, not too long, and wide enough to hold easily
- can sling handles over your shoulder or hold in your hand
- folds flat
- quite large so holds a lot (but not too large) 18" x 16" x 7"
- very tear resistant
- since they are not mesh they can contain and absorb liquid and dry leaks and spills
- washable
- made of a naturally sustainable, reusable, and recyclable material (cotton)

Some alternatives I've tried but don't like as much:

Woven polyethylene bags
- These are the most common reusable bags around and generally fold flat. They are lighter and stand up a bit more on their own when loading but are not as strong and they are torn relatively easily by simple things like the corner of a kleenex or cereal box.

String mesh bags
- Lighter but they snag, don't contain spills, and small items fall thru some mesh variations.

Others
- Many other bags of various materials just haven't been the right size or shape to hold groceries effectively or don't fold flat or into some other convenient shape for storage. We do have a couple of recycled plastic reusable bags we bought at Whole Foods that are very sturdy too but I don't like them as much as the cotton Global Grocer.

We keep a set of 6-8 bags in the trunk of each car we use to shop. That way we don't leave them behind. We also keep a set of clean reusable plastic food containers in our car so we can put restaurant leftovers in them rather than using disposable take out containers.
Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
I've never heard of your favorite reusable bag, but it sounds great. I carry my reusables in my purse, so they need to fold up very small. I have many reusable bags, but the ones I find myself using over and over again are my Envirosax. They're roomy nylon (I know...) bags that roll up tiny and carry a surprising amount. Although they're not natural fiber, they've proven to be a good solution for me.

Love that you're from Sunnyvale! I think the city's been talking about a bag ban for a while. I hope San Jose's bag ban will set an example for the entire Silicon Valley.
February 13, 2012 at 10:34 AM
Tim Oey said…
My favorite bag is based on my shopping habits where I drive my Prius to the market and have the bags stored in my Prius's sub trunk. I agree that the Nylon Envirosax are excellent -- very compact and long lasting.
February 13, 2012 at 11:27 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The best way to dispose of dog poop

Based on my research, the best way to handle dog poop is to use a reusable pooper scooper and flush the poop down a toilet . Pros: - Sewer systems are designed to handle poop (yours and your pet's) safely and effectively (this was verified by calling the local sewage treatment plant in Sunnyvale, California) - The poop is treated and recycled fairly quickly and safely back into the environment Cons: - Need to carry the poop to a toilet - Need to purchase or make a reusable pooper scooper Here are other alternatives generally listed from healthiest for environment to least healthy. Use a flushable poop bag and flush down a toilet. Pros: - Sewer systems are designed to handle poop - The poop is treated and recycled - Easy to carry bag around to pick up poop Cons: - Flushable bags can "melt" in rain or other very wet conditions - Flushable bags should be kept sealed in another plastic bag before use - Flushable bags are a bit expensive and hard to find - Flushable bags smell...
9 comments
Read more

Zero Waste Restaurant Takeout

  Take out food containers are mostly trash and cannot be recycled due to mixed materials and contamination. The good news is that it is legal and super easy to  get zero waste takeout from most ANY restaurant in California  that can serve onto its own reusable plates!! This way you can get your food to eat at home on real plates with real cutlery and not create any trash. Read on to learn how! In the picture above I am picking up a pizza in as Zero Waste way as possible from Jake's of Sunnyvale -- the pizza goes into an aluminum pizza container I made from two 20" pizza pans. The paired set of aluminum pans then goes into a reusable pizza bag that keeps the pizza warm -- watch out, a fresh pizza makes the aluminum pans very hot (and sterile)!  I bike it all home in my covered all purpose bike trailer. I use a clean sheet to line the inside when carrying food. Here is a sequence of pictures I took at a different pizzeria that show off the pans I use. I tried to find ...
Post a Comment
Read more

34 Reasons Why

We all like to accomplish more for less thus the popularity of “Kill 2 Birds With One Stone”. What if there was a simple action you could take to accomplish 34 things all at the same time  (and save dozens of birds)? Would you jump at the chance? I hope so! You can accomplish 34 beneficial things just by bicycling (instead of using a motor vehicle): Increase happiness - it’s fun! Reduce climate change from fossil fuel C02 AND fossil methane. Reduce road congestion. Reduce road repair. Reduce space needed for roads. Reduce space needed for parking. Reduce your taxes.  Reduce other people’s taxes. Reduce insurance costs. Reduce transportation purchase costs. Reduce transportation maintenance costs. Reduce transportation fuel costs. Reduce registration & licensing costs. Reduce obesity & waistlines. Reduce health care costs. Reduce health insurance costs. Reduce people dying from motor vehicle crashes. Reduce animals (and birds!) dying from motor v...
Post a Comment
Read more