Paper and plastic don’t cut it. Reusable cloth bags are the

Published on October 22, 2005 By Rajiv Badlani In Business

The best choice isn't paper or plastic, says Wayne Parker in an article in the Pacific Business News. He adds “When faced with the question of paper vs. plastic bags at the local supermarket, the correct choice, according to environmental officials, is neither of the above. The best environmental choice is to skip a bag altogether, or if one is necessary, shoppers should take their own reusable shopping bags”.

You bet, Wayne! Plastic bags get used once and then continue to contaminate our planet for 3000 years. Paper bags cause trees to get cut down – also for just one use. Cloth bags make so much more sense. Each bag gets reused as many as 500 times. And every time they get reused, they are a potential walking billboard for some perceptive company that understands 360 degree branding and understands that consumers respect brands not for what they claim, but for the actions they take. In short your brand image isn’t determined by what you say or claim, but by what you do. See these powerful branding devices and find out how easy and economical they are at www.badlani.com/bags/shoppingbags.htm Do you agree? Do you think branding is influenced by such small things? I'd love your opinion

Comments

dharmagrl

on Oct 22, 2005

I have a pattern for a knitted bag made from plastic shopping bags. You cut the bags into strips, tie the strips together, and then knit it up into a bag. It's pretty sturdy...

But yeah, to answer your question, cloth bags are the way to go. Recycling plastic and paper are wonderful ideas and things to do, but they still use energy to complete the recycling process. Cloth doesn't.

Now if I could just persuade the baggers at the commissary that I'm really not insane when I hand them my knitted plastic bags....

ParaTed2k

on Oct 22, 2005

Why are people always under the impression that grocery shoppers can carry their purchase home in just 1 or 2 bags. We don't eat extravagantly at all, but with 6 mouths to feed, we usually end up with 10 or 15. To me (as far as the whole "paper or plastic" question) plastic is the way to go since me and my wife can carry them up our apartment stairs in one trip.

There is a big push towards bringing in your own bags, I like the idea and have been looking at different ways to do it. There is one discount grocer here that sells their plastic, reuseable bags for a dime each. We shop at 4 different grocery stores. I wonder how Park & Save would react if we walked in with 10 or 15 Auldy's bags. ;~D

dharmagrl

on Oct 22, 2005

We don't eat extravagantly at all, but with 6 mouths to feed, we usually end up with 10 or 15

We're the same way, and I'm in the process of saving up all the plastic bags that we use in a couple of weeks so that I can knit them up into a dozen or so bags.

If you want, Ted, I'll be more than happy to send you a couple of them sometime. If you like them, I'll try and make you some more.

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