One of our treehugger friends shamed us when we did a quick run to Rite-Aid and popped out carrying a plastic bag. After a meaty lecture about how the environment is peeved at the human race and how polar bears are drowning, we decided to pick up a set of these Amazon Envirosax nylon bags.
The Amazon Envirosax Set (Set of 5) is available at Flight001 for $42, or individually for $10.
Our main obstacle with the nylon bag theory is that we do shopping in bulk. Once a week, we hit up the Ralph's or the Trader Joe's and stock up on the staples. And quite frankly, these new reusable shopping bags seem to be built for the city life; or maybe the European way of life which (in our minds) includes quaint market stands that offer wonderful organic fruits and vegetables.
We're making an effort to bring these Envirosax bags with us everywhere. Luckily, they're compact: each bag rolls up in a tiny ball with a handy snap, making it extremely easy to chuck in our purse and whip out when we're needing to bag up our purchases. Oh, and here's another good thing we've found out on our last grocery trip: one nylon bag holds the equivalent of two supermarket plastic bags.
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I have one of these, and I love it, it's small enough to keep in my purse all the time, and the designs are great (in addition to the amazong designs, they have black and white patterns, graphic patterns, and retro kitchen paterns). I'm ordering them for my mother, and all my aunts for chirstmas this year. However, they're cheeper directly from the envirosax website - $8.50 for an individual one, or $37.95 for the set of 5, plus $5 flat rate for shipping, if you order less then 8 of them. This is the website:
http://www.usa.envirosax.com/pages/products.php?icat=1#13
view Rosie's profile
Look around, and you can find them for about $34 for the set. I recommend them, too. Because I have five of them, there are likely to be two or three in my car at any one time, and I'm getting more and more conditioned to remembering to bring them inside stores. The few plastic bags I do get, I use for used cat litter.
view Joan A.'s profile
I love these and use them all the time! Delight.com also offers them for a discount. I sets a few sets of 5 for $26 from delight to give as holiday gifts.
view Sarah in Nola's profile
I have to echo the comments above. I have a set of these bags and I buy them as gifts all the time. The size of the bag is great for grocery shopping and yes they roll up to nothing.
view Shasta's profile
It's great that you guys are reusing bags. However, I find it somewhat ridiculous to pay 10 bucks for these. I got 20 nice black bags on eBay for $26 (including shipping). Search for "Green Valley Bags." They also come in red and green, I believe. My boyfriend and I put ten in each of our cars, and though we both forgot to bring them in with us the first couple times, it's become a habit.
view CaseyB's profile
I have the envirosax and love them too -- got the botanical prints from vitamin desgin. I get compliments on them all the time which is a nice perk in addition to cutting down on plastic bags.
view BklynJacquelyn's profile
CaseyB - Can you roll or fold the Green Valley Bags up easily? It kind of doesn't look like it, from the pictures. That's part of the appeal of the Envirosax. And they're not $10. Obviously people will have different preferences, but my set has been really great.
view Joan A.'s profile
or even better on your wallet, http://www.chicobag.com
$5 each, 5th one free! fun colors too!
view hoboken_melanie's profile
That Youtube clip on the Chicobag site is hilarious!
Count me as another person who loves my Envirosax. I got them off Delight.com. I am so happy to say that the pile of bags under my sink is finally dwindling. I think the type of bags you use and prefer depend on your lifestyle and environment. If you have an SUV and go to Costco what you want might be different than a single woman living in Brooklyn who shops for food a few times a week.
view Trumystique's profile