Yes, I took a reusable bag into Target today! I thought the cashier would kick me out...seriously, I had a plan what to do when they told me I couldn't use my Trader Joe's bag! I don't think I've ever seen anyone walk out of SuperTarget with a reusable bag. Geez, I got bag credits at the co-op. Nothing at Target. Target seems like the "anti-reusable bag" mentality if I've ever seen it. I've been planning this "coup" but always manage to forget my bag in the car. And once you're in Target, who'd want to go back out to the car? So, today I remembered, and even more amazing, didn't even fill up my tropical-themed bag.
OK, so this has nothing to do with books or gardens, but felt like such an achievement, I had to share!
7 comments:
Woohoo!! I'm really excited for you. I've been taking my canvas bags into Target for a little while, and the cashiers have been fairly calm about it. The local big grocery store, though, has been a nightmare - they use plastic bags to wrap everything up and THEN put them in my bags, or make disparaging comments - I no longer shop there. Can you tell that I'm a zealot when it comes to not using plastic???
BTW, there was a really interesting article in the NYTimes this week about Ireland putting a big tax on plastic bags.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/02/world/europe/02bags.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=ireland+plastic+bag&st=nyt&oref=slogin
The tax was high enough that it quickly became socially unacceptable to use plastic bags. I wish the US would do the same!
We've just had a couple of the bigger co-ops make a big media splash out of the reusable canvas bags. I think they are saying they are no longer going to have them after a few more months. It's a start!
Whoops, sorry about the really bad URL up above.
Do you have some good co-ops near you? We have a nice one in Swarthmore but it's not what I think of as a co-op with bulk foods; it's co-operatively owned, and recently they've been working to have more local and organic produce, which is great, but other than that it's just a normal grocery store. They give out canvas bags with co-op membership, so clearly they're not surprised when people bring their own bags. But they still have the regular paper and plastic.
I've been toting around a fleet of reusable bags for awhile now (several from Trader Joe's, a couple from Woodman's--an indpendent Wisconsin grocery store that's worth the drive, and a few from Jewel). I still have a tendency to forget them in the car.
The last time I used my bags in Target, the lady did look at me funny and she did an awful job of packing the stuff in but still . . . I was proud of myself too.
I'm currently teaching a class that is linked to an environmental biology class taught by my friend, KC. KC is my environmental hero. She brings her own tuperware containers to restaurants, uses cloth towels instead of paper, and uses those ion discs to do her laundry. Though I'm not up to such feats, she inspires me to do more than I currently do.
DJ, tell me about the ion discs! I've never heard of them.
As someone who is, sigh, at Target 5 or 6 days a week, I have to say it has become more common in the past couple months to see the Trader Joe's, Byerly's, Lunds, and those icky Cub bags here at Target. I myself have toted around doubled paper bags for several years for runs to Cub, Sams or the like, and have a few reusable ones in my stash now. The trick, of course, is remembering to get the back in the car and into the store with you!
Because of a new plastic bag ban in SF last year, Target rolled out a reusable bag of its' own last year. It's just coming to the rest of the stores now, and of course, they're bright red. I would happily pay a little more for a canvas bag, these are like the cheap ones from Cub/Rainbow around here, made of some sort of weird blended material. You can supposedly wash them and they should be good for 3-4 years.
I changed every light fixture I could in our house last year to CFL bulbs. And we finally got a new showerhead in the bathroom, which is saving water just because it's 20 years newer than the old one!
So I take it you don't like single-use bags? What a bunch of Bag Monster Busters! There's a blog for people who want to be entertained and informed about the bag crisis: www.BagMonsterBusters.com
Nobody seems to want us around anymore... It's hard being a Bag Monster in the Age of Bag Bans! I can't even get a job because of those new-fandangled reusable ChicoBags.
I just got back from getting trashed at Mardi Gras! To see my latest shenanigans go to my blog: http://www.BagMonster.com
With competition like ChicoBag, I don't know how long we'll last without endangered species protection. *sigh* It's tough being a Bag Monster.
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