Environmentally Friendly Shopping: Reusable Shopping Bags

How much would you spend to help save the environment? What if you could save thousands of animals from dying horrible deaths, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and keep tons of garbage out of landfills every year for $10 would you do it? $20? How about $1,700? Well, you have your choice in environmentally-friendly reusable shopping bags, it seems. Reusable shopping bags help the environment by reducing the number that we bring home and are becoming all the rage - even fashion designers are getting in on the trend.

On a recent trip to Wal-Mart, I found black reusable shopping bags with the Wal-Mart name written in a lovely, environmentally-friendly green color on the side. They were $1 each. I bought about five of them, and keep them in my car in case of unexpected shopping trips. The reusable shopping bags are big and roomy - they hold about twice the amount that an ordinary plastic grocery bag does, strong - no more losing cans and glass jars halfway into the house, and comfortable to carry - the long strap is easy to carry, unlike those plastic monsters that cut into your hands when you're loaded down with cans, jars, and gallons of milk. They aren't very portable, though. They are made from a rough, black fabric that is created from recycled plastic, and they don't collapse as easily as some other bags I've found.

Now that I have the bags, I just have to remember to take the reusable shopping bags into the store with me when I go shopping. Twice I've forgotten completely. Another time, expecting only to pick up a few items, I took only one shopping bag into the store with me and ended up with a shopping cart full of groceries. So much for my intention to become more environmentally friendly! (Hey, at least I recycle my evil plastic shopping bags.)

As more people become environmentally conscious and the popularity of the reusable shopping bags increases, there are more and more improvements, new designs, and even new designers jumping on the bandwagon. So, where can you do your part in saving the environment and find great, reusable shopping bags in every price range? Here are some that I found:

Neiman Marcus has a set of five reusable shopping bags for $40. Not too bad, that's $8 each. They come in either a set of floral designs or monochrome (black and white). Each set has a small carrying case (9"h x 6"w) that holds all five bags. The reusable shopping bags are pretty, strong (the website says each bag can carry up to 40 lbs.), and convenient since they can all fit easily into that little case. You can find them at www.neimanmarcus.com, but the website tells me that they are on back order at the time I checked.

Envirosax are reusable shopping bags similar to the ones at Neiman Marcus. They come in a five-pack, have their own carrying case, and come in a multitude of designs and colors. You can buy the Envirosax reusable shopping bags individually or in the pack of five. They are $8.50 each or $37.95 per pack, including the carrying case. Envirosax.com also carries hemp, bamboo, and linen shopping bags, but the prices are higher and vary between the types. Several styles of the shopping bags on this site are also out of stock at the time I checked, but there are many more styles available.

If you don't need the small, portable-size shopping bags, Amazon.com has a great deal on a set of 12 canvas shopping bags. They are made by a company called Groovy Earth, and come in a natural color with your choice of strap colors. The straps come in navy, pink, black, red, forest green, and royal blue. The 12-pack is only $39.99 plus shipping.

Finally, even designer Louis Vuitton is getting into the act. For a mere $1,720 the Louis Vuitton "Love" satchel can be yours. The bag is canvas and has LOVE on the side in classic Louis Vuitton style. Seems to me that truly environmentally-conscious shoppers could buy themselves a couple of sets of Envirosax, then send the leftover money to a program that buys livestock for families in desolate countries or plants trees in the rainforests. But, that's just me.

These are just a few places where you can find reusable shopping bags. As more information emerges about global warming and our country's dependence on foreign oil, many of us are beginning to see that every small thing we can do to help the environment adds up when a great multitude of us put our efforts together. Let's all do what we can!