http://www.pledgebank.com/Nobags Comments on 'use only as many plastic grocery bags as absolutely necessary, by reusing them and using sustainable alternatives ( Like cloth or web bags)' en-gb team@pledgebank.com hourly 2 1901-01-01T00:00+00:00 http://www.pledgebank.com/Nobags#comment_2852011 I love reusable bags and believe that when I’m using them and looking “cool”, that I’m promoting the idea and others will follow my example. http://www.pledgebank.com/Nobags#comment_2676016 Great pledge Ed! If we can reduce our dependance on plastic, we will then reduce the world's petroleum consumption by up to 10%. So don't forget that composting will make you use less trash bags, drinking tap water and canned soda will rid the world of bottles and getting your meat from the butcher will have it wrapped in paper not plastic. Also, I've refrained from buying items with excess plastic packaging in favor of whatever's comparable. Not sure if I'm making a difference, but I'm really trying. http://www.pledgebank.com/Nobags#comment_2604862 www.noplasticbags.org.nz is a new grass roots website dedicated to a New Zealand free from plastic carry bags. Around the world more and more countries are banning or taxing plastic bags and it is time for New Zealand to wake up and do the same. This is about much more than fixing the problems directly caused by plastic bags, it is about increasing the capacity of our society to change. Because very significant change is what is required to face the twin threats of climate change and peak oil. It is not a campaign to eliminate plastic bags, it is a campaign to convince people to consider the consequences of their choices and to make personal changes that help build a vibrant future for us all. Utilizing cutting edge online collaboration tools we can work together more effectively than ever before, so feel free to drop by our campaign centre at http://noplasticbags.ning.com and lend a hand. No matter how much time you can spare or what skills you can offer we would love to have you on board. http://www.pledgebank.com/Nobags#comment_2587381 How about reusable shopping bags that are also thermally insulated and clip into a supermarket trolley! A great idea and the canvas bags are even biodegradable! Go to www.geccobags.co.uk - Gecco Reusable Shopping Bags http://www.pledgebank.com/Nobags#comment_2525428 Hi, we provide eco-friendly promotional merchandise and business gifts. We are also specialists in reusable shopping bags made from jute, cotton and recycled materials. We supply wholesale bags printed with your logo. Please see www.needforgreen.co.uk for details http://www.pledgebank.com/Nobags#comment_2009937 What a great site! It's fantastic to see more people interested in using reusable bags! http://www.pledgebank.com/Nobags#comment_1847092 Fairtrade-certified cotton bags are now available at the Co-op or from Traidcraft. http://www.pledgebank.com/Nobags#comment_1457565 Great pledge! I'd encourage you to use the tools found in the yellow box on this page to promote this pledge using flyers, MySpace, and blogs. PledgeBank also just launched a Facebook application (found at http://apps.facebook.com/pledgebank/); you can use that to invite friends to sign your pledge. Good luck! http://www.pledgebank.com/Nobags#comment_551826 I've decided to give up grocery bags for Lent and I don't mean that in a facetious way. I feel that being environmentally aware is a great way to honor the Lord. I firmly believe that if we all were to do the little things, like not using grocery bags, or walking and bicycling whenever possible, it would make a major impact in our world. http://www.pledgebank.com/Nobags#comment_494390 We have been using canvas bags for a few months now. One of my New Year's resolutions is to be better about remembering to put them back into the car so they're there when we need them. (Thus insuring less plastic bag trips.) All in all, we've found them to be very handy. We got the ones with the long handles which reduce the number of trips between the car and the house at reuseablebags.com. I've heard stories about clerks who were less then enthusiastic about reusable bags, but so far I've only had clerks who thing they're really cool and want to know where we got them. (It helps if you look for teenage clerks with lots of piercings and dyed hair.) The biggest challenge is getting the baggers to put the stuff in the bags without putting the item in plastic first. They seem to want to do this especially with produce and meat. http://www.pledgebank.com/Nobags#comment_479765 Thanks for reminding me about this pledge. I managed to get to the end of 2006 without adding to my total of 3 "unnecessary" bags, but Christmas shopping was a real struggle. Because shop staff are so busy, they never bother asking if you want a bag, just start packing your stuff, and they rarely hear you say that you <b>don't</b> need a bag, so you have to be more assertive. I'm sure Wales will eventually get around to passing a similar law to the Italians/Irish etc. In the meantime, it's down to the individual. Now, where's that pledge about never getting on an aeroplane again? ;-) http://www.pledgebank.com/Nobags#comment_478575 I can subscribe it easily beacuse I usually do it since many years... so it is not a real pledge. Anycase I don't know in USA or UK but in Italy u pay a plastic bag about 10 eurocents so... everytime i go to supermarket I use about 10/15 bags. If everytime I have to spend 1,50 euros (about 2 USD) and make something wrong in way of plastic pollution.. is so easy re-use old ones for several and several times.. Anyway .. excuse my bad english :) http://www.pledgebank.com/Nobags#comment_324604 PLASTIC bags, the Food industry and all packaging in general - TV's, Electric appliances ALL THESE products are made of Polypropylene and all its plastics dervivates are coming from OIL! IT is a general problem humantiy faces since OIL is not abundandy available and the production generates tremendous amounts of waste! WE all know it but nobody changes the direction - The pollution to produce it (global warming) - are staggering. Not long ago - and many "primitive" societies today use only natural(not manufactured) sources (like leaves, rattan and different fibers etc. for baskets and their food transportation! and NOT plastics - because they have no "Centralized" Mass-Food-Distribution and not masses of "smart" brains which actually "DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING..." TO THE EARTH & PEOPLE -Sometimes what looks like a step ahead can be a step backwards - or sometimes it is good to take a step backward for a moment -isn't dancing just the same way? - some scientist and politicians just know how to march straight ahead - - sounds like fun to you? http://www.pledgebank.com/Nobags#comment_108222 I'm glad that you're promoting the use of fewer plastic bags. I've recently found out that I have a high skin senstitivity to plastic bags. Therefore, I have to use cloth bags. It's all right, though. I don't mind. It's allowed my creativity (what little I have) to come out of the sewing machine. Aside from the plain old Unbleached Cotton that you can make, there are Denim, Cotton Print, Nylon (very strong stuff, that nylon. A bit more "rashy" than cotton, though), and upholstery fabrics. Currently, I've made 75 reusable, cloth bags. (Many aren't actually grocery bags, but that's okay.) They are a way to express an individuality, rather than a conformity. (If that's important to you.) Plus, you can carry way more stuff in a cloth bag, than in a plastic bag. (In a typical plastic bag, at the grocery store, you get 2-3 small items {for example, eggs, a bag of baby carrots, and a pack of rubber glove} in one plastic bag: then your bagger pulls out another plastic bag to put something else in) Cloth bags are sturdier and a better way to carry stuff than a plastic bag. (Which stretch and leaves red welts on your fingers) Congratulations on promoting the lower use of plastic bags http://www.pledgebank.com/Nobags#comment_75337 I've been using canvas bags since the '70s, and am thrilled you're promiting it. Whenever I receive strange comments or looks, I figure I've made an impact, and perhaps just one more perrson will begin using them. My goal is 0 plastic bags in my house for the rest of the year, and to get my husband to grab bags when he heads out the door. My most fun bag to use is one that I bought in the Amazon - colorful woven palm — that seems to say, "It's cool to bring my own bags." Farmer's markets always welcome shoppers' own bags. http://www.pledgebank.com/Nobags#comment_59404 Doing this is easier than you think - it just needs some practice. Keep a crate in your trunk to contain small purchases that you can carry in your hands - no need for a bag. Keep a few reusable shopping bags in your purse/pocket/backpack/glove compartment for those emergency trips. Figure 5-8 reusable bags for the average once a week family shopping trip. Check out www.greenfeet.com for reusable bags. If you forget your bags- walk out to the car to get them. We could all use the exercise anyway. Celebrate when you remember and slap yourself with a wet noodle when you forget. You'll get it with time. Val http://www.pledgebank.com/Nobags#comment_31347 I always recycle plastic shopping bag. Many several times. They fit the bathroom wastebasket perfectly and are great to keep in a pocket while beachcombing to pick up all the trash on our shores. However, with so many under the kitchen sink, I try really hard to not get any new ones--boxes, canvas and net bags all fill in when I remember. I am trying to make this 100% of the time. http://www.pledgebank.com/Nobags#comment_29158 I've been doing this already this year, and have so far only used three extra bags - still, three too many ;-)