Kiss Plastic Bags Goodbye, Redux

May 22, 2008 update to original post: My Flip & Tumbles arrived today. The colors are very pretty, but a heads up that they get crazy wrinkled by being stuffed into the little sock-ball storage pouch. The photos are a tad deceptive in this regard — be aware that the bags pictured may have been ironed or never stored in the little pouch.The original May 19th post follows.

Can one ever have too many reusable bags? The Budget Ecoist (cool blog) has me intrigued by the Flip & Tumble bag (pictured at left and below; click for larger images). If I owned a car, I would be happy to use the green flat-bottomed Woodman’s bags (click here for neato photo) made from recycled soda bottles. Since I’m typically on foot or on the bus, my Baggus have been a good alternative (click here for their own groovy pix). They fold up flat into neat little fabric pouches, weigh nothing, and unfolded hold the same amount as a regular plastic grocery bag. Supermarket baggers didn’t initially love them, since the ripstop nylon (parachute material) can be slippery, but now that more people are bringing their own bags this is less an issue.

And yet . . . the Flip & Tumble 24-7 bag has some advantages, too. It’s made of the same ripstop nylon as thinner ripstop nylon than the Baggus, but it has a long handle, so it can go over the shoulder — this is really a matter of preference since the shoulder strap might also make these more difficult to carry in each hand. I also like that the Flip & Tumble’s pouch is attached to the bag itself, so it can’t be lost, although the wadded up sock ball (from whence the name) isn’t as neat and tidy as the flat-fold little Baggu pouch. The Flip & Tumble is also more expensive at $12 (to Baggu’s $8 on their own web site and at Amazon).

In the interest of, um, blog research, I may have to buy a Flip & Tumble for a side-by-side comparison. (St. Vinny’s will get the second-place bag, so I’m not just mindlessly consuming.) The bottom line, though: there are a lot of bag options that are much spiffier and environmentally friendly than paper or plastic.

Today’s mitzvah: Have you made the switch to reusable bags? (Heck, if I can do it, anyone can!) Check out the bag options in the Daily Mitzvah archives — as well as cool options at your own favorite grocery. The environment will thank you, and you may get 5¢ to 10¢ a bag back to boot.

(Photo credits: Flip & Tumble)

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