MorganHillTimes.com | Proper etiquette: It's in the bag

Proper etiquette: It's in the bag

Oct 23, 2008
By Gale Hammond






		Photo by: File Photo

As Kermit the Frog says, "It isn't easy being green." Well, you got that right, Kermie!

With all the available methods of becoming ecologically friendly, you'd think one of the easiest ways to go green would be switching to those canvas reusable shopping bags. When Trader Joe's came to town I was first in line to scoop up a couple of environmentally conscious TJ bags. First I got the familiar red and white Hawaiian print number. Then they came out with an insulated red and tan version. Gotta have that one, right? Keep all those cold things cold when hauling home ice cream treats on a typically hot South County day.

So you'd think I'd have had it covered. Well, you'd think. But then along came TJ's super-duper-insulated black-zipper bag, which certainly keeps cold things cold although it's a little heavy when that sucker is full. But I was doing my ecologically good Karma thing and all was well. Until I moved to Long Beach for 10 months last year. Wouldn't you know I found yet another spiffy TJ bag. This edition had surfboards and was so Southern California hip I had to have one for, you know, sentimental reasons.

I now have five TJ bags that spend their days camping out in the backseat of my car because I perpetually forget to take them into the store with me. And when I do remember to bring in a bag, it's only one bag and any fool knows you can't get out of TJs with just one shopping bag. With all the yummy goodies to be found at TJs, impulse buys account for more than what I originally jotted down on my shopping list.

Now when it comes to mainstream grocery bags, it's been "paper or plastic" for years. The paper grocery bag was in existence when the caveman went to market. "Wrap up that brontosaurus burger for me, Oog," ordered Mrs. Joe Caveman at the deli meat counter. Then out she went to her late model wooly mammoth to lumber home with her paper bag full of caveperson items.

Then in the late 1980s the modern plastic bag was introduced. Here was utopia in shopping bags. Lightweight and easy to carry with their built-in handles, these things are practically indestructible. This is also their biggest problem. Polyethylene bags became an ecological nightmare. They weren't biodegradable; they littered the landscape (coining the phrase "urban tumbleweeds") and threatened sea life.

While larger stores do offer recycling of plastic bags, not enough people took advantage of the idea. Enter the reusable shopping bag. Now I am all for saving the earth. I want my grandchildren and their grandchildren to enjoy a beautiful planet. But the reusable shopping bag has presented new dilemmas. For example:

Proposed legislation bans retailers from using plastic bags. This practice has been enacted in some cities already (last year San Francisco was the first city to ban plastic shopping bags and Oakland followed shortly thereafter) and more cities are set to impose bans within the next year or two. Do you know what this means, people? That's right - plastic shopping bags will be illegal. Contraband. Black market. And for people like me who believe a girl can never own enough plastic bags, this spells big trouble.

Now I am a responsible plastic bag user. I use run-of-the-mill plastic bags to contain all manner of items from charitable donations to trash, from encasing doggie doodoo to storing away out-of-season clothes. I love plastic bags, and the best kinds are the over-sized versions we get from large retailers like Macys or Target. I'm telling you, those bags are awesome. I am thrilled when a new sweater comes home in a lovely, heavy-duty shopping bag. It's like getting free merchandise with your purchase. And yes, I should get out more.

Must I start hoarding plastic bags? I mean, this is a serious threat to my lifestyle. I pack away Christmas ornaments by wrapping the fragile ones in a series of plastic bags. This gives them cushioning against bumps and jars they may encounter during the 11 months they are stored away. When traveling I pack my shoes in plastic bags; it keeps my clothes from getting soiled. Oh, my goodness; I can only hope I have enough plastic bags to last the rest of my life.

Finally, there is the etiquette quandary. While I've purchased no less than five Trader Joe bags, is it proper to enter, say, Safeway with TJ canvas bags? Would I be a shopping dweeb? I mean, those TJ bags are piling up in the backseat of my car so it seems like I should be putting them to other uses, right? But would I appear disloyal toting my TJ bags down the aisles of Nob Hill? Is this cheating? Trust me, I worry about stuff like this.

Recently I was waiting for my items to be bagged (plastic, thank you) at Safeway when something caught my eye. Yep - hanging there available for purchase were neat black Safeway shopping bags sporting spiffy pink trim. Oh, my! Must get me some! But tell me: where can I take those Safeway bags besides Safeway? To Target? Nordstrom, perhaps? Oh, heck, this problem is way too big for me; we'll need Emily Post to figure this one out.

Gale Hammond
Gale Hammond is a writer and freelance photographer who has lived in Morgan Hill 24 years. Reach her at GaleHammond@aol.com.