Best Reusable Shopping Bags & How You Can Get One FREE!

Written by Lynnette on April 5, 2008 | Comments (1)

Everyone these days is offering fun reusable shopping bags for sale. So what makes one reusable bag different from the next?

For starters:

Colors
Shapes
Sizes
Compactability
Durability
Flat-bottomed

In the end, it all comes down to personal choice. For example, the most important features to me are a larger than normal size that also compacts small (or at least perfectly flat). Bonus points if it can stand open on its own, thanks to a flat bottom -- similar to a paper sack. My new favorite is the Walmart reusable shopping bag.

GOOD NEWS! Walmart is hosting a 1Million Reusable Bag Giveaway. That's right, on Saturday, April 19, 2008 Walmart will be giving away one million custom-made reusable shopping bags -- beginning at 8AM Local Time and while supplies last.

For the record, in addition to large reusable bags like these, I also like to have a couple of reusable shopping bags that pack up really small -- so they're easy to carry with you. (The larger ones -- like the Walmart bag -- I keep in the car.)

Here are some fun reusable shopping bags and places to find them...

First, The Facts

The average family brings home 1,000 bags every year. Most of those bags end up in land fills. That really adds up - 100 billion plastic bags are sent to landfill in the US each year.

In landfills, it can take up to 1000 years for a bag to decompose. Plastics don't biodegrade, they photo-degrade, breaking down into tiny toxic pieces that contaminate soil and water or harm wildlife. Source: Baggu

Paper or plastic?... Is there a correct answer ot that question? Take an interactive trips with MSNBC down the grocery store aisles.

Where To Find Fun Reusable Shopping Bags

ChicoBag -- bold colors, tucks into its own little bag, machine washable, 18" x 13", $5

Flip & Tumble -- love the fun colors and the way this one scrunches up into a tiny little ball. They call it the 24/7 bag because it's small enough to keep on your person 24/7. $12

Sage Green -- the sole worldwide supplier of reusable shopping bags that are biodegradable, compostable, recyclable, non-pollutant, and made from a renewable resource (corn), $10-$15

Reusable Shopping Bags -- perhaps the largest collection of reusable shopping bags on the Net

Baggu -- choose your own fun colors, lightweight yet holds 25 lbs - the contents of 3 plastic grocery bags, folds into a flat 5" x 5" pouch, $8

IKEA Big Blue Bag -- extra large for big shopping trips, made of plastic but it's a great one to reuse, $.59

EcoBags -- lots of shapes, sizes, styles, and materials available, $6 to $20

Target Reusable Bag -- available in a small and large size, they self-zip into a pouch for storage, small $.99, large $1.49

Amazon Reusable Bags -- an ever-changing inventory of reusable shopping bags and sets of bags in fun shapes, sizes and colors

Other Ways To Get Free Bags
In addition to the above-mentioned freebie from Walmart, chances are you'll probably be wishing for more sources of FREE reusable shopping bags. I know that I am constantly on the lookout for them, because you can never have too many reusable bags!

Keep your eye out for announcements from your favorite stores and online companies. Often, if you take the time to answer a survey or take a quiz, they will send you a free reusable shopping bag. Other companies will send you one, just for the asking. Some examples:

Not to mention the fact that environmental groups are participating at the local level, showing up at events and handing out free reusable shopping bags. Heck, even entire cities are getting involved and giving away free reusable shopping bags!

And be sure to watch for other fun specials and local freebies on Earth Day (April 22, 2008)! (Case in point: some Whole Foods Markets are giving away free reusable shopping bags to their customers on Earth Day.

RELATED:

Reusable Shopping Bag Guide