Are reusable grocery bags that are made and shipped from China really just missing the point of reusable bags?

Question

ok, so tonight I was at wal-mart and was going to buy some reusable grocery bags, then I thought I better see where these bags were made, b/c wal-mart loves China, sure enough, made in China. Question #1: Do any of these grocery stores have reusable bags that are made in the USA? answer choices: Albertson's, Ralph's, Von's, Whole Food, Trader Joe's? If you don't know then don't answer this part, but please offer answers/opinions on the next part.

Second part, doesn't buying reusable grocery bags that are shipped from China, resulting in massive amounts of pollution being released in transit via gasoline use really just defeat the purpose? I mean, if you are using reusable grocery bags to help the environment, protect marine life/birds/animals, and to negate the petroleum that is used to make plastic bags, then isn't shipping the bags from China missing the point?

If Wal-Mart (and other retailers) are worried about the environment (vs. making money off the bags, and saving money by buying less plastic bags) then why wouldn't they be buying/shipping the bags from local (meaning US) companies?

Just so everyone knows I think reusable bags are great and really want to start using them, but I'm having a hard time getting past the fact that the bags are made in China and shipped to the US resulting in probably more pollution and evironmental damage than we'd be comfortable with. (Don't even get me started on the American job loss aspect). Thanks for your answers in advance.

Answer 1

  Those plastic bags can be reused.  I think people believe that once used the bags cannot be used to carry groceries anymore.  People make a deposit in the recycling bin, shop for groceries and come out with more!  I know they are flimsy, but reuse what you can after shopping for groceries and then make your deposit in the recycling bin.  Same with paper.  Stores should offer discounts for bringing your own bags or make people buy them so they are exposed to the cost and change the mind set that they are just a "free perk"

Anyway, almost all the bags are made in china no matter their make up, so the shipping essentially negates itself  when comparing which is better overall.  I do support buying locally to reduce transport affects, it saves energy.

I believe that in the long run the energy savings is more, even though the bags are transported from china.  You have to make due with what you have or what is offered.  Sitting back waiting for bags made in the USA only contributes to the problem, you are not creating demand.

Buy the way, many of the bags i have come across are made of polyester or nylon (i.e. PLASTIC!)  I think that this is missing the point!

Answer 2

Very good question. I didn't really think about where the reusable bags I use come from. I can tell you I got most from ecobags.com and from various grocery stores, but I never checked to see where they were made.

I don't think that buying a bag made in China defeats the purpose. Yes, there are shipping costs involved in getting them to the store, but there are also shipping costs to get disposable bags to the store. I think a single trip from China would out weight hundreds of trips from around the US for the disposable bags. I know before I switched I could easily bring 10-15 bags a week into my home. Now, I have many reusable bags and I'm down to 2-3 a month.

I don't think Walmart and many of the other chains are worried about the environment. They are just trying to capture retail dollars. Marketing departments across the globe see the trend to being more ecofriendly and they want all those green dollars in their registers. I don't think that is a bad thing. Walmart may be motivated by the bottom line, but they are doing a lot of good by it.

Here are a few changes they've made: They only stock concentrated laudry detergent- this reduces transportation costs and conserves fuel, they partnered with coke a cola to make a line of recycled plastic t-shirts, they have made a commitment to reduce their electric bill and will be installing solar panels on some stores and implementing energy saving measures at other stores. I applaud them for making the changes.

Answer 3

Most of the cheaper reusable bags (the ones you can pick up for $1 or something similar) are made in china. I pretty much quit looking after about 6 or 7 different stores.

I just started buying canvas bags whenever I see them really cheap. I know that World Market had them free when you made a purchase for a while so I got a few there. I have collected about 4 or 5, which is not nearly enough for all my groceries, but it's getting there.

It does defeat the purpose when you buy those bags from china. There is a really easy way to reduce your impact on the environment without spending any money and not using items made in China. Simply ask for paper instead of plastic. You can then either reuse or recycle the paper bags. It's easy, free and it reduces your impact on the environment.