My reusable grocery bags are cooler than your reusable grocery bags...

Plastic? This is the question asked of me at the cash register at the conclusion of every shopping trip in Johannesburg. You see, there you buy your plastic grocery sacks. The stores say it is a way to raise consciousness about the environment and how we ruin it with our grocery garbage, but I think it is also a way for the stores to re-coop their grocery bag supply cost. As a result of this policy, the stores have for a very long time offered reusable grocery bags to their customers as an alternative. Because this has been a long time practice, the Joburgers have over time, come up with some great grocery bag design (if you can believe there is great design in reusable grocery bags.) There are thermal lined bags to keep milk and cheese cold, fabric produce bags, and brightly colored rectangular grocery sacks for boxed and canned items. Over our months in Africa I felt it a great use of our means to bring home the concept of sustainability-especially in our family where grocery shopping amounts to an unreasonable amount of packaging any way. So, I found my favorite design/style of bag, and I bought loads of them. John could not believe the purchases, he felt them over the top (and since when do I not do things a little over the top?) and I am fine with that.