A few days ago the island of Hawai’i joined Maui and Kaua’i in implementing the “bag ban”. Because we live on an tropical island, water surrounds us. We have forests and because we are somewhat isolated we have a lot of endangered species. There has been a problem with bags ending up in the ocean, rivers or in trees. These endangered species–the green turtle (Honu), the Monk seals, any number of birds, fish see them as food or building materials. I have seen turtles with bags wrapped around their flippers making swimming from predators a little chancy. Birds choke on them, fish think they’re bait. It’s been an uphill battle for several years. It’s easy to throw veggies and bread in a bag with handles, easy for the elderly to tote, so many people didn’t want to give them up. I’ve been using cloth bags for years, but occasionally I get a plastic bag. I re-use it for everything from lining the waste paper baskets to re-purposing them as water bottle holders. They are handy. However, I can remember when I was young, we didn’t use plastic bags for groceries. We didn’t line everything with plastic, we just emptied the waste basket, washed it and put it back on the floor. Convenience has taken the place of a little elbow grease.
With all that said, today I found something that is even better than a cloth bag. I must admit it is plastic and has metal handles, but is so easy to put things in, will last a long long time and is so darn cute! I now have my very own shopping basket. Not only is it roomy and easy to load, but it folds up like a baby stroller. I’m extremely partial to the print as this is the same print on the tissue paper I use to wrap my hula attire for my Etsy shop. I already have two re-useable bags made of this same print, so now I have a matching set. The next time I go to the grocery story, I’m will be stylin’!



Now isn’t this just the greatest idea? I can’t wait to go to the store! Ha, I never thought I would ever say that! Not my favorite activity. I would rather be in my little sewing studio making colorful hula skirts. But, this should make the experience a little more enjoyable.