Shopping Aids Designed For a Greener Planet
Europeans have always owned good quality, reusable, shopping bags, because they do a lot more of their shopping by walking the distance to the store. It is quite a shock for North-Americans to shop in Europe, pay for their goods at the till, and then find themselves with all their wares and no place to put them. Fortunately, even in North-America concern for our planet grows. As a result, concerted efforts are being made to help us all to eliminate as much as possible the use of plastic bags. We have taken a look at what’s available to replace these increasingly more unpopular bags.
The simplest replacement for plastic is the reusable shopping bag sold, or sometimes even given away for free, by most supermarkets. They come in a variety of materials and colors and must be carried, just like the plastic bags they replace.
A somewhat more convenient invention is the collapsible shopping basket. Sized like most in store shopping baskets, it permits the owner to handle smaller shopping excursions using only the one carry item. You can grab it, shop, pay and go without ever needing another bag or basket. It also comes in a variety of lively patterns and colors. The one disadvantage is that it, too, must still be carried.
A third option is the somewhat more convenient carry cruiser. Since it is wheeled, it allows its owner to roll purchases rather than carry them. There is a wide spread in price, due to the difference in quality of construction. These larger shopping totes make for easier shopping as well as transporting purchases to the car in large parking lots. They even come in handy for trips to the laundromat.
The last option is the wheeled shopping cart to be used in conjunction with the reusable shopping bag or other bags. It is essentially a means to tow the items you would otherwise have to carry. One option considered very useful by us is that it be ‘foldable.’ This makes for easy storage in the car as well as at home. If you need to climb stairs, look for the stair climber option, or test the cart to see how it performs on stairs.
There is a great variety of these shopping assistants on the market. Look around and buy the one or two that best suit your needs. Not only do they help us do away with plastic bags, they also make useful gifts. Price is very much determined by construction quality and materials.
Returning once again to the above mentioned Europeans, let’s single out the Germans. When it comes to both shopping and recycling, the Germans are, without a doubt, world champions. Consequently, they are one of the manufacturers we would trust to build well researched, well designed, thoroughly tested shopping aids.