Great Deals on Reusable Bags

I've been delighted at the number of hits to my last post: FREE Cloth Bags. Maybe it's the word free, or just maybe there's actually an interest in reusable bags. Either way, it's a step in the right direction. Kudos to you.

So I'll use this as an opportunity to introduce you to one of my favorite companies: Reusable Bags.com. Note: I have no affiliation with this company other than being an impressed customer and I received no compensation for this post. They have an amazing collection of everything eco-friendly: bags, drinking bottles (love the Klean Kanteen models), lunch boxes, rechargeable batteries, etc. If you can't find it here, you don't need it. For new and returning customers, now is a great time to stock up.

Here are all the ways to save on their site right now:

1. During their Earth Month Sale, all customers can get hundreds of items on sale up to 60%.

2. Through 4/20/10 (3 days only), all customers can get an additional 10% off all sale items by entering the code: SALE10 at checkout.

3. Shipping is a flat rate of $4.95.

-no coupon necessary
-domestic (US) orders only
-does not apply to past orders or volume or wholesale orders

4. For new customers, you can qualify for one of three FREE offers.

Details:
-new customers only, limit one free item per customer
-online orders only
-cannot be combined with other coupons
-codes are case-sensitive

-while supplies last

A. With any size order, you can get a free ACME workhorse reusable bag (I have one of these and they are WONDERFUL! This is truly the best reusable bags you'll ever own.). For this $6 value, just type in NEWCUST1 at check-out.

B. With any size order, you can get a free bamboo utensil set. For this $8 value, just type in NEWCUST2 at check-out.

C. For orders over $125, you can get a set of ACME workhorse bags. For this $30 value, just type in NEWCUST3 at check-out.

Finally, not only are you buying good products for the planet, but this company donates 1% of all sales to environmental causes. What more could you ask?

FREE Cloth Bags

If you've been thinking about making the move from plastic grocery bags to cloth, THIS IS THE TIME. I've been using cloth bags for groceries for six months and I can verify it's not a hassle and actually makes putting away groceries easier.

The place to start is gathering enough bags for your typical trips. In my case, that's 6-10 bags. You can buy them, but what's the challenge in that? I have more bags than I need now and I haven't paid a dime for them. I recommend gathering a variety of sizes since you want smaller ones to carry the heavier items and larger ones for bulky ones. Tip: Cloth bags make it easier to group your groceries and cut down on time you spend putting groceries away.

I started by raiding our closets. I found several really well-made bags from my childhood. We had a cooler tote I rarely used but now that carries all my freezer items. Knowing that everything bound for the freezer is in one bag makes it easier to unload that first.

I then started accepting freebie bags whenever offered at festivals. You can probably pick up a few at Earthfest on Saturday. Most companies are getting on the cloth bag band wagon and want you to sport their name wherever you go. This is a bit of a mixed blessing since many of these bags are cheap and may not last as long as others--adding to our landfill. I ask that if you don't need another cloth bag, even if it's a freebie, please don't take it.

There are also plenty of promotions where companies are giving away bags. Here are just a few:

• On Friday, April 16 Old Navy is giving away free green shopping totes to the first 50 customers. Then you can get 50% off anything that fits in the bag! After the green totes are gone, you will get a different one for 20% off everything in it. Thanks, Adventures in Momville.

• On Sunday, April 18 Target is giving away 1.5 million of their bags with a purchase; limit one per person. Their bags are made of recycled plastic bottles. Thanks, Coupon Mommie.

• On Thursday, April 22 Earthfare is giving away bags to the first 200 customers. This is to celebrate their decision to remove plastic bags in all the stores from now on. We're behind you, Earthfare!

• To find out how to get a bag from Red Gold Tomatoes, go here. Thanks, Coupon Katie.

• Kroger is sponsoring their third annual Design a Reusable Shopping Bag contest. You can go here to design a bag online from their templates and enter to win a $1000 gift card. Just for entering, a digital coupon for a free Kroger bag will be added to your Plus card. The image on this blog is my submission. Like it?

• For a bag from Earthbound Farm, go here. Thanks, Couponing in Critical Times. Gabe also did a fabulous post about reusable bags today if you need yet more inspiration.

So really, there's no excuse that "you don't have any bags." I forgot mine the first few times, but it becomes second nature soon: wallet, coupons, cloth bags--check! And don't forget to bring one or two bags into other stores, even if you only need a few items: pharmacies, office stores, the library, etc.

Finally, if you need financial incentive, CVS gives you $.25 and Target $.05 for every cloth bag you use. You'll need the Green Tag for CVS; after 4 trips, you earn $1ECB. And for every green tag sold between April 1, 2010 and March 31, 2011 (cost: $.99), $.05 will be donated to the World Wildlife Fund, with a guaranteed contribution of $100,000. Well done, CVS! Target takes it off your total on your current purchases. It's easy, it's good for environment, and it saves you money. Now that's a good way to go green, save green.