The Bag Craze

If you've spent any amount of time in Germany, you know the bag craze. There is a bag, purse, box or container for everything. You see them everyday...the little old ladies walking down the streets with bags on wheels, bigger than themselves, dragging their daily purchases behind them. Germany is basically a society with very little wasteful plastic bags and a place where people shop almost daily for their groceries. My God, if you want a bag in a store, they will provide them...but you'll have to pay extra for it. We could learn something here. I know in the States, some of the bigger chains, such as Walmart, are jumping on the bandwagon and are providing these cloth recylable bags. Even the commissary and PX have gotten into the game. But what if you think these bags are ugly? What if you don't want to carry a traditional wicker basket, such as many of the Germans do. Do something different and be the first on your block (unless you are already in Germany and have seen these)....

When I first came to Germany, I noticed these canvas high-tech looking colorful baskets that collapsed when not in use. You could store one under the seat of your car or in your trunk, laid flat and then pop it up when you needed it. They look very fashionable, come in a variety of colors and can even be purchased with a lid, so not everyone can peek inside to see what you bought. I started seeing more and more young German women with these things and many Americans over here have taken the plunge as well.

I was at the annual Ramstein Air Base Bazaar over the weekend. They had about 140 vendors with all kinds of pottery (yes, I saw two booths of Polish pottery), linens, leather bags, shoes, rugs, antique and new furniture....all the things you expect to see at a bazaar. I also saw a small display of these collapsible bags and finally figured out that only one company makes these, Reisenthel. They were priced at $49.95. Gee, that's a lot for a shopping bag...but it is very sturdy...and does collapse in such a neat way...I DO want one. But I held off. I was proud of myself. I had planned to check German eBay and online. Much to my surprise, they were selling like hotcakes on German eBay...wait, surprise is the wrong word....disappointed and crestfallen is more like it. I looked around online some more...it was the same price at many online German stores when I included the postage. I was beginning to feel sorry I didn't buy one to begin with, until I found ReusableBags. What a neat site, not only did they have these Carryall Bags I was interested in, but also lots of other neat things. I ended up buying the wrap and mat sandwich thing, cause I always did hate wasting all those plastic sandwich bags for the kids lunches and mine. I used my advice here and also got 20% off with the coupon code. That brought my new shopping bag to just under $32. Isn't it much more fun to get something at a good price than to pay top dollar for it?

Does anyone else use these market bags? Are you happy with it? Do you use recycleable shopping bags? How do you feel about plastic bags? To be honest, the only reason I even take some home from the comissary and PX is because they do make great dog poopy bags..but that's another story for another day.