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Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Plastic Bag Ban Got You Down? Furoshiki!

posted by on July 30 at 10:32 AM

Once again, the Japanese have solved our problems many years before we knew we had them. (See also: t-shirt folding)

Furoshiki is the Japanese art of creating various totes out of a square of silk or nylon cloth. It even works for bowling balls! Obsoive:

So if you don’t want to shell out for some canvas bags, just grab the scarf off the nearest babushka and go to town. See? It’s not so bad.

RSS icon Comments

1

Yeah, and we get to pay 20 cents a bag thanks to nimrods like you for these "cheap" materials.

Posted by Will in Seattle | July 30, 2008 10:47 AM
2

This will never work here - as many commenters are about to tell you - because basic knot-tieing is a skill beyond the capabilities of most of the people who shop in grocery stores.

Posted by COMTE | July 30, 2008 10:54 AM
3

I'll happily go on eBay and buy ECB an Hermes knock-off.

Posted by Jubilation T. Cornball | July 30, 2008 10:58 AM
4

So, who's selling shopping bags that are durable and large enough to be truly practical for groceries?

Posted by atlsea | July 30, 2008 10:58 AM
5

Cool-now I know how hobos wrapped their belongings to a stick!

Posted by Jakub | July 30, 2008 10:59 AM
6

@4: Every grocery store in the county: Safeway, QFC, Trader Joe's, Red Apple, Whole Foods, etc., etc. They're out there, they're cheap, and they work really well.

As for the furoshiki: my grandma loves these things. Of course, she grew up during the Depression and is so frugal that she reuses yogurt containers to store things.

Posted by Greg | July 30, 2008 11:04 AM
7

Yikes, a potential rash of babushka muggings. Though most of 'em won't go down without a fight.

@4, Safeway and QFC, for like a buck, and they hold about the same as a paper grocery bag. Or go here http://www.reusablebags.com/ for more resuable bags than you can shake a stick at. (And you didn't hear this from me, but you'll find the most babushkas in Everett or Kent).

Posted by rb | July 30, 2008 11:08 AM
8

Funny, it looks just like the to-go packaging (styrofoam box in a plastic bag, neatly tied into a darling knot) that I get from Pho Cyclo. If it's got to be a choice between the look and "contents", I go for a fashion statement every time.

Posted by Spoogie | July 30, 2008 11:15 AM
9

Supermarkets will now have to install changing (I mean folding) tables at the end of each register).

Still, it's a cool idea and I will use the bottle wrap next time I gift someone some wine or fancy beer.

Posted by elswinger | July 30, 2008 11:18 AM
10

They hold a lot more than a paper bag, because the handles won't pop off if you look at them funny.

This furoshiki thing really works. That's why you NEVER see a plastic bag of any kind in Japan -- no, wait, they have more of them than we do. They're a FETISH item in Japan. Hmm. Of course, they have 30 different recycling bins per household, too.

Posted by Fnarf | July 30, 2008 11:20 AM
11

I think the recycle bins are what does the trick.

But I have a few friends who make craft items from plastic bags - it's kind of fun to watch them do it.

Posted by Will in Seattle | July 30, 2008 11:27 AM
12

@10: In Japan, they give you plastic bags for free, but they make you put your groceries in them yourself.

And they only have two kinds of recycling that I recall, but the trash is also separated into burnable and non-burnable.

Posted by Greg | July 30, 2008 11:46 AM
13

That's fine for carrying ones groceries, but one hardly wants to use a silk scarf to pick up after their dog, but hey, copies of the Stranger are free, and biodegradable!

Posted by Scoop your poop | July 30, 2008 12:59 PM
14

WORD TO THE WISE:

Safeway's reusable bags are best for tall men (6'+) that want to hang a heavy bag on their shoulder. All the other reusable bags have straps that are too short and make it uncomfortable.

For this same reason, they are not great for shorter people that wish to carry the strap by the hand. They will drag on the ground. Use a different store's bag.

Posted by TIP | July 30, 2008 1:36 PM
15

@14, good to know.

It won't be long before retails realize that once size does not fit all, and offer a few different choices, right?


Posted by paulus | July 30, 2008 1:43 PM
16

If you do want a free bag from Fred Meyer, I've found their wine bottle discount bags are fairly sturdy, provided you remove the inserts (scissors work well).

Posted by Will in Seattle | July 30, 2008 2:07 PM
17

Right now, somewhere in japan there is a Japanese hipster in a Japanese coffee shop probably linking to a youtube video of a guy in texas using plastic bags for groceries claiming japan sucks because they still use old ass cloth for bags.

Also, in Europe, there are hundreds of salons selling "American Shampoo" sprinkled with a couple words of English to make them look foreign, edgy and sophisticated.

Posted by crk on bellevue ave | July 30, 2008 3:59 PM
18

This is a "japanese art"? We need a youtube video to remind us that squares of fabric are multifunctional?

But damn, that t-shirt folding makes me want to do some laundry.

Posted by Garth | July 30, 2008 4:08 PM
19

@14, really? I have one from Central Market right here next to me, fully loaded with library books, and it hits me in mid-calf. I'm 5'8" tall. Most of my other ones are the same size, though I do have one from the Lake Forest Park Farmer's Market that's bigger. But it still doesn't drag on the ground.

Posted by Fnarf | July 30, 2008 5:15 PM

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