Reusable Produce Bag ~ Mountain Mama

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Reusable Produce Bag

I got a great response off my wedding dress series. Thank you.

Of course, there is really no way I can follow such a great project with a better one so I won't even try.

Tomorrow is Earth Day. Traditionally I make a lifestyle change on Earth Day. Sometimes it's small (no more bottled water), sometimes it's big (no more meat). This year I am going to explore ways to seriously cut back on my plastic consumption. Starting with produce bags.

I'm pretty good at remembering my reusable grocery bags. But since becoming vegetarian, my use of produce bags is higher. So I am trying to develop a reusable produce bag. It needs to be lightweight, quick-dry and easy to clean. I'd also like it to be somewhat translucent, closeable, and it would be nice to have different sizes (small for garlic, large for greens, etc.).

What I Made:



Prototype 1. I found some mesh in the Home Decor section of the fabric store. It reminds me of the mesh in men's swimwear so I really can't imagine why it's in Home Decor. I made a long rectangle and sewed the edges together (so there wouldn't be a seam at the bottom--a seam will and should be the weakest part of a garment). The fabric doesn't seem to ravel so serging the edges was overkill and adds to the weight of the finished bag. I ran a couple lengths of ribbon around the top and voila:



It's lightweight, and durable (so far). If I were being a perfectionist I would have used a white ribbon but it's a produce bag people not a wedding dress. This is the perfect size for apples, oranges, and other round fruits and it holds a lot (my kiddos will eat all these in about 2 days). It's a little too narrow for greens and the grocery clerk had to open the bag to identify the contents. On the plus side, she gave me a reusable bag credit for it.

So my questions: How much would you pay for something like this? Is it worth trying to sell?

4 comments:

  1. Regina11:26 PM

    Yes, definitely. I think everyone is trying to be a little greener and this is not something I've seen on the market yet. By the way, I got my Prize and I love it! Thank you!!! It actually inspired me to go out tonight and make a big ol' gift bag for my husband's Bday on Thursday...it will hold a 32 inch flat screen!!! I figure it will come in handy for all of those other odd sized kid toys...maybe I'll take a pic and email it to you since you inspired me!!!

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  2. I've also had that dilemma—eat lots of fruits and veggies, but waste lots of plastic bags. Our grocery store (Fry's, or aka King Soopers) has plastic bag recycling, so that's a major bonus.

    If you made a ton of these, I would start talking to companies like Sunflower Market as they are very much into the green movement.

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  3. Very cool. I would totally use these. I think honestly, I'd buy more produce if I had them, as the plastic bags are always such a pain.

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  4. Christine, I think you should make some of your fabulous patterns available. That would be cool. :) Your ideas are awesome.

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