A recent post on Upworthy highlighted an incident at Trader Joe’s that apparently sparked quite a debate! A customer didn’t know that washing reusable bags was a thing, and when the cashier complimented her on her reusable bags, saying she likes this type of bag and it washes so well too, the customer got confused.
Myself, for sure I wash my reusable bags. I am really not a neat freak at all, but when shopping for produce and so on, especially since I try never to accept any produce that’s packaged in plastic bags, inevitably at least some food residue might get on the inside of a bag. So yes I wash them periodically. Just a quick swish, maybe a smidge of dish liquid or baking soda, rinse and turn inside-out and dry on the line.
Even if I don’t think they need washing, I turn them inside-out regularly and air them in the sun.
But also, come to think of it reading this post, I never expect or never actually even WANT the cashier to have to touch my reusable bag either. It just seems like common sense that I would bag my own groceries. Especially in today’s germ-conscious world, where people don’t really want to touch other people’s personal items unless absolutely necessary.
Still, even though I actually prefer for the cashier not to touch my bags (and also am frankly very fussy about how I bag my groceries so prefer to do it myself), I don’t want the bag to be dirty and then set it down on a shop counter or something. Leaving dirty residue on the counter.
Consideration for others generally seems to encourage smart practices of various kinds.
Sidenote: Those of us who are into all things eco, reuse, and so on, we get a bad rap from mainstream society for being grungy and dirty. And to some extent we probably may never live that down. But we can do our best to maintain considerate hygiene.
Also another thought regarding the fact that we get a bad rap: I think the society that believes in constant throwaway everything in the name of “cleanliness” and “neatness” should be getting the bad rap. Because look what that apparent “cleanliness” and “neatness” costs on the back end. Pacific trash gyre; villages on the other side of the world drowning in our global north debris (and choking on the fumes from burning it down to recover some scrap and eke a livelihood), etc.
So yeah if it were up to me, our fussbudget obsessive hyper-packaged society would be the one getting the bad rap. Alas, I’m not the queen of raps. (Last time I checked, anyway … )
Still, each of us can help shape the public consciousness. Whenever you see something with layers and layers of packaging and assorted fussbudget gobbledegook, make a skeptical face and ask aloud, “I wonder what the BACK end of this looks like?” Or some version of this question that suits your communication style. Even if it seems like you’re alone with no people standing around you, you never know who might be listening.
Here’s the Upworthy thread, shared on my DEEP GREEN page. (Visit the OP to read the full comment section.)