Green Christmas, Part II

This is the 99 cent bag I got my sister.

I said that I'd write about my other environmental gifts after Christmas, and now that it's ahem, quite a few days after Christmas, I'd better get to it.

In my last post I wrote about the travel mug I gave my co-worker for when he buys coffee (thus saving a paper cup). For my family, I decided to buy them the most common green habit change of the last year or so. Reusable grocery bags for my mom, dad and younger sister. I wondered if any of them already had some. I would have guessed that maybe my younger sister did since she shops at Trader Joe's and they heavily promote theirs, but I kinda doubted my parents had jumped on that train. Kudos to Mom because I was wrong about her.

I bought a cute bag with elephants on it (and the slogan "Don't forget: reuse") from Whole Foods for $4. That one I decided to give to my dad. Since my sister shops at TJ's, I bought her two white bags made from recycled plastic bottles. The design was simple and not as obnoxious as other TJ bags. And only $1 each. When I got to Vegas for Christmas I still hadn't found bags I liked for my mom. So I stopped by her local grocery store, a placed called Sunflower that's a lower-cost Whole Foods, and bought two bags for only $1 each. Then later that day I found myself back in Sunflower with my mom and sister so we could get food for our Christmas Eve dinner. As we waited in line, my mom ruined everything when she said in the checkout line, "I have bags in my car. I'll go get them." She returned with two bags the same as the ones I bought her, except in a different color. She even turned to me and asked if I was proud of her for having reusable bags. I don't know if she noticed my lackluster approval. In retrospect, I am proud of her but at that moment I was selfishly disappointed that my present was redundant.

On Christmas Day I gave Mom the bags anyway, figuring that the more she had, the better chance she'd remember to use them. Even if she went grocery shopping and left a pair at home, the next time she went to the store she'd still have another pair in her car. My sister liked her bags -- I just hope she remembers to use them. I know from experience that when you first buy your own bags they get forgotten in the back seat or trunk when you go into a store. But after a while it becomes a habit. I hardly forget mine anymore. My dad was surprised by his bag. I explained why I gave it to him but did wonder if you can teach an old dog new tricks (the man likes his habits).

That was pretty much the extent of my environmental Christmas. I did use wrapping paper because I'd bought some on sale after Christmas last year and figured I might as well use it. And of course buying new stuff contributes to creating more waste, but I don't feel too bad because I really needed new work pants (and those skinny jeans, really I did).