While shopping in a small kitchen specialty store, I pulled out my own reusable shopping bag. As I unzipped and unfolded it, the young clerk remarked, “Ooh, are you being green this holiday?” I took a deep breath to prevent saying anything rude or stupid, and just said, “I’ve been carrying my own shopping bags for years.” I mean, it was 2009 when I posted my conflict with a local Sears store that wouldn’t allow me to use my own bag, despite the irony of it being Earth Day and that the Target store down the hall was actually giving away reusable cloth bags.

So here we are, six years later, so I’ll offer a few observations as noted in the archives of Compost Happens.

Here’s the historic post from the Earth Day not noted by Sears.

The long day of teaching that ended with me not using my own lunch bag, something unusual for the eco-conscious Daisy.

A couple years after that Earth Day conflict, La Petite and I went out late in the day on Black Friday armed with our own bags.

Some things stay the same. Here’s an example of a midweek farmers’ market, complete with pictures of my usual bags.

The Pharmacy That Shall Not be Named has gotten better. They ask me if I need a bag, and when I say no, they also remove the unnecessary papers. These papers still end up in the recycling, though. The staff at the pharmacy could make improvements.

My thoughtful analysis is this: if I was already carrying my own bag often enough to be shocked at the refusal at Sears, I must have been providing a reusable shopping bag long before Earth Day, 2009. If this young cashier thought it was unique and cool to be green this holiday season, she’s a bit behind the times, but she’ll catch up.

Readers, do you run into resistance or disbelief when you provide your own shopping bags? I hope the comments will show that it’s getting easier to be green.