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I reuse the same ones for as long as I can... I just keep bringing them back and refilling them at the store. If I put kale in there once, I can put kale in there again!

I like the idea of the cotton fabric bags, but I imagine that there might be some problems at the checkout when they can't see what you've got in there.

I like this idea. I don't think it's a problem that they aren't transparent. The paper bags provided in the supermarkets for mushrooms aren't transparent, either, but the clerks just peek in to make sure that you aren't trying to sneak expensive mushrooms in with the standard ones.

I do have these guys from ReuseableBags but I sometimes forget them - they don't fold down tiny like Chicos! If I don't have them with me I usually try to get away without them by only getting a few pieces of fruit so they can be weighed pretty easily. For bulk grains & smaller stuff I have been trying to reuse Ziplocs or Gladware and remember to bring those if that kind of stuff is on my list.

Oh, and I've never had issues with the bags not being transparent. The drawstring takes not even a second to open to see what's in there.

What a great idea! They would be super easy to make with some scrap fabric (which i have a lot of) What do you do with wet things like lettuce?

I have both the mesh and the opaque cotton bags. The mesh ones work better because you can see what is in them. The ones I bought are not big enough for some of my purchases. I bought mine here http://www.delight.com/Eco-Bags-Reusable-Produce-Bags. They fit about 8 medium apples per bag. I would love to find something that is expandable/stretchy for different loose produce.

Those zip mesh bags that are made for washing sweaters, and pantyhose would work really well, I think.

I rinse them out and reuse them until they fall apart.

When buying stuff from the bulk bin, I bring in clean, repurposed containers to the store. I tell the person working the deli counter to weigh it for [blank] at [blank] cost per pound. They weigh the container, tap in the cost, and place a sticker with the weight of the container and the amount ($) to subtract.

I fill the container up at the bulk bin, take it up to the
cash register, and they ring it up and subtract the amount on the sticker.

I used to work as a personal assistant/shopper for a disabled lady in the 1980s. I thought it was weird when she told me to do this. But the people at the grocery store acted like it was the most natural request. I have been doing this for my own shopping ever since. I see other people do this as well.

I use these mesh produce bags. They weigh nothing and the cashier can see the items when you are going through the checkout.

I find that the cashiers at Harris Teeter get a little annoyed by the mesh produce bags, since they aren't all that see-through, but they're still worth it. I'm always surprised to be the only one with reusable produce bags at the farmers market--a good number of people now bring tote bags, but then they use plastic bags to gather up their apples and potatoes, etc...

We use biobags (purchased from organicuniverse.com) made from corn plastic for gathering produce from the grocery store and saving stuff in the fridge. We use them a few times like you would recycle any other plastic produce bag and then we use them to hold compostable kitchen waste and then take the veggie waste bag and all and dump it in the compost bin. The bag breaks down outside in about a week.

My theory has always been that the plastic bags for produce exist so when the uneaten, overlooked veggies have melted & moldered into something disgusting & slimy, you don't have to get your hands dirty when you throw them out...