Summary:
Shopping green doesn’t have to apply only to the purchases you make each week at the grocery store. It’s a philosophy that can be extended to include how you get to the store as well as how you live once you’ve completed your shopping trip. This article looks at how to make all aspects of your weekly grocery shop a healthy shade of green.

Details or Sample:
How to Shop Green: Before, During, and After Your Grocery Trip

While the greenest purchase of all is the one you don’t make, to adopt that attitude is a little impracticable. Because unless you’re totally self-sufficient and can produce all you need to live a contented and comfortable life, you have to shop for some items. Food, for example, is a necessary purchase. And because it’s a necessary purchase and one we have to make often, it’s important that we do it in as green as way as we possibly can to minimize the impact our shopping choices, as well as our shopping methods, have on the planet’s resources.

Shopping green starts before you leave the house. This is where a little organization will pay dividends. First, think about how you’re going to transport your goods from the grocery store back home. Always try to avoid using plastic bags wherever possible. Plastic bags take between 400 and 1000 years to break down. They don’t biodegrade, but photodegrade, which means they break down into smaller and smaller toxic bits that contaminate the waterways and enter the food chain when ingested by animals. And it’s not only environmentalists who would like to see an end to all plastic bags. In 2002 the Republic of Ireland placed a tax on plastic bags in shopping stores which saw their use drop by more than 90% and raised millions of euros in revenue for environmental projects. Other countries are now looking at what they can do to reduce their use of plastic bags. Even the world of fashion is backing the unofficial ban: flick through any fashion magazine and you’ll see re-usable cloth bags with slogans such as “I’m not a plastic bag” emblazoned across them. The plastic bag is one accessory that very few people want to be seen with nowadays.

In order to avoid using the store’s plastic bags, take as many re-usable bags (e.g. backpack, tote bag) you think you will need to transport your grocery shopping home. If you’re driving, you don’t even need bags as you can use re-usable storage boxes or crates. However, how you get to and from the store also has an impact on the environment, and if you drive, this could quite easily negate any green points you achieve through not using plastic bags. Ask yourself if it’s absolutely necessary to drive to the store or whether you can you make the trip on foot or by bicycle. If you do have to drive, give consideration to the number of trips you make each week and try to make as few journeys as you possibly can.

When it comes to what you buy, purchasing food that’s been produced locally is a greener choice than buying food that’s had to be flown or shipped in from miles away, so always look at the label on the produce to see where it’s come from. If it’s practicable to shop there, a nearby farmers’ market can be a good source of local produce. The produce sold at farmers’ markets is generally organic as well as locally produced, which means it will have been grown without the use of harmful pesticides, which can damage the environment. Buying organic also means that the food will be tastier because it won’t have been encouraged to grow quickly with the aid of pesticides and hormones. You don’t have to shop at a farmers’ market in order to buy organic, though, as most large grocery stores stock some organic produce.

Buying fresh, unprocessed or lightly processed food is another good choice: not only will this food benefit your health but it will almost certainly have been produced using less energy, and therefore less of the world’s resources, than processed food.

Remember that shopping green isn’t only about the food choices you make; it’s also about how those foods are packaged. Don’t automatically reach for a plastic bag to place your apples or tomatoes in – they don’t need one. Similarly, choose products that come in recyclable packaging (and then recycle it!).

Don’t stop your green crusade once you’ve finished your shopping expedition, either. Think about how you can recycle your purchases. Left-over food can be composted to produce fertilizer for your garden; bread bags can be used as wrapping for your lunchtime sandwiches; stale bread can be made into bread crumbs and used in recipes; cans and bottles can be used as pots and vases for individual small plants or small bunches of flowers (this works especially well if your cans have attractive designs and colors).

And if you want to fully embrace the concept of going green where your produce is concerned, and have the resources, time, and inclination, consider growing your own – it doesn’t get any more local than that! A small vegetable patch in your back yard can produce great results. You don’t need much space; you can grow fruit and vegetables in pots and hanging baskets. And best of all, you won’t have to drive anywhere to collect it!

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