Reusable barrier bags

Do you know what a 'barrier bag' is?

You might not be familiar with the terminology, but chances are you are very familiar with the item: the single-use lightweight plastic bags that are available on rolls when you buy fruit and veg, or whole foods, so your apples and potatoes don't get in a muddle in the trolley.

I have for some years now tried not to use these bags, keeping items loose wherever practical. However, while it might be OK to have a few onions rolling around, soft things like stone fruit or small things like almonds really need something to contain them.

For my birthday last month, my caring and ever-thoughtful mother-in-law made me a set of cloth barrier bags. They are a simple rectangle, in various sizes, with a ribbon draw-string. The fabric is silk voile (lace curtaining) which means the checkout staff can see what is in each bag. 

So our May commitment is to remember to use them! We also intend to use paper bags to cover any excess need, to be added to compost when they become unusable. Fruit and veg shops generally provide paper bags for mushrooms, and they can easily be adapted for other uses. The wonderful Kakulus Sister in Fremantle provides them for their dry goods in general, which gave me the idea.

We also use these bags for storing some fruit and veg in the fridge, which so far seems to be working fine. There will be a few things that are very powdery for which we will have to use paper, as I think flour or the like would not quite be contained.

Initial Time: For me, zero. I'm not sure how long it took Tyson's mum to make them. She's very good at sewing, but even if you were less skilled it is a simple project. 

Initial Cost: For me, zero. To make yourself: simple ribbons generally cost $3-$5 a metre, although they also seem to turn up on all sorts of things, so if you are not picky about making them match you can probably find some around the house. Or use string. Wool. Old shoelaces. Whatever you can salvage. Fabric prices vary widely, but at say $10/metre your bags would cost about $1 each.

Ongoing time or cost commitment: Remembering to take them and use them. They are stored with our cloth shopping bags, so in theory this is easy, but we are taking a while to get into the groove. Occasionally they need to be washed after use (mostly not). When empty, they need to be returned to their storage place rather than binned. 

Impact: 

Australians use approximately four billion single-use shopping bags a year. The average useful life of those bags is twelve minutes. Around 86% end up in landfill, where even if they are supposedly compostable they do not really break down, due to the highly compacted nature of landfill. Although most people report using plastic bags two or three times before disposing of them, ultimately they still end up in the bin. The remainder end up as litter, choking up our environment and particularly damaging waterways. Marine life is severely impacted by plastic waste. Once the bags begin to deteriorate, they contribute to 'micro plastics' - microscopic plastic fibres that are being found in sea creatures in increasing quantities. Including sea creatures we eat. 

At the other end of the process, producing plastic bags is a polluting process using non-renewable resources. China banned plastic bags in 2008 and it is reported to have saved 1.6 million tonnes of oil the following year.

I estimate that our family uses around 260 barrier bags in a year. There is some environmental cost in producing the cloth bags. Choice has calculated that a green shopping bag needs to be used 23 times before its production footprint is less than the equivalent in plastic. Given that our bags are of polyester fabric, I imagine we need to use them at least 23 times and probably a few more, so we pull ahead after about one year of use. 

While researching to write this post I discovered that a government campaign in 2003-2007 to phase out plastic shopping bags, which I had thought was ongoing, ceased in 2008. Plastic bag use leapt 17% the same year. Some States have gone on alone to regulate against single-use plastic, but not Western Australia. After this election I think I will write to whoever forms government to remind them that quite a lot of people would like those bags banned. If China, Rwanda and Bangladesh can do it, surely we can manage here?

Links/ References:

Discussion paper on phasing out plastic bags in Western Australia (2014)

Choice article discussing options for sustainable shopping bags (2014)

NSW EPA discussion paper on plastic bags (2016)

The Shop Ethical guide

While holidaying in southern Victoria in February, I got distracted on my way to buy lunch by the wonderfully named Cow Lick bookshop . On the counter were copies of Shop Ethical: the Guide to Ethical Supermarket Shopping. So, along with bakery goods and a pile of excellent quality mark-down children's picture books, I returned to the car with the means for our next sustainability commitment.

 

This pocket guide is the size of a passport. It has masses of simply presented information packed into this handy size document. 

In each product category, the brands you are likely to find on your supermarket shelves are ranked according to how their parent companies measure up on a wide range of ethical issues, from treatment of workers to appropriate marketing, from animal testing to pollution. 

Brief introductions to 25 issues of potential concern are included throughout the guide, along with some concise analysis of supermarket chains, price wars and house branded products. In order to keep the guide at a size that fits nicely into a handbag, detail and subtleties of issues cannot be explored. However, websites to follow up for more information are provided. The Shop Ethical website also has far more extensive information available.

I like having a paper document in my hand, but Tyson with his smartphone preferred to purchase the Shop Ethical Ap and I must concede that this is a very useful format, as it allows much more detailed information to be available if required, and I presume gets updated.

The Guide comes out of Victoria, and is at times east-coast centric. When I encounter WA companies not itemised in the guide (eg. Olympic, Benjamins, B Re & Sons, Del Basso) I figure if they have not come to the attention of the Guide, they are probably not nasty multinationals. All these four look pretty local to me. The Guide is also less useful at our local continental store, where nearly everything is imported, and many brands are not in the Guide.

Another limitation is that its rankings are based on the parent companies rather than the characteristics of the specific product in your hand. For example, Body Shop ranks very badly, as it was bought out in 2006 by L'Oreal (who are being boycotted for animal testing), despite Body Shop doing much work on various justice issues, including against animal testing.

Initial Time: My first full shopping trip with the guide in hand took double the usual time.

Initial Cost: $8.95 (or $4.95 for the Ap). On my first shopping trip I estimate I added about $5-$10 to our fortnightly shop by choosing more ethical brands that were slightly higher priced. However, the need to look up every product dramatically reduced my impulse buying, as I was only bothered with the process for items we really needed, so I more than made that money back.

Ongoing time or cost commitment: As I learn the brands the time taken will reduce. For example, next time I will know without looking up: Leggos over Raguletto; White King over Harpic; Bathox over Radox; D'Orsogna over Watsonia.

Also, I am not starting from nothing. We have boycotted Nestle for many years (on account of their marketing of infant formula in developing countries where subsequent dependence on the product instead of breast milk leads to infant deaths) and, less strictly, Coca-Cola (for taking drinking water from poor communities in India - we are only less focused on this boycott because we simply don't buy the sort of products Coca-Cola sells very often, if at all). I find I simply don't see Nestle items on the shelf anymore most of the time. Years of boycotting Nestle has trained my eye to consider the company's products not even there. I imagine this process will gradually emerge with other brands now too.

I am prepared to make small exceptions where there is no reasonable substitute, such as: Milo (Nestle) while pregnant and breast feeding - all other substitutes have three or four times less iron, and I need the iron!; Johnson & Johnson nursing pads (company concerns re animal testing, unethical marketing, price fixing, action on Darfur) - seriously, the other brands are useless; Butter Menthols (Allens ie Nestle) - nothing from any better company works the same.  

The biggest challenge for me is stepping away from house brands (for us, shopping at an IGA, this means Black & Gold, No Frills and Signature Range). The problem with these brands is that they don't disclose manufacturing information, so informed choice becomes impossible. Estimates say half of all house brand items are imported. Low prices on house brands squeeze local producers. I am struggling with avoiding them completely and taking it one item at a time at this stage.

Impact: I am a big believer that every small action counts. Companies that cannot attract buyers for their products will eventually have to change their practices or fold. I have not yet taken action to notify companies that I am avoiding their products, and why, but I am considering this as a future monthly action. Every action counts, and it counts a whole lot more if the relevant people know.

Some time ago Tyson and I reflected that we were reaching the limit of what we could feasibly do to reduce our global impact within our home. We surprise ourselves by going on finding ways to chip away at our domestic energy and water use and generation of waste, but our footprints now are bigger where we don't see them: in supply chains, production systems, and all the behind-the-scenes stuff that goes into supporting our lifestyle. Trying to shop ethically is a way to keep me mindful of these hidden footprints - which don't turn up itemised on bi-monthly energy bills - and make what difference I can. The Guide is not perfect, but its a whole lot better than standing in the supermarket aisle and guessing.

The week of the nectarines

One of the best things about shopping at the farmers' market is the availability of seasonal fruit in bulk. Last Saturday whole boxes of slightly imperfect nectarines were selling for $10. Our box had about 8.5kg of fruit.

What to do with 8.5kg of nectarines? 

First project: jam

 

Tyson based the jam roughly on this recipe. About 2.5kg of nectarine flesh (after stones were removed - no need to peel) produced the quantity of jam shown above.

So many people have reacted with surprise when I mentioned making nectarine jam that it has caused me to think about how strongly our perception of what is or is not 'legitimate' food is shaped by what is available in supermarkets. There is no Cottees or IXL nectarine jam and therefore it doesn't register on the radar when a big box of nectarines is available. Unlike strawberry jam, which a box of ripe strawberries fairly cried out to me in large letters, despite the fact that I don't buy strawberry jam as it is not my favourite.

Nectarine jam is so, so good. WAY better than strawberry jam, and easier to make, as the pectin content is higher in nectarines than strawberries (the thing that helps it set - I didn't know that six months ago either).

If not jam, then smoothies: 

Two peeled nectarines, hearty dollop of vanilla yoghurt, about a cup of milk. Blend.

Or baked nectarines:

 

 

 

 

Tyson did one tray simply adding cinnamon or vanilla sugar to each half fruit and baking uncovered for around 20 minutes (pictured). He did a second tray as follows: 

Line well-greased baking tray with baking paper. Halve the nectarines, drizzle a little brandy on each half, then sprinkle sugar on each. Put a small lump of butter on each. Pour about 100ml water into the bottom of the pan. Cover with alfoil or a baking tray and bake for 20min in a 200°C oven. Take the cover off and sprinkle a little more sugar on each, then back into the oven for 10min to finish.

The brandied ones came out softer than the cinnamon ones - more of a stewed than baked finish.

Or just eat them. Many of the 'slightly damaged' nectarines in our box were much more delicious than the 'perfect' ones usually available.

 

They ran out by Thursday, so I can assure you we had no trouble putting away the whole box.

Market day today: Nectarines $5 a tray. Our tray weighed in at just short of 7kg. So the week of the nectarines is extending into a fortnight... at least...

Initial Time: Clare: five minutes to make a smoothie. Tyson: three hours for jam; about 20 minutes for baked nectarines. I love being married to a man who likes to cook...

Initial Cost: $10 (and now another $5 for week two)

Ongoing time or cost commitment: zero - in fact, a cost saving as we won't be buying jam any time soon. Or possibly ever again, if we keep up the bulk fruit jamming a couple of times a year.

Impact: As when I wrote about using bulk strawberries (jam and pulp) and freezing plums, this is more about shifting my thinking than having a large impact as a single action. Still, we have managed again to use local fruit in season and make a small reduction in the food miles and packaging required to source our food.