Just Say No

Ok, so it’s not exactly news, but just in case you don’t know the figures, every year we use between 500 billion and one trillion plastic bags (I don’t know if I can even count that high) to cart home all of the junk we buy. And that’s a shame. So next time you go to the store, just say no to their plastic bags.

Because everybody from Decathlon to Body Shop wants to make it easy for you. Muji’s got a slick little nylon shopper that fits into its own (slick little) pouch for 8€ or a bigger sturdier bag that fits into its own clutch for 30€. Body Shop had great canvas bags for just 2.50€ and Decathlon has all sorts of options (the best is the nylon bag for 1.50€ although the hard plastic ball it folds into is a little suspect.) BoPreu supermarkets will discount the price of the normal plastic bags from your purchases if you bring your own.

And of course Ikea, ever ingenious, lets you buy a version of their big plastic bags and even has cute designs for schlepping and totting for .99€. (Calm down, nobody’s forgetting about the traditional options either – the wheelie cart and the straw basket are still as good as ever.) Just remember next time you’re shopping, in Barcelona or anywhere else, to say no to plastic bags!