Thursday 2 October 2008

Shared Earth Shop

On our Monday evening walk round York, my daughter wanted to go into the Shared Earth Shop. It was one of the only shops open at that time (around 5.45pm) and was brightly lit with its door enticingly open, so we could see all the colourful bits and pieces inside. So in we went. My daughter scampered off immediately, so I strolled around looking for a nice photo to take. I just had my camera pointed to take this shot of all the bags, when she stepped into the doorway there, to tell me to look at the little trinket box she was holding. So above, you can see the Shared Earth shop bags, with a bonus view of my daughter!

I love all the bags here. A year or so ago, the "real bag vs disposable bag" issue was not as big as it is now. But now, just about all the shops are stocking proper bags, and encouraging us to use them, rather than buying plastic. Is this the same in other places?

Tomorrow I'll post the sight you see when you come out of this shop and turn to the left. Can anyone guess what it might be?

12 comments:

Beth said...

I'm sure I've been in this shop, but I can't remember where it is or what is around. So it'll be a nice surprise to find out!

Unknown said...

I reckon it'll be the minster??

We also have a new collection of shopping bags designed by celebrity designers in a range called "Whatever it Takes" - we're packing much more stuff in simple paper bags and putting it into our customers' shoppers ...

Anonymous said...

I lived not far from York for a while, and I always headed for that shop when I went into town for shopping, because my daughter loved it so much. I used to get all her stocking-fillers upstairs at xmas. It's my favourite area of York - there's/was a good kitchen shop nearby that was my favourite, is it still there?

I'd guess the minster, too!

Tanya Breese said...

What a great shop! Here in the US, the grocery stores sell re-usable canvas bags. I'm embarrassed to say that I haven't stocked up on them yet. I know I need to. I guess I'm just confused in my thinking of how it will all work out, how many bags will I need etc...When I do my weekly shopping, it fills a cart. I would probably need 20 or more bags to safely shop. Honestly I don't see people bringing in their own bags either. But I do hate having hordes of plastic bags after each trip.

Patricia said...

Here in Cleveland, Ohio, it seems like everyone is using the canvas reusable bags. All the grocery stores and even the smaller shops are selling their own canvas bags (usually very inexpensive). If you bring your own canvas bags to the grocery store, they will give you a bag credit for not using their plastic bags... (it's not that much, but I usually get about 75 cents back, but it depends on how much you spend..) But, if you still use the plastic grocery bags, most of the stores recycle them - so you can bring them back to the same store and put them in a large bin at the front of the store.

Lovely photo by the way !

Olivier said...

il y en a pour tous les goƻts.

there's something for all tastes.

Anonymous said...

Love your new blog,being a Geordie, I used to visit York as a child, it was often the destination of our annual school trip!
Hope you have settlrd in O.K. you seem to be taking it all in your stride.York certainly seems more interesting than I remember it. Can you walk along the old walls,or am I thinking of somewhere else?
Best Wishes

Picklesmum said...

I love the look of that shop!Never seen so many environmentally friendly bags. I WANT ONE!

a.n.other I went on a school trip to York - for a WEEK - from Bury.

Wayne said...

It seems too obvious but I'm going to have to guess 'the Minster' as well. But it could be part of the city wall. Or Betty's.

Some small cities in Canada have banned plastic shopping bags altogether and progressive grocery stores seem to be eliminating them. I notice more and more shoppers using market bags or backpacks when shopping.

Louise said...

Hi Ruby,

Here is Tasmania lots of people, myself included always use canvas bags for all kinds of shopping. There has been a huge push in Australia in recent years to ban the plastic bag and one town on the east cost of Tasmania is completely plastic bag free.

Christina S said...

Hee hee, everyone got it right! Thanks for the insights in to what's happening bag-wise in other places. It seems like there's a big push worldwide to cut down on plastic bags, which must be making a huge cumulative difference when you think about it!

Jane, yes, the kitchen shop is Lakeland (I think that's what you must mean) which I love. There are all sorts of cool gadgets there. There are 2 of them now. There's also a Lakeland in Ipswich but I never liked it as much as the York one, and used to buy Lakeland stuff online when I lived in BSE.

Jane, to be honest I find that bigger "proper" shopping bags, usually aimed at older people are better for the weekly shop than the trendy ones around in the shops, which I usually use just for when I'm getting a few odd things. My mum and I shop for a family of 5. We use about 10 bags to put the stuff in, some of them quite roomy (but not sack-like or anything!). Grocery stores hessian bags are good too.

Patricia - it sounds similar to here. We have store loyalty cards for supermarkets and get "points" on our cards for using our own bags, which count towards discounts.

A.N Other, yes, York is an ancient walled city and you can walk on them! I'll be taking some pictures soon!

Thanks to all for stopping by!

Anonymous said...

I've just now finally gotten over to visit your site again and wanted to tell you how wonderful this shop looks just from first glances at the picture. I love the colours and the idea of a shop that stocks reusable bags. Hmmmm...this might just be an idea I could share with a young friend who is trying to come up with a business plan. Reusable is the way to go in the southern parts of the States, as well.