Introduction: Paper, Plastic, or Furoshiki?
Plastic bags are being banned almost everywhere now, due to petroleum costs and landfill issues. Los Angeles just announced a ban on ALL disposable shopping bags... both paper and plastic. The Minister of Ecology in Japan is making an effort to spread the Japanese art of Furoshiki, which is an Origami-like means of carrying virtually anything with a simple square of thin cloth, is easy to do, and has been used by the Japanese for centuries. See for yourself! Watch an Introductory Video
Step 1: The Basic Bag
This is the simplest of means, which shows how you can carry a bag of various groceries.
Step 2: The Shoulder Carry
This is a variation of the basic bag that allows the same amount of groceries to be carried over a shoulder... a more ergonomic approach that utilizes your muscles in a healthier manner.
Step 3: The Melon Carry
This is a tremendously amazing demonstration of how distribution of a heavy weight can allow a very thin silk cloth to hold something like a watermelon. The video shows me demonstrating this technique with a 16 lb bowling ball...
Step 4: Decorative Furoshiki
One of the coolest aspects of Furoshiki is that it's not only functional, but decorative as well. You can wrap all sorts of gifts in unique ways that will impress people... and the "gift wrap" can be reused. Imagine never having to buy wrapping paper again, or the unique look of your gifts under the Christmas tree. You're only limited by your imagination.
Here's a great example of how you can wrap a pair of wine bottles. It looks amazing AND it protects the glass from breaking.
Step 5: Go for It!
I admit, i was a bit hesitant about trying this out at the supermarket, but what happened was quite amazing. Many people asked me about it and thought it was great! It's definitely more interesting than the bulky canvas bags that stores sell.
Again, I invite you to watch the video if you'd care to see it in action:
Watch an Introductory Video
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68 Comments
10 years ago on Introduction
That's pretty good for economic gift wrap. Thanks! Google Bagtheban if you like the plastic bags and find them useful for many things. I save all mine, and I recycle them, mainly by filling them with plastic recyclables and turning them in at the town center.
10 years ago on Introduction
That graphic in the second step of Entou Tsutsumi looks familiar. O_o
10 years ago on Introduction
Not to sound offensive, I could not pronounce Furshiki.
But they do look cool!!!!
12 years ago on Introduction
Check out: furoshiki.com & click on "techniques". Brilliant!
12 years ago on Introduction
The big green diagram! Is it a furoshiki ?
If so, where can they be purchased ?
12 years ago on Introduction
I've been wanting to do this for YEARS, I've been reading all the furoshki sites but couldn't imagine making everyone wait while I wrapped my purchases. NOW someone suggests PRACTICE!!! I don't know why that strikes me as a new concept.
I don't think it would work for a weeks worth of groceries at walmart with those round turntables to hold bags but it would work for a few items.
13 years ago on Introduction
If you use the watermelon carry wrap, make sure that the object is big enough for it. If you don't there will be a huge gaping hole that the object will fall out of.
13 years ago on Introduction
A watermelon sold here for 5 bucks is about 50 bucks in Japan. I know , only, because my buddy (german American) moved there after college and has lived there ever since. He has adult children he has been there that long. When he woud come to our home I would feed his kids to watch their eyes buldgeCantelopes followed by water melon followed by icecream. We were talking about cost of things. a watermelon about 15 years ago that cost me 5 bucks was easily 45-50 bucks. A gallon of milk cost more then a gallon of gasoline (at the time). His wife would not trust anything that expensive to a thin silk cloth. She brough bags with her if they needed them, he has 6 kids, I told him he was insane. please give a link to a place where we can see the thing better, copy it for reference. thanks for an intresting tutorial
14 years ago on Introduction
finally! a use for the many bandanas i have lying around doing nothing!
Reply 13 years ago on Introduction
you'll need a pretty big bandana.
Reply 13 years ago on Introduction
I have about fifty standard sized bandanas lying around in my room. It makes sense to use them to wrap small stuff for storage.
15 years ago on Introduction
Is this for people who live in cities with markets within walking distance? Because I don't get it. I have to drive a minimum of 15 minutes to get to the grocery store. I go every 10-14 days and I get about twenty bags of stuff. So I would either need to go to the market more frequently (and use more gas), or get about thirty of these scarves (or canvas bags). What am I missing? :-)
Reply 15 years ago on Introduction
Its not that bad i live a good hour out of town and i still manage to use the canvas bags. All you to do is by one or two every time you go to the shop and it won't take long before you have thirty you can use. Then you just stick them in the boot when after you unpack your grocerys so you can use them next time. It's not that complicated.
Reply 15 years ago on Introduction
That's interesting. And the clerks don't object to you making them change their whole check-out routine with a different set of bags? At a minimum the people behind you in line probably grumble about how much longer it takes that teenager working minimum wage to fill up 30 canvas totes. Oh and now that you've stopped collecting plastic grocery bags, what are you using to collect the cat poo from the litter box with? :-)
Reply 14 years ago on Introduction
To answer your "cat poo" question: Simply getting one or two plastic bags' worth of groceries usually solves that problem. I do that when I'm at the store and I know I'll need to line some garbage bins or will need disposable bags for something else.
Reply 13 years ago on Introduction
I work in a grocery store and I prefer when people bring in the canvas bags. We pack most of their groceries in the canvas ones and then pack their meat/deli/raw produce products in plastic bags to keep the canvas bags clean. As for people grumbling about how much time it wastes, if they're in a hurry, they shouldn't have spent the last hour walking around a grocery store and only buying two items. Part of going green is being less selfish. :)
Reply 14 years ago on Introduction
Hi 1. Of course the cashiers don't mind. One material or another, they fill your bags and it takes the same amount of time. 2. The reusable bags fit a LOT of stuff. I used to buy about 12-15 plastic bags worth of stuff every time I bought groceries, and now I fill up 4 reusable bags. 3. I put my cats' poo in spent produce bags. (:
Reply 15 years ago on Introduction
correct me if I'm wrong, but I think _fox is in the UK, where the phenomenon of the clerks stuffing the bags for you is not as prevalent as it is in the US. There, you do your own packing in most of the larger supermarkets, and they have racks of bags waiting at the cashier to buy (50p) and stuff yourself.
Reply 15 years ago on Introduction
Nope they sell the bags at the gorcerss and you help them pack the bags. Nobody in the line cares beacuse %90 of people use them and it actually takes less time to pack the bags beacuse you can fit more in the canvas bags than you can in the smaller plastic ones so less bags means less time spent packing. 1. I don't have a cat beacuse they kill native birds but i do have a dog and i use a small shovel to pick up any poo. 2. I think your cat might have some problems if it needs that many plastic bags to clean out it's litter tray. 3. I still need the odd plastic bag around the house for the bins and that sort of thing so every now and then i will not use the canvas. Only takes one or two shoping trips to have enough to last for ages.
Reply 14 years ago on Introduction
I suppose it is for short distance really. It works for me but it's only a 5 minute walk to my local store