Just imagine traveling down the road and never again seeing another plastic bag littering the flora and fauna of your hometown. If you have ever been to the great West Texas you understand what I am talking about. There are thousands of plastic bags stuck in the fences and landscape alongside the highways because the strong wind blows them everywhere.

OK admittedly it might be a little Utopian to completely eliminate this problem anytime soon but as more people switch to using reusable totes, fewer paper and plastic bags will end up on the side of the road.

One obvious reason to use reusable bags is to lower our consumption of oil based products like plastic bags and to decrease our use of paper so that we don't need to cut down as many trees each year.

Most everyone is already aware of the benefits of reusable bags so here are a few less though about reasons to get in the habit of bringing your own bag to the store.

One effect of increasing reusable bags usage is the possibility for decreased product prices through improved market efficiency by utilizing fewer natural resources. What exactly does that mean to the average person? Well, If everyone brought their own reusable bag, our grocery bills would start to decrease. Who do you think pays for all those paper and plastic bags they "give" you when you check out. You do! The cost of the bags are ultimately passed on to the consumer. The end result is that reusable bags are more efficient, and the cost of products will decrease if grocers and retailers don't have to pass that expense on to the the consumer.

Many countries and some local US municipalities have implemented steps to promote reusable bag adoption amongst the public by taxing store given bags. You wouldn't be affected by similar policies if you have already started using reusable bags.

A few Northeast grocers have rolled out programs that sidestep the whole process of loading your basket while shopping, then unloading it to check out, and then reloading it after check out. This whole process of waiting in line just to unload then reload your basket is very wasteful. The solution is to let you load your reusable bags in your basket as you shop and then check out by simply walking out of the store. It sounds futuristic but it is already in practice in a few markets and is sure to come to your market as soon as all the kinks are worked out.

The bottom line is that reusable tote bags are here to stay and using them is the responsible thing to do because it puts less strain on our natural resources and our planet.