kidding around

Comment by erin

July 14, 2008 @ 6:00 pm

i have some vinyl coated fabric, but only one side is coated so i am not sure how that would work. i do love the idea of re-usable sandwich bags. if you find something that works, will you please pass it along?

Comment by Mimi

July 14, 2008 @ 6:32 pm

Huh, what a neat idea. I tend to use foil and recycle that.

Comment by Dayna

July 15, 2008 @ 11:17 am

Hi there - I was wondering all of this myself. I currently am using the wrap -n- mats for my family and we love them. Are they safe? Can’t say that I ever got a clear answer on that…I mean prior to this we were using sandwich bags and plastic containers - how safe are those? I bought them mostly as an environmental thing - no more sandwich baggies at my house. But I am still flip flopping on the safety issue.

I contemplated making my own as well - mostly because I was not thrilled with the fabric selection. I will say that 90% of the time these come home unsoiled - just a few crumbs to be wiped out - that being the case I think just making some with cotton duck or denim or canvas inside would work. I also think that you could easily wrap a messier sandwich in wax paper and then with the wrap if need be.

We do love the fact these these also double as a place mat…great for picnic lunches. You should see the fun looks I get at my workplace when I bring one to lunch.

I look forward to seeing what you create!

Comment by Ariana

July 15, 2008 @ 4:25 pm

I really love this idea, only wish I knew more about the safety of PVC plastics, or of some alternatives. In the past, I’ve used wax paper and tape– still wasteful, not as cute, but not as bad as baggies. I think about just making little cloth bags closed with velcro for other snacks, like nuts and raisins– easily washed and no plastic involved. Hmm… Look forward to seeing what you come up with!

Comment by Shackelmom

July 16, 2008 @ 4:37 am

I re-use zip-loc bags until they have holes in them. I wash them with dish soap. I don’t use them for sandwiches most of the time, but for freezing foods.

But, looking at the link, I think it would be easier to wrap a sandwich in a cloth hanky and then put it into a baggie. the sandwich would no longer be in contact with the plastic, the baggie would stay clean for another use, and hanky could go in the wash. It seems like the sadwiches would not end up being dry this way, and would be more likely to survive ‘lunch bag/back pack’ abuse.

Comment by Great Aunt Gretchen

July 16, 2008 @ 5:00 pm

Tupperware makes a food-safe lunch set that includes little lidded cups for snacks and a square lidded box that is sandwich size. These can be washed and re-used 100’s of times.
Aunt Gretchen

Comment by Angela

July 17, 2008 @ 1:20 am

I saw the same post and got excited about making the sandwich wraps, and then read the comments and got a little worried about vinyl. Since then I have been looking into laminated fabrics. I haven’t had a chance to contact any companies selling them to see what they are laminated with, but most advertise that they are safe enough for baby bibs. That might be a viable option for the sandwich wraps.

Comment by Maryellen

July 17, 2008 @ 11:41 am

Two suggestions:
We use the laptop lunches bento box system for our lunches and the kids seem to like the idea. Your order even comes with a free cookbook with great lunch ideas http://www.laptoplunches.com The gals at laptop lunches are all about environmentalism and have a great monthly newsletter with helpful hints about creating a litter-less lunch, recycling and other earth-friendly ideas.

The second, simpler idea might be to use unbleached waxed paper sandwich bags, which can be purchased at Whole Foods. Not really reusable, but definitely biodegradable.

Comment by robyn

July 19, 2008 @ 4:38 pm

You know, I made a sandwich wrap for my husband to use (he lost it) without the vinyl. It was just the cotton fabric. It wiped out easily and if it got anything on it, I just washed it. Simple. I plan to make more one of these days, maybe one for each day of the week. I also made some baggies that used elastic to wrap around. The idea needs some tweaking, but it’s worth looking into. In the meantime until I get my act together and sew more, I wash all my plastic baggies and dry them on a dryer thing I got from Gaiam. They get used several times this way instead of just the one.

Comment by Koningskind

July 20, 2008 @ 3:40 pm

I am from the Netherlands. Overhere we don’t use wraps, plastic bags, ziplockbags or something like that to bring our sandwiches with us to work or school.
We use luchboxes to keep our sandwiches fresh.

Comment by angeljoy

July 21, 2008 @ 7:52 am

is oilcloth considered vinyl coated?

Comment by Rachael

August 22, 2008 @ 5:05 am

Aloha,
My husband is from Fiji & there they use Taro or Banana leaves, I know it sounds funny but it works really well. I guess you could use any other edible leaf like grape, or lettuce. Also here in Hawaii I watch a Japanese cooking show & have seen them use Bamboo leaves, or small bento boxes. I love your blog by the way, so creative your ideas.