Hi, to everyone reading us from the USA and Never Pay Retail Again. It is super to have our products so popular in the USA and we are shipping them out as soon as we get your orders.

I will let you all know what we are up to through the blog. Remember they make super stocking fillers at Christmas - particularly the ...take5nets. Other than that people use them for golf balls storage, hairbrushes, toys for the car/automobile, garden shed tidy, kitchen tidy and many more uses. The drawstring and toggle closure is super to keep things safe and to hang up by.

Jodi you are doing a fantastic job....

Our Environment...

So concerned are we all with our world environment we have now got Oatcake manufacturers really looking at their ingredients. They would not do that if they didn't think it sold their oatcakes!

Patersons Rough Oatcakes are now orang-utan friendly!! Why? Because they are made with olive oil and not highly saturated palm oil. Their packaging tells us that vast amounts of rainforests in South East Asia are destroyed to clear way for palm oil plantations. In the past 20 years, 80% of orang-utans' habitat has disappeared. If this destruction continues at this rate then one of man's closest relative's could sadly face extinction within the next 20 years. As well as switching to olive oil Patersons also make a monthly donation, and have become members of, the Orang-utan Foundation.

...and that is just an interesting fact that we wished to share with you

76%

Just a quick blog today to report the result of a recent survey which said 76% of Britons feel guilty when they forget to take reusable bags to the supermarket.

We know our customers, and repeat/potential customers, are very ethically minded and shop a great deal in farm shops and food halls. They also have made reuseable bags a part of their everyday thinking but it is easy to forget ones reuseable bags and nets.

Best way round this is to have several sets, one storing fruit and vegetables in the fridge or vegetable rack (in the case of nets) and at least one set in the shopping bag.

We use our reusable nets for fishing?

Part two of the holiday found us in the lovely village of Auchaltibuie 25 miles north of Ullapool in an area known as the Summer Isles. One gets to it by a road known worldwide as "the wee mad road" - well named. Fishing is the mainstay of the community. This is where litter is unheard of because one takes ones litter home. Our reusable nets and reusable bags came into thier own. Each day they took our sandwiches, apples and drinks as we headed off on another exploration. We used the nets as reusable fruit and vegetable nets and our bread nets for the sandwiches. Our folding shopping bags, being so lightweight took the drinks, sandwiches and fruit. Was the day we would have used supermarket bags but, thankfully, we have evolved....Once snacks were all eaten we could fold up our reusable multipurpose bags into a reusable compact shopping bag to use again and again...

Back to work....

Whew, we had packed our vegetable nets, bread nets, vegetable bags and deli bags...and we needed all the shopping bags and nets!! First stop was a week in Glenfeshie...if you haven't been it is a lovely area and the weather was good...actually it is usually fantastic weather. We canoed and took our lunch bags and nets out in the bread nets and vegetable nets and used the vegetable bag as a sort of rucksack for everything. We did the same trick when out walking but used a full scale rucksack for the safety aspects of being out walking in the highlands. We stopped off for coffees and lunches in some lovely farm shops and enjoyed quiet walks along highland rivers running through gorges. Its great writing about it as we can visualise it all over again...enough for one day will tell you more tomorrow...as a taster we are off up to the West coast North of Ullapool to a place called Achiltibuie...see you there............

We had an emergency...

We had packed and driven to the one of the most scenic parts of Scotland, Auchiltibuie and the Summer Isles (well named!!). We had been shown our lovely log cabin, part of the hotel which allowed you to be part self-catering and part guest at the hotel as you choose. It was luxury. All we needed to do now was unpack and settle in - the sun was shining on the water, the mountains looking inviting and we had seen the menu so knew that dinner was scrummy.

Then it happened...."Did you see the black again bag?" "No, I thought you had packed it in the car first". "Did it have the green nets in it?" "Yes" came the reply. "What about the bread nets and the ...take5bags?" "Yup, they were in it too".

Well, only one thing for it - we will have to turn around and go home... but I have an idea, "we could buy another set from the shop we sell to just down the road...." Phew, that idea saved the day...and then........... I woke up... Must just go and check the car for all our necessary nets, bags, breads and agains as we are off on that holiday...but with the reusables!

Holidays - different sort...

We are off on our holidays this week. The mind is turning to what to pack in which bag, how to store the goodies in reusable multipurpose bags, whether to use compact net bags or the bakery nets.

All have their uses. There is the fruit and vegetables for the reusable bags with nets - that will be the potatoes with various fruit and vegetables in the nets. Although as a family we don't eat huge amounts of bread the bakery nets come in handy for the treats in the bakery line that we have for holidays. Then there is using the multipurpose bags for other items that are small and may get lost. With the drawstring and toggle closure they are kept safe and we can find them at the end of the journey.

Once the holiday unpacking is done at the other end I can envisage the nets and bags being used for all sorts of mementos of the holiday from pebbles from the beach to other goodies from the shops.

Holiday Week-end

With a long week-end in view and a good weather report our thoughts turn to going out and treating ourselves. We see shops with lovely fruit and vegetables, deli-lectible cheeses and olives and mouthwatering crusty bread to eat with the cheese and olives.

We have just what you need to pack these goodies away...take them home and enjoy.

...take5nets

Hey...these are the nets we are so excited about...You get 5 strong drawstring and toggle closure nets which are washable, food contact approved and do our environment so much good as well. They stop the use of the one-use plastic bag at the fruit and vegetable counter.

We have other products in the range:

...take4bread is the most recent. Requested by our customers we designed and brought it to the market-place in January and it is selling soooo well.

...take5bags was our first baby and it has the convenient fold-away-to-a-handbag outer with 4 nets inside. The outer bag is strong with a net panel (matching of course!) to the nets inside. It will hold 10lb of potatoes, a large cauliflower or a huge cabbage. All this and it is soooo neat.

...take5again is our deli-shopper. It is the classy one...in black with 4 black nets to hold all your deli-lectibles. The outer bag is a full size shopper bag and comes with a pocket for your purse with a security popper. It too folds into a neat hand-bag when not in use.

Trash Can...

We are escaping into the trash can today. It is a fact that we cannot deny - we all got very hooked on the one-use plastic bag. I suspect that like our family you had one of those sausage things that you stored them in once the shopping had been unpacked. That is unless it had holes in it, the handles were falling off or it, or was one of those silly small ones...these went straight into the garbage can and then into the landfill to drift around for years. No need for that now...

...but lets come back to the good ones in the sausage. In the kitchen is the bin and whenever it needed it, like us, you plucked a bag from the bottom of the sausage and placed it in the bin. Invariably it leaked and made a mess of the bottom of the bin, when it was full and you took it out to the dustbin it dripped yuk in blobs of liquid over the floor...and you thought it had no holes!!
So they weren't so good...

Now, what did we do in the "old days"? Why have we forgotton so readily? Well, we used to put the garbage in the trash can, sometimes with newspaper in the bottom. We took it out to the dustbin, in its entirety, with no leaks - as trash cans don't leak, and tipped it into the dustbin. We then came back and gave the trash can a quick 'swill around' with water, put a bit of disinfectant and paper in the bottom and off we went again....EASY

...take5nets

During the next few weeks, just to reinforce our products, we are placing pictures on the blog. This week we have ...take5nets.

It is our most popular product and we love them. Trendy, bright green, 5 to a set and they all have a matching cord and cord lock. They are very strong. Oversewn seams mean they take a lot of weight.

Fantastic value for money and they allow you to buy your 5 pieces of fruit and vegetables for the recommended 5-a-day healthy eating.

More details are on our website and ...take5nets has its dedicated page. Make sure to take time to look at our other products too...remember we love to hear from you...

A Sort of Anniversary...

Doesn't time fly when you are enjoying yourself? We have just had our 1st anniversary of a trading year. Evident by our accountant buried deep in paperwork and only surfacing for the odd coffee. By evening it is a G&T and the accounting gets easier.

Looking back we have a lot to show for this year.

• We have designed and brought to market 4 fantastic products ...take5nets, ...take5bags, ...take5again and ...take4bread.
• We have trademarked our product names.
• We have designed our web site and then amended it further to include buying direct from the website. This was directed at those of you who do not live near one of the hundreds of super customers we now supply. We have included Euro buying on our website for this reason.

We look forward to keeping you updated, through this blog, of on-going developments and news. Thank-you for your support...

Customer Survey - Results

We have been completing a customer survey of our products. If we can we want to extend our range and improve the existing products.

The survey took place over 52 customers. We were delighted with the results. You all thought our green nets were great and sold well. Displayed by the fruit and vegetables, they enhanced the area where they were displayed - sometimes in a basket and sometimes using their hook.

The bread nets, which as you know are our latest product, were designed and brought out to satisfy our existing customer base - a lot of them have fresh bread products. These are proving a great success. Based on the same design as the green and black nets but adapted in size to fit baguettes and large loaves and plenty of rolls, they incorporate a tight mesh net to help stop the crumbs coming through.

If you want to add to our findings please contact us at http://www.againanda-gain.com/. Finally a big thank you to all those who took the time to tell us their thoughts on our products and telling us what products you would like to see us add to the range.

Why to Buy OUR Bags & Nets

They are unique.

• All the products are food contact approved
• Easy drawstring and cordlock on the nets and on ...take5bags
• All products wash at 30 degrees

First came ...take5bags and ...take5nets

• You can store your shopping at home in the nets - who likes unpacking shopping?
• Fruit and vegetables last longer when stored in the nets - less waste
• ...take5bags is ideal for shopping for your potatoes or large cauliflower

Next... came the large deli bag ...take5again

• There is a neat pocket with popper at the top of the outer bag for your purse to be handy, but safe.
• 4 black nets for all your deli shopping - saving on paper and one use bags
• Lots of storage in the outer shopping bag for bottles of oil or wine and things that do not need wrapping.

Then... we responded to requests from customers and brought out ...take4bread

• Three large nets for loaves, croissant and pies. One long baguette net.
• Fantastic net which stops those crumbs
• Use for your sandwiches

Wherever you shop you will get noticed ....

Buying YOUR Reusable Green Bags and Nets

Why it is important:

• 14 million trees make 10 billion paper bags
• 12 million barrels of oil make 100 billion plastic one-use bags

These are the facts.

We have brought out the option to reduce, reuse and recycle with our range of bags and nets whenever you go shopping.

Tomorrow I will give a few reasons why to buy our bags and nets but in the meantime visit our web-site and judge for yourself on the options available.

Packing for Holidays...

Easter really starts to mean the good weather should start and we can turn our minds to longer days and look forward to holidays.

A lot of us are keen on caravans, boats, self-catering or chalet-in-a-holiday parc type holidays. When packing we always take extra nets with us. You can take some packed with your first few days away fruit and veg and then you will need some for the shopping you do when trying out some of the local delicacies.

Then there is the picnic when you can pack sandwiches into one of your bread nets and collect a nice fresh loaf on the way home to put back into the net.

We know this will also be a time when you find other uses for them and we look forward to hearing from you on our Contact Page....

Let's celebrate Easter...

Rolling your eggs, having an egg hunt? Here are a few ideas to help you. Don't forget that the easiest way to carry your eggs, whichever hunt you have is in a made to measure net bag .

Need help with ideas for your eggs? Traditionally, hard boil your eggs on Easter Saturday and get the children seated round the kitchen table with the paint box to decorate them...it keeps everyone amused. Mum then takes the eggs and hides them in the house or garden (rain or sun) and on Easter Day the family hunts them out and then finds the nearest steep hill to roll them and shell them and eat them. Easier version of this is to hide chocolate ones around the garden on Easter Day and have a family search!

I notice that lots of our farm shops are having Easter Day egg hunts and this could be the easiest of all. Mum doesn't have to cook, the kids are kept happy hunting eggs and playing on the slides and sandpits at the farm shops. Dad will be happy because Mum and the kids are catered for...

Whatever choice you make have a Happy Easter and don't forget to take your take5s with you.

Back to Litter....

Writing this blog I trawl many sites for facts and figures regarding waste, litter and our environment. A lot of it is scary, a lot of it I am sure is true... but, I feel is not in a context that is meaningful to 'everyday folk' - almost too much information or too large a statistic.

Yesterday I read a recent survey on Britain's beaches. This survey was held by the Marine Conservation Society, Beachwatch 2008. It removed 385,659 pieces of rubbish from 374 beaches during the survey. The average amount of rubbish found in half a mile was 3520 items which equates to more than 2 pieces for every 3ft of beach. Apart from making it difficult for us to sit down on a beach, without clearing away other peoples rubbish, the effect on marine life such as seals, seabirds, whales, dolphins and the odd turtle is devastating. The one-use plastic bag is a huge culprit and by mistaking this type of litter for food it can lead to starvation, poisoning and fatal stomach blockages.

The moral of this survey has to be to reduce pollution. One significant way to do this is to reduce one-use bags. Most of us think of one-use plastic bags as the type that we get from the supermarket to hold our groceries - and, yes, we are all doing a lot more on this front. Now we have to move this thinking to the fruit and vegetable area where we also use one-use bags - there is a great alternative and it is washable, can store your fruit and veg safely and is attractive. Look no further...

Something a bit different....

Instead of what are our products up to ...this time it is what are our customers up to...

Matthew from Bellis Brothers is partaking of a charity run, swim and bike ride with a difference. He is trying to raise £250,000 for Prostate Cancer. This will take him via land and sea and land again - from UK to Morocco via Gibraltar and back to Blighty. While reading his training regime my knees and muscles came out in deep sympathy! What a way to support ones family.

If you have a mission in life which supports a good cause we will always give support where we can. Let us know through our contact page...

Yet more uses...

For followers of our web-blog we have more uses for our fantastic nets and bags. We have a photographer who catches toads/frogs from ponds to allow them to be kept safe until he takes the photo he wishes...(each to their own!). We have homemade marmalade makers who use the nets for the pith and pips and hang this over the edge of the pan while it is boiling away. How strong are our nets??? We are still looking for more uses that are out of the ordinary ...so keep them coming.

We also hear that homemade bread makers are buying our bread nets to put their fresh loaves into...we hadn't thought of that.

We have super news.

We are to be in the autumn/winter 2009 RSPB catalogue.

We value our customers so much. They all, not only promote our products, but help reduce the huge amount of waste that we continue to pour into landfill. The feedback we get on our products is always listened to and when we were asked to bring out a solution to the one use wrappers at the bread counter we brought out ...take4bread.

What do you use yours for...????

We know we have a great product but it is super to hear from our customers and learn what they are using the nets for ...as well as the original purpose!

So far we have gardeners using them for storing their shallots, seed packets and keeping the gardening area tidier in their potting sheds. We have rowers using them for storing their rollocks. We have anglers using them for keeping fish alive once caught (immersing in the water) and using them for bait. We have them being used as general tidies for jewellery and we have people going to work, school and picnics using them for their lunches.

Let us know through our contact page what you use yours for and we will add it to our blog...

Where you can find us in the UK

We actively sell into food halls, delis and farm shops. A lot of our customers are Farma award winners stocking products that have been awarded the Guild of Fine Food awards. In the London area we have a dedicated agent Langridge Organics. We are now taking the next step in promoting our product, to as wide an audience as we can, by selling through our own site at againanda-gain. We have taken this opportunity to expand into Europe, USA and Canada where we are represented by our Agent. Of course we wish to go further afield and invite you to write to us on our wholesale contact page if you are in any other countries, i.e. Australia, New Zealand and want to help spread the word.

A few 'Wasteful' Facts...

Our aim at again and a-gain is to contribute, in as large a way as we can, to help the shopper who cares for their environment. We have tackled the area of shopping because we all shop, particularly for food. Some of our basics are fruit, vegetables and bread - and then we need to put these purchases into something. Our range gives an alternative to the one-use bags that increasingly we are being asked to pay for at the check-out. A bag for your potatoes (or large cauli etc) with ...take5bags and then ...take5nets for your fruit and vegetables - they are just the answer you have been searching for.

If you have a spare 20 minutes, don't want to watch TV and want to see how we are 'led' and also laugh a bit (in recognition?) look no further.