Have you heard of furoshiki? These traditional Japanese square cloths are getting a lot of attention lately, as a “green” alternative to wrapping paper and plastic shopping bags. Furoshiki means “bath spread” — in feudal Japan, they were used to bundle and protect people’s clothing at public bath houses, but over the years, their standard use has been to tie up any bundle you can imagine (they’ve even been used as baby carriers). The word is pronounced something like “f’-ROHSH-kee”.

I carry my pug, Shalamar in it. =D