The EcoBags Series -- Day Two: Reusable Produce and Grain Bags

EcoBags is back with another offering for me -- their produce and grain bag!

The bag is super sturdy and made from 100% unbleached cotton. Right on the tag it even indicates that fair wages were paid and fair labor practices were adhered to. This made me happy to see, especially because the bags are made in India.

The cotton gauze version is light weight, but sadly not light weight enough to be a zero impact on the scale. I weighed one of the plastic produce bags I have (I rinse & reuse these until they are no longer functional just as a side note) on my postage scale and it registered at zero. This produce and grain bag from EcoBags came in at a full ounce. This would definitely impact the cost of goods when shopping.

The great news however is they are not solely created to use in the grocery store. All manner of dry goods can be kept in these useful bags such as bulk rice or pasta, and they are perfect for storing veggies in the fridge after picking up at the Farmer’s Market.

At a suggested retail of $15.00 for five of the full sized produce bags (the same type that EcoBags sent me to try out) the value is good, especially due to the fact that they can be washed and reused many times over in comparison to a thin plastic bag which can tear after as little as two uses (one in some cases although I have had some last up to 12 uses). They are not indestructible though so be mindful of how much gets stuffed in so the seam remains intact.

I was also impressed that they carry ten different types or sizes of this kind of item and the prices come down as the number of purchased items goes up. The final thing I really liked was that the seams were stitched under so there was not fraying fabric inside the bag. It gave them a nice finished look and function.

Overall I think this is a nice alternative to plastic bags and feel great about granting a Three Leaf Rating!

Thanks for such innovation EcoBags, can not wait to talk about your canvas bags tomorrow! ♥love♥

*The photo used is from the EcoBags website, nothing I took was coming out fit to print, I only received one bag from these folks Thanks!

The Word is Spreading!

More and more concerned citizens are standing up to do their part for a better planet especially in the areas of proper disposal of electronics, reduction in consumption of fossil fuels and increased consumption of organically grown produce.

Keeping e-waste out of landfills is critically important in order to prevent leeching of harmful chemicals (primarily mercury) into the soil and proximate waterways. In an encouraging news story it seems that the National Center for Electronics Recycling has indicated a rise in collection of e-waste by seven percent over the numbers submitted in 2007. Every little bit helps!

We have all heard the term hybrid vehicle and understand the definition to be “a vehicle which requires at least two sources of power to go”. In hybrid cars those sources are likely gas and electric or diesel and bio-fuel. In 2007 the number of hybrid cars sold increased by 38% over the prior year. As more manufacturers are looking for ways to bring revenues back, and more consumers are looking for ways to save money at the pump, the number of hybrid vehicles will surely increase even further.

As summer rolls around we begin to think of farmer’s markets and fresh, pesticide free produce but by eating organically grown produce the rest of the year we ensure chemical free farms are supported and possibly right in our own region of the country. Even big box stores not especially known for this type of product, such as Walmart, reported a growth in sales of organics over the past few years. Stores like this actually anticipate sales to hold steady or even increase in the next year. Don’t forget to take your reusable tote!

Although these efforts may appear more difficult to complete, or even costly, savvy environmentalists understand it is nothing more than a change in attitude. The more often the practice is put into place and the more people who do it, all those concerns quickly fade away. Spread the word about how easy it actually is to live a Greener lifestyle by sharing your stories about the little things you do!

There Are A Few Things I Simply Can Not Give Up

Green design, green products, green living, green this and green that -- the word Green has overtaken the general media! With the advent of so many fine things there will always be some things that just do not make the cut where safety, convenience, comfort, price, or a combination of all of the above, is concerned. As a self proclaimed Greenie I tend to give everything a try and if it works for me, fits into my lifestyle, then it will be here to stay. If not then I must revert to my old choices with no guilt and know there are so many other ways I can make a difference instead.

This past Thursday night was the latest Bennetts Brook Green Group (BBGG) meeting. It was small, only seven of us, but once again we touched on many fantastic topics and I was the lucky recipient of two lovely items that evening! One of the members picked up reusable shopping bags for everyone at Walgreens (I love this store) and at the end of the night I also won a door prize. I had the option of choosing between a bar of soap and a box of tissues. I eyed both but decided to go with the tissues because I had never used any of this company’s products before and was rightfully curious.

The brand is Seventh Generation, a well known name just about everywhere these days. The box is eye catching with little green leaves on a white background and on one side details of the product are given. These hypo-allergenic tissues are made from 100% recycled paper, have no dyes or bleach and are two ply. The bottom of the box indicates that if all households using tissues were to purchase a recycled product we would keep 17,000 pounds of chlorinated pollution from water ways and save:

☼ 283,000 trees
☼ 730,000 cubic feet of landfill space
☼ 102 million gallons of water

Yes this is wonderful and yes I am excited to feel good about making a difference. But am I literally looking down my nose at this gift? Well, sort of. No, they are not soft and no I do not believe I could use them if I had a cold as my nose would be raw after just one day. I am certainly happy to have the opportunity to try them out but I am a firm believer that anything we use has got to be the right thing for each of us personally or it will end up in a landfill before its intended life cycle is complete.

I will leave these tissues in the holder on the back of the toilet because we do not get sick often in this household and may only ever use one tissue a day. For that purpose they will be just fine and it will make me feel good knowing I am doing something more environmentally friendly but when this box runs out I will not replace it with another. Instead I will donate to plant a tree and use that as the trade off for the box of Puffs Plus with lotion that will make its way into my cart.