The EcoBags Series -- Day Three: Reusable Canvas Bags

In the final day of our continuing series I am going to be reviewing this super sturdy canvas bag that EcoBags has sent me to try out. It is a fun bag and definitely does the job.

You probably all remember I reviewed another reusable bag in the past; for trips to the grocery store that would still be my first choice because it has the reinforced square bottom but this canvas bag from EcoBags is going right into my car so I don’t forget it when shopping for everything else!

The straps impressed me because they are long enough to go over my shoulder. Most canvas bags only provide hand held sized straps so this will be ideal when out walking around a fall festival or craft fair or even at the mall. The seams on his bag are double stitched to avoid fraying, just like their produce bags.

Also the same as with the produce bags, the more of these that are purchased, the price will come down. One bag sells for $16.00 but two or more are only $13.99 each. For a printed and unlined canvas shoulder bag I was impressed with the price point. Additionally, a portion of the purchase price is donated to the Environmental Media Association.

This is just one of many options available in the canvas bag line; the printed line alone offers twenty fun designs. All the canvas bags are created from responsibly harvested cotton and this one in particular is 100% organic.

I am a little concerned at the cost, as I have seen bags that have more pockets and a similar size selling for less.

Overall I am thoroughly excited to have my car canvas tote to ensure I never go with paper or plastic again and feel this bag is deserving of a Four Leaf Rating!

Thanks for keeping a responsible eye on the planet through use of your socially and environmentally responsible practices and products EcoBags, I can not thank you enough for the opportunity to test out your cool products! ♥love♥

The One Bag At A Time Reusable Shopping Bag

Using a reusable shopping bag is not exactly a new concept; people have been taking advantage of cloth or canvas bags for decades. Prior to the recent surge of renewed interest in these bags, we of course had the two choices coined in the ever recognizable question “paper or plastic”. So what suddenly became wrong with paper and plastic that has everyone scrambling to spend the approximate $.99 on each reusable bag? A lot.

A few months ago I made a fairly large purchase for a client in a local hardware store called Tags. The store was offering one free reusable bag for every $50 spent in the store. By the time all was said and done I had enough Tags imprinted bags to accommodate for the entire purchase and when I got them home I noticed a tag hanging from the strap indicating these bags were created by a company called 1 Bag At A Time.

I flipped the tag over to read the information the company wanted to share regarding paper and plastic bag usage and was blown away by the statistics provided; and I write about this stuff all the time!

Based on the tag, 1 Bag At A Time indicates:

“Making a paper bag emits 70% more global warming gas than making a plastic bag.

380 billion plastic bags or wraps are thrown away in America each year.

14 plastic bags contain enough petroleum to drive a car a mile.”

There were a couple more statistics but my brain already began spinning figures. If we divide the 380 billion bags by the 14 bags, Americans alone could be driving approximately 27,142,857,143 more miles without touching another single drop of petroleum. That’s one heck of a road trip huh?

I held off on completing this article for a few months because I truly wanted to see how these bags held up under the wear and tear of not only weekly grocery shopping but toting anything I intended to shop for or travel with. The answer? Phenomenal.

We are tough on our stuff, especially when it comes to something like a bag so it would need to hold up to be worth it (read: so this bag doesn’t just end up as disposable in a landfill somewhere instead). So here are my estimated stats:

“I shop for groceries weekly and formerly acquired an average of 15 plastic bags per trip.

I have used these reusable bags each week for 12 weeks.”

Have you done the math yet? No? Well let me help you out -- that is approximately 180 bags saved so far and roughly translates into being able to drive 13 miles, which pretty much completely negates my trips to and from the grocery store (and then some!).

Other good things about these bags are that the straps are long enough that I can sling them over my shoulder, the capacity is large enough that I can hold much more in far fewer bags, they have a removable bottom stiffener (these are made from plastic) to provide extra bottom support and they can be machine washed on cold so even if my stuff leaks I can salvage the bag.

These bags are available for purchase in hundreds of stores throughout 43 of the 50 states and Washington DC (not available in Alaska, Mississippi, Nevada, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota or Wyoming but they are looking for suggestions of where to provide them in these areas so if you are local please check out the website contact information and give them a suggestion or two!). There are 65 locations in California alone.

Or order bags directly from their website! The company offers a variety of bags for purchase online -- jute, standard, wine bottle bags, small size, “Clean Air” design, a sampler pack and cooler bags (insulated) not to mention bottom stiffener replacements. They provide for the average consumer looking for a few good bags as well as to the wholesale market like companies who with to order in bulk with a logo.

At just under $.99 per bag the cost could not be better and considering the overall benefit to the environment I feel the definite need to award the 1 Bag At A Time reusable shopping bag a Four and A Half Leaf Rating!

I will now consider ordering a whole slew of your bags when I plan to sell at craft fairs or otherwise and hope you continue to provide custom sizes and styles as one or more of these might just get stuffed in everyone’s stocking for the holidays this year!
♥love♥

How Do You Plan to Celebrate Earth Day?

Wednesday April 22, 2009 is the thirty ninth annual Earth Day -- an effort that began as a grassroots movement started by one concerned man, Senator Gaylord Nelson, when he announced the plan for a “teach-in” demonstration while speaking at a conference in Seattle back in September 1969. On April 22, 1970 approximately 20 million Americans took part in Earth Day celebrations, due to the efforts to spread the word across the country, led by Denis Hayes. As of now this event is held in upwards of 1,000 countries and celebrated by approximately one billion people world wide.

With such an amazing turn out it makes me wonder exactly what people will be doing tomorrow to celebrate, show support or simply commemorate this day dedicated to our planet.

We have nothing specific planned in our home because we attempt to treat each day of the year as if it were Earth Day and approach our lifestyle from a place of conscious thought as to what impact our actions might have on future circumstances. However, with that said, here are some of the things we do consistently that can easily be adopted to begin your own celebration for the planet:

♥ Recycle
♥ Turn off unused lights
♥ Unplug unused appliances
♥ Drive only as necessary
♥ Complete errands on one day as opposed to spreading out driving
♥ Take public transportation
♥ Ride a bike
♥ Eat less meat
♥ Use market bags and forgo plastic
♥ Switch utilities to wind power

This is a small fraction of things that can be done to place annual focus on the planet but if ever there was a great time to start it would be tomorrow on Earth Day! Share what you will be doing tomorrow to commemorate this world wide day of awesomeness!

Can Plastic Grocery Store Bags Be Useful?

From time to time I am asked certain questions when it comes to living a green lifestyle. People become concerned about their eco habits and wonder if the things they are doing will have a positive or negative environmental impact. Yesterday I received a fantastic question from Linda at the Cozy Craft Corner concerning plastic shopping bags and I wanted to share her question as well as my response because I think everyone can benefit from the communication. Also hooray to Linda for pulling out the reusable shopping bags! Here is to many more uses in the future!

Today I remembered (the first time) to take my grocery bags with me to the store so I would use less plastic. My question is what do you do with your little garbage cans? Do you not put plastic bags in them? I use my grocery bags for that, car garbage and to use for a tote bag now and then.

Linda

Hey Linda!

Great question! The most important thing is reuse in this case. Although you are using the plastic bag in the garbage can it has now been used twice, extending its life further than the original intention so immediately that cuts the impact right there. How about further extending? When we use plastic bags in our bathroom trash can we tend to just dump the trash into our big kitchen can to take it out & leave the plastic bag behind, using it multiple times until it perhaps rips or becomes damaged. Same can work in the car! Most important thing is to continue to reuse as long as possible and not beat yourself up for the choices you make but to just be conscious of the ways you are [currently] & can [in the future] make a difference :)

Glad you're enjoying reading & thanks for asking!

Jenn

The important lesson in this case is reuse. The longer we can extend the life of any item, the less of them will end up in landfills and that will have a serious, positive, environmental impact starting right now.

Do you have a question regarding to your living or working habits? Concerned you might not be as eco-awesome as you want to be? Feel free to pass your question along via email!