Sometimes it seems that making green changes are more hype than help for the planet. However by choosing reusable bags over plastic bags at the store not only are you keeping plastics out of landfills, you are protecting critically endangered sea turtles. The leatherback sea turtle's favorite meal is jellyfish. When plastic bags and balloons are floating on the ocean's surface they are easily confused for jellyfish by the turtles. A study of over 400 necropsy reports of leatherback turtles found plastic in the digestive system of a 1/3 of the turtles. While researchers aren't saying the plastic is the immediate cause of death, Mike James, a marine biologist at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, says: "Eating something that is plastic can't be good for you, whether it leads to death or not."
What can you do to help sea turtles...
1. Choose reusable bags over plastic bags when shopping.
2. Do not release balloons into the air at celebrations.
3. When you visit the beach, pick up any plastics you find on the beach and dispose of them properly.
4. Support organizations that educate the public about sea turtles like the Caribbean Conservation Corporation www.cccturtle.org
Showing posts with label reusable bags. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reusable bags. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
Earthbound Farms
In honor of Earth Day, Earthbound Farms has a Sustain Yourself, Sustain the Planet Pledge you can take. The pledge explores simple changes you and your family can make to help the Earth like eating organic foods, switching to reusable water bottles, reducing your meat consumption, composting, and more. As an added bonus for taking the pledge, if you are one of the first 10,000 people to take the pledge each week in April, you’ll win an Earthbound Farm reusable shopping tote! Take the pledge and learn more at http://ebfarm.com/AboutUs/SustainYourselfSustainThePlanet/index.aspx
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
A Day Without A Bag
Heal the Bay is hosting its second annual A Day Without A Bag tomorrow December 18,2008. This is an educational grassroots event coordinated by Heal the Bay that encourages businesses and individuals throughout Los Angeles County to forgo single-use, plastic shopping bags in favor of reusable bags. A Day Without a Bag focuses on education and raising consumer awareness about personal choices.
Even though I live in Florida I plan on sharing information about this event with my friends, family, and community. I personally use reusable bags every day and have given my family & friends reusable bags as gifts to encourage them to make a change in their shopping habits. Tomorrow I plan on heading to my local grocery store and handing out reusable bags to shoppers.
Even though I live in Florida I plan on sharing information about this event with my friends, family, and community. I personally use reusable bags every day and have given my family & friends reusable bags as gifts to encourage them to make a change in their shopping habits. Tomorrow I plan on heading to my local grocery store and handing out reusable bags to shoppers.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Reusable Shopping Bags
Fortunately for the environment, more people are using reusable bags instead of plastic bags when they head to the grocery store. Natural food stores like Trader Joes and Whole Foods have been selling great reusable bags for years and now most mainstream grocery chains such as Publix, Walmart, and Target have joined the cause with inexpensive bags available at the checkout. I know a lot of people who are great at remembering to bring their bags when they are grocery shopping, but still end up with a bunch of plastic bags from the craft store, mall, drugstore, etc. Until you train your brain to remember a reusable bag every time you shop at any store, I have found the perfect solution - the Reuse Bag from 3G. The Reuse bag is larger than a standard plastic bag but folds up into a great carrying case that you can throw in your purse. The Reuse bag even has a clip that you can use to attach the bag to your keychain and at the low price of $5 a bag you can through a few in your purse for your next shopping spree.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Plastic Bag Facts
1. Currently our planet uses well over 500,000,000,000 (that's 500 billion) plastic bags annually, or almost 1 million per minute.
2. Single-use bags made of high-density polyethylene will accumulate and persist on our planet for up to 1,000 years. Four out of five grocery bags used in the US are plastic.
3. In 2001, Ireland used 1.2 billion disposable plastic bags, or 316 per person. An extremely successful plastic bag tax, or PlasTax, introduced in 2002 reduced consumption by 90%.
4. According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. An estimated 12 million barrels of oil is required to make that many plastic bags.
5. Plastic bags cause over 100,000 sea turtle and other marine animal deaths every year when animals mistake them for food.
6. The average family accumulates 60 plastic bags in only four trips to the grocery store.
7. Nearly 80% of the plastic trash in the US comes from bags and packaging and only 3.2% is recycled.
8. Each reusable bag you use has the potential to eliminate an average of 1,000 plastic bags over its lifetime.
2. Single-use bags made of high-density polyethylene will accumulate and persist on our planet for up to 1,000 years. Four out of five grocery bags used in the US are plastic.
3. In 2001, Ireland used 1.2 billion disposable plastic bags, or 316 per person. An extremely successful plastic bag tax, or PlasTax, introduced in 2002 reduced consumption by 90%.
4. According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. An estimated 12 million barrels of oil is required to make that many plastic bags.
5. Plastic bags cause over 100,000 sea turtle and other marine animal deaths every year when animals mistake them for food.
6. The average family accumulates 60 plastic bags in only four trips to the grocery store.
7. Nearly 80% of the plastic trash in the US comes from bags and packaging and only 3.2% is recycled.
8. Each reusable bag you use has the potential to eliminate an average of 1,000 plastic bags over its lifetime.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
BYOB...Bring Your Own Bag!
Kudos to Whole Foods! Joining San Francisco, China, Australia, IKEA and others in an effort to cut back on plastic bags, Whole Foods announced that they won't be giving out plastic bags in their stores anymore. After testing it out with good results in stores in San Francisco, Austin, Texas and Toronto, they'll ban the bags in all of the chain's 270 stores starting on Earth Day, April 22. Whole Foods estimates that this action will keep 100 million disposable plastic bags off our planet just from April 22nd until the end of this year!!
Why is it so important to stop the use of plastic bags? Here's 3 great reasons:
1.It can take more than 1000 years for a plastic bag to break down in a landfill and when the bags do break down they release toxic substances which leach into the soil and enter the food chain.
2. Plastic bags can endanger and kill wildlife especially sea turtles, sea birds, and marine mammals.
3. Plastic bags are made of polyethylene, which is a petroleum product. Increased oil demands lead to increased gas prices.
So next time you head to the store - remember your reusable bag!
Why is it so important to stop the use of plastic bags? Here's 3 great reasons:
1.It can take more than 1000 years for a plastic bag to break down in a landfill and when the bags do break down they release toxic substances which leach into the soil and enter the food chain.
2. Plastic bags can endanger and kill wildlife especially sea turtles, sea birds, and marine mammals.
3. Plastic bags are made of polyethylene, which is a petroleum product. Increased oil demands lead to increased gas prices.
So next time you head to the store - remember your reusable bag!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Great Green Gifts
Enjoy the luck of the Irish today! Remember when it comes time to give gifts to friends and family you don't have to use your whole pot of gold to give something green :)
For the home lover - give a clean burning soy candle. Check out - Naked Candle Company www.nkdpure.com
For the beauty queen - Peacekeeper Cause-Metics - all natural cosmetics whose company donates ALL its profits to women's health & human rights advocacy issues www.iamapeacekeeper.com
For the kids - Xeko a fun, new animal trading card game that's driving kids wild. The cards which are printed with soy ink teach kids about animals from far of lands like Madagascar, Indonesia, and Coast Rica. The company has a wrapper recycling program and donates 4% of its sales to Conservation International. www.xeko.com
For the sports lover - Sigg aluminum water bottles - these great refillable bottles allow you to quench your thirst without contributing to the mountains of plastic bottles we generate every day. www.mysigg.com
For the fashion plate - Check out Tees for Change. Their organic cotton or bamboo tees are printed with fun messages like - Laugh Often, Chase Dreams, Choose Happiness. www.teesforchange.com
For the outdoor lover - Help them protect themselves from the sun while avoiding the harmful chemicals found in typical sunscreens with Caribbean Sol www.caribbean-sol.com
For the brown bagger - keep tons of sandwich bags out of landfills with Wrap-N-Mat, a reusable sandwich wrap and mat. www.wrap-n-mat.com
For the pet lover - Give your pet treats so healthy and natural they're safe for you to eat from www.pawsativelydapper.net and for pet clean-ups check out Scoopies - biodegradable waste bags www.scoopies.com
For the shopper - a reusable bag. Eco-Bags have a variety of great bags to help you solve the paper or plastics debate - neither www.ecobags.com
For the home lover - give a clean burning soy candle. Check out - Naked Candle Company www.nkdpure.com
For the beauty queen - Peacekeeper Cause-Metics - all natural cosmetics whose company donates ALL its profits to women's health & human rights advocacy issues www.iamapeacekeeper.com
For the kids - Xeko a fun, new animal trading card game that's driving kids wild. The cards which are printed with soy ink teach kids about animals from far of lands like Madagascar, Indonesia, and Coast Rica. The company has a wrapper recycling program and donates 4% of its sales to Conservation International. www.xeko.com
For the sports lover - Sigg aluminum water bottles - these great refillable bottles allow you to quench your thirst without contributing to the mountains of plastic bottles we generate every day. www.mysigg.com
For the fashion plate - Check out Tees for Change. Their organic cotton or bamboo tees are printed with fun messages like - Laugh Often, Chase Dreams, Choose Happiness. www.teesforchange.com
For the outdoor lover - Help them protect themselves from the sun while avoiding the harmful chemicals found in typical sunscreens with Caribbean Sol www.caribbean-sol.com
For the brown bagger - keep tons of sandwich bags out of landfills with Wrap-N-Mat, a reusable sandwich wrap and mat. www.wrap-n-mat.com
For the pet lover - Give your pet treats so healthy and natural they're safe for you to eat from www.pawsativelydapper.net and for pet clean-ups check out Scoopies - biodegradable waste bags www.scoopies.com
For the shopper - a reusable bag. Eco-Bags have a variety of great bags to help you solve the paper or plastics debate - neither www.ecobags.com
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Reusable Bags
Unless you've been living under a rock, you've seen reusable bags for sale at most grocery stores. Where you used to only see them for sale at health food stores and green grocers like Whole Foods, Wild Oats, and Trader Joes - now they are popping up at Publix, Target, and even Walmart. But why should you purchase a reusable bag?
1. Save oil and/or trees. In the US, about 12 million barrels of oil and 14 million trees go to producing plastic and paper bags each year.
2. Help keep sea creatures safe. They're one of the 12 most commonly found items in coastal cleanups. 3. Remember the 3Rs - REDUCE litter. REUSE your bag. RECYCLE - Most of the bags are made of recycled and recyclable materials.
Leading the way to reduce their impact on the environment, Whole Foods Market has announced that they plan to eliminate all disposable plastic grocery bags from their stores by Earth Day - April 22, 2008. Whole Foods says it hopes customers will bring their own reusable bags when shopping, but they will provide 100% recycled paper bags when needed. Kudos to Whole Foods!
1. Save oil and/or trees. In the US, about 12 million barrels of oil and 14 million trees go to producing plastic and paper bags each year.
2. Help keep sea creatures safe. They're one of the 12 most commonly found items in coastal cleanups. 3. Remember the 3Rs - REDUCE litter. REUSE your bag. RECYCLE - Most of the bags are made of recycled and recyclable materials.
Leading the way to reduce their impact on the environment, Whole Foods Market has announced that they plan to eliminate all disposable plastic grocery bags from their stores by Earth Day - April 22, 2008. Whole Foods says it hopes customers will bring their own reusable bags when shopping, but they will provide 100% recycled paper bags when needed. Kudos to Whole Foods!
Friday, February 1, 2008
Market Basket
I got this great market basket a few months back and I LOVE it. It's perfect for a quick trip into the store, the farmers market, library - you name it. It folds flat for easy storage, but is very sturdy. I gave several away as Christmas presents and they were a hit. I loaded them up with goodies for friends and family - a great reusuable way to wrap up a gift :)
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